Good Boy (II) (2022) User Reviews

Keeps you curious

[Night_springs1 · 7/10 · 16 September 2023]

I've watched Good Boy in Lisbon during the horror festival MotelX. I had some expectations because the whole idea of having someone dressing up as a dog called my attention while scrolling through the movie list.

The flick starts great - the cinematography, atmosphere, acting and humorous moments felt truly genuine and you could feel the audience feeling it as well.

It keeps you curious on why the hell this guy has a person in his house wearing a dog custom, and your imagination starts wondering if it's really a human or another "thing".

It develops pretty well and you can tell the moment when it all turns south, this is perhaps the part that I didn't enjoy so much. When we all knew what was going on, I felt the acting went a bit too much and not in the best way. In my opinion, it didn't reach that "insane" psychopath status that leaves actors in the best performance lists. Even though there were some good parts in it.

Overall, still one of the best horror flicks I've watched this year, much more interesting than most high budget movies out there. Someone mentioned it was Viljar Bøe 3rd movie, which is insane in my perspective, in a good way.

Good but not so disturbing as you think

[pedroquintaoo · 7/10 · 13 October 2023]

The film "Good Boy" is notable for its incredibly unusual and impactful premise, where a man behaves like a dog, creating a bizarre and unintentionally comical experience in certain scenes. While it may be slow for some viewers, the film's pace gradually becomes darker and more engaging. It offers an interesting critique of dating and modern relationships, delving into psychological analysis of love obsessions and power dynamics. However, it suffers from inconsistent writing, with the protagonist making implausible decisions, and it missed the opportunity to deliver a more impactful and disturbing narrative.

Entertaning but ruined by clichés

[lucas_isjustme · 6/10 · 4 November 2023]

This small thriller tells the story of Sigrid, who meets this mysterious and charming guy on Tinder, only to discover that his dog is a real human being using a costume. Even with her instinct telling her to run away, she starts a relation with this guy.

Despite starting very strong at building the mystery and intrigue, by the third act you will see the same clichés of every thriller and horror movie that really ruin the atmosphere and logic. Once you see this, you can really anticipate how will end, and it ends very stupid.

The good thing is that is a very short movie so I would still recommend it to watch it at least one time.

Intense and creepy guessing game

[Nikkiangel002 · 6/10 · 23 December 2023]

Sigrid meets a tinder date, he's very well dressed and courteous. She turns up very casual.. to say the least. But they hit it off....

So that did set alarm bells ringing... although maybe they do genuinely hit it off presentation aside.

I enjoyed this, well in that tense way. We like to be tormented by watching an uncomfortable film.

Even up til the last scene I was still questioning what was the real motive or reality behind it.... it surely couldn't be "that" simple?!

Without ruining anything... holding my tongue massively... I was waiting on a bigger twist than THEE twist.

Worth a look though...

It was almost a bad movie before it turned out to be a great one

[manuelasaez · 7/10 · 24 December 2023]

I have to admit, the premise instantly piqued my interest, but unique premises in horror aren't really that hard to come by. Even with being the most ridiculed film genre, you'll be hard pressed to find more interesting stories than those found in horror, and this one is no exception. But at one hour and 12 minutes, it's really unfortunate that the potential of the premise wasn't fully realized, although the end result was more than satisfactory.

We have a tale about a girl who meets a man on a dating app, and that man happens to have a pet dog who is a man in a suit. Everything seems pretty "normal" for most of the movie (or as normal as anyone with a pet human dog can be), until things take a turn and everything is flipped upside down. But why is it happening? Why is Frank a dog to begin with? So many unanswered questions, that an hour and some change did not give adequate time to have answered. As such, I was really going to write this movie off as wasted potential, until that ending.....

I've seen some creepy stuff in horror, but that ending sent a shiver down my spine. The films entire runtime was banking on that ending, and for that alone, it went from a forgettable film to a (dare I say) great one that people will be talking about for quite some time. There is no gore, very little violence, and no nudity, but the creepiness scale stays at a 10 throughout almost the entire film, and for that, it deserves at least a watch. True horror fans will surely appreciate it.

Wasted opportunity to make something disturbing

[meinwonderland · 5/10 · 12 February 2024]

Girl meets boy through a dating app only to find he lives with someone who believes himself a dog.

