This brilliant twist on the haunted house film is told from the point of view of the dog in the house. It’s clever, creepy, and very scary. 

Indy is a very good dog who loves his owner. Sadly, his owner is suffering from a major health problem and takes Indy to live in his grandfathers remote cabin to recover. However, Indy starts to sense and see things that his owner can’t. He must protect his beloved owner against the dark forces that inhabit the house. 

I think this is a brilliant set up. I’ve seen so many scary movies where the family dog is either killed by a ghost off screen or is shown staring at a dark corner and barking at the wind. This movie takes that side character and puts him center stage. 

How many of us have dogs who stare off into the darkness or glare at corners or bark at something only they can perceive? It’s a perpetual phenomenon that can be very creepy. This film takes full advantage of that common occurrence and mines it for great scares. 

The director of the film Ben Leonberg, and Indy is his dog. He came up with the idea and decided to film his own dog. Filming took place over the course of 400 days, one of the longest film shoots ever, tying with Eyes Wide Shut. He filmed in short chunks, typically only a couple of hours at a time in order to not exhaust Indy. He shot the film almost exclusively from Indy’s point of view. Shots are low to the ground looking up. If Indy doesn’t hear it or see it, we don’t get to see or hear it. It’s a brilliant way to withhold information from the audience naturally. This helps build tension brilliantly. 

One thing that makes this movie so effective is how defenseless Indy is. He can’t open a door or call for help. He can’t reach out to a priest for an exorcism. He can’t fight off the ghosts or monsters. He can bark and he can growl. He can hide under the bed. He can comfort his master, but that’s it. He doesn’t even know what these things are in the house. Because he doesn’t know, we don’t know either. This unknown makes the menacing presence even scarier. 

Because he is relatively defenseless, my fear and tension were ratcheted up to eleven. I was on the edge of my seat hoping this dog could get his master home and away from these shadowy forces. 

I loved this movie. It was scary. It was tense. It featured an incredibly cute dog in the lead role. It was innovative and shot with care and intention. I thought it was brilliant. 

It absolutely was my cup of tea A+