The best dog movie of the year is finally available to watch now

Having already sparked plenty of buzz on the festival circuit, it's a film that puts a cool new spin on a classic story.

Co-written and directed by Ben Leonberg in his feature debut, the movie is a haunted house story with a major twist: it's told entirely from the perspective of a dog.

Starring Indy, a canine playing himself (and very much living up to the title's words of affirmation), the film sees him and his owner, Todd (Shane Jensen), move from New York to an isolated house in the woods of New Jersey.

The home used to belong to Todd's late grandfather (genre legend Larry Fessenden, The Last Winter), and several people in the young man's life warn him that the property could be haunted.

Suffering from health issues, however, Todd believes that the peace and quiet of the rural area could be good for him.

It isn't long into his and Indy's stay at the house that Indy senses a dark presence. The canine then struggles to communicate his fears to his owner, due to him being a dog and all...

Good Boy has a very clever premise. After all, animals in horror films are often the first to sense that all is not well, sometimes then falling prey to the mysterious terrors themselves to amp up the stakes.

By framing a haunted house tale from a dog's perspective, the movie puts a truly fresh twist on the type of story fans of the genre have seen countless times before, while also capitalising on the dramatic possibilities the central situation presents to maximum effect.

For instance, Leonberg keeps his camera low to the ground. The humans Indy is around or interacts with often have their faces obscured (this is because dogs don't recognise human faces the way we do).

Occasionally, when humans have important conversations - like Todd and his grandfather's old hunter friend (Stuart Rudin) - they happen off camera, and the viewers have to strain to catch vital details.

All these stylistic choices coalesce to leave the audience feeling like Indy, confused and terrified as to what's happening and lacking some of the capabilities to understand and intervene.

This feeling could be frustrating over an extended period. Thankfully, Good Boy's 73-minute run-time never overstays its welcome.

Plus, Leonberg lucked out that his real-life dog Indy is such a star, both beautiful and very expressive. There's been a growing campaign to get Indy recognised by the Academy Awards (who currently don't let animals be nominated), and you understand why.

That said, the real credit should go to Leonberg, who shot the movie over three years, slowly building the film around its canine lead, who could often only be relied on to provide one usable shot per day (diva!).

For all the ingenuity, it is slightly disappointing to see Good Boy transition from a gripping experiential horror to a more standard "elevated horror" as it nears its climax, succumbing to some of the increasingly tiring tropes of the latter.

This is a growing overemphasis on theme that drains the scary thrills and urgency out of the story.

And yet, as a truly one-of-a-kind and unforgettable horror thriller experience, Good Boy is more than worth the price of admission.

Good Boy is in cinemas now.