The director of 2025’s viral home invasion horror movie Good Boy has spoiled whether the dog is okay after an impressive Google search spike. Told from a dog’s perspective, the Ben Leonberg debut film follows Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who moves with his owner Todd to an old, rural house where the dog senses something supernatural lurking.

Good Boy premiered at SXSW in March 2025 and currently holds a 95 % Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. The horror movie is set to be released theatrically on October, 3, 2025. However, after the trailer dropped, Google searches for “Does the dog in Good Boy die?” surged by over 2000 %, fueling viral buzz around Indy’s fate in the film.

Now, in an interview with CinemaBlend, director Ben Leonberg has confirmed the dog in Good Boy does make it to the end of the film. Leonberg states that he was surprised by the viral Google search, but “it’s been delightful,” and he discusses why he thinks Indy’s fate became such a concern among audiences. Check out his statement below:

I think it does speak to what horror movies have trained us to think happens to most dogs in horror movies, which is to say the whole film is built on this trope of, you know, ‘Hey, you know how your dog might stare into an empty corner? Or you know how in horror movies, there’s that dog who’s always suspicious of the basement or suspicious of that weird old neighbor?’ Usually that dog in horror movies doesn’t make it out of act one.

Leonberg said the stakes feeling real was an important part of Good Boy, but spoiling Indy’s survival doesn’t take away from the film. He compared the concept to the Mission: Impossible movies, in that you expect Tom Cruise to survive, but “the filmmaking still has to let you think he might fall off that airplane and die, potentially for real.”

What This Means For Good Boy

For many potential viewers, the looming possibility of Indy dying in Good Boy is a dealbreaker. Therefore, Leonberg’s ᴀssurance means the filmmakers have expanded the film’s reach beyond hardcore horror fans to include casual viewers, pet lovers, and those who typically avoid emotionally devastating content, which could help Good Boy sustain its viral momentum without alienating part of its audience.

Leonberg also ᴀssures that the fact that Indy survives doesn’t diminish the tension. The suspense remains rooted in how he avoids danger, protects his owner, and processes the threat that neither he nor Todd fully understands. The danger is real, the stakes are high, and the tension is sustained even without the threat of a tragic, and horror cliché ending.

Our Take On Ben Leonberg Spoiling Good Boy

Ben Leonberg’s decision to spoil a key element of Good Boy—namely, the survival of its four-legged star—might seem counterintuitive in a genre built on secrecy and shock. But in this case, it feels more like a thoughtful choice than a marketing misstep, as it demonstrates confidence in his storytelling and compᴀssion for his audience, who are often blindsided by horror.

Moreover, this spoiler doesn’t diminish the film. If anything, it may allow viewers to focus more deeply on the journey, rather than nervously awaiting an inevitable gut punch. Of course, some will argue that the spoiler is too much. But for Good Boy, it’s a film that doesn’t rely on needless cruelty in order to create serious horror-filled tension.