The bizarre premise is what brought me to this movie. It does a good job keeping you entertained and curious. The nature of the plot is unsettling enough to give this movie a chance. The dog costume, though simple, is disturbing, to say the least, as are many of the situations seen throughout the movie. However, I feel the end result is a wasted opportunity. The premise was a perfect recipe to make a disturbing movie. Good Boys has its moments, but in the end, it fails to deliver. The ending was not good.

Interesting But Bizarre

[stevendbeard · 7/10 · 11 September 2023]

I saw Good Boy, starring Gard Lokke-Troll, The Tough Guys; Katrine Lovise Opstad Fredriksen-Hytteterapi, Ikovei Island: An Earthlock Adventure and Amalie Willoch Njaastad-Bring Down the House_tv, Cabin Crazy.

This is an interesting but bizarre little movie. It's made in Norway, it's subtitled and it's written and directed by Viljar Boe. The movie starts off with Gard eating a meal and then taking a bowl of food to his dog. The dog just happens to be a man dressed in a dog costume, barking and acting like a dog. Gard meets Katrine on a dating app and after a nice meeting over coffee, invites her back to his house. That's when the fun and the bizarre begins. Of course, Katrine is shocked at meeting the dog but Gard explains that he is an old friend that identifies as a dog. Gard tells Katrine to just treat him and talk to him as if he were a dog and there won't be any problems. When Katrine gets home and talks to her mother, Amalie, about everything, they both discover-from looking him up-that Gard is rich and probably a little eccentric so Katrine decides that it's no big deal breaker. There are a few twists and turns that explain things more and things are a little more complicated than you might think.

It's rated R for violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 16 minutes.

I enjoyed it enough to buy it on DVD.

Too Good to be True

[thesar-2 · 4/10 · 18 May 2024]

Though I'm not a part of the Furries universe, I always say: "To each their own, as long as no one harms another." Well, I got burned here.

At first, I compared this to Fifty Shades of Grey, but definitely a better movie. Heck, even the main character is a rich, violent, jealous, obsessive, paranoid gorgeous loner named Christian with a fetish. At last, I would say it was better, but not by much.

This is so sad. I LOVED how this movie began. So richly original, intriguing, the sky was the limit. Despite that, I had to Google this movie 30 or so minutes in to make sure I was actually watching a horror movie. (I was pretty sure this was when I randomly selected it from an Amazon Prime recommendation.) It is horror, but it's gonna take a while to get there.

Christian meets Sigrid online, then in person and, slowly but surely, they warm up to each other. After they spend the night together, he finally introduces her to Frank, his "dog." Or a man who pretends to be a dog. Soon Sigrid will learn who's the b in this relationship.

Unfortunately, this movie becomes less and less realistic as it goes along. I mean, psychological holds only work so far. I really didn't buy the victims didn't have AMPLE opportunities to escape. Heck, a man always moving around on his knees has to be so painful after a while, he wouldn't even be able to move around as much as its shown.

This really sucks because, again, I loved the first half, the setup/premise. I love to be wowed with something new in horror or pretty much any cinema. But to botch it up so much like this. Such a pity.

A movie that starts off promising and unique suddenly becomes very predictable. Now that's a feat.

***

Final Thoughts: A character actually says the words "What could possibly go wrong?" They should've known straight from the Pitch Meeting.

It dont trick the viewer

[igrsm · 7/10 · 16 March 2024]

Kudos to actually finishing the movie's storyline. It was a unconventional and explorative movie but, if not good, at least with cohesive narrative.

Sure, here's a 500-character text:

"In the heart of a bustling city, amidst the chaos of traffic and the cacophony of voices, there exists a serene oasis-a small park where time seems to slow down. Here, the gentle rustle of leaves and the distant chirping of birds create a symphony of peace. People from all walks of life find solace in its green embrace, escaping the demands of their daily lives. In this tranquil haven, worries dissolve, and minds find clarity. It's a reminder that amidst life's chaos, moments of serenity await those who seek them."

Derivative and generic.

[johnmichaelandlucy · 3/10 · 17 April 2024]

It clearly takes inspirations from american pyscho and donnie darko, which some scenes clearly alluding to those films. It has some unnecessary dialogue which only serves to make us distracted. The characters are shallow, with Christian being the only one who is minimally compelling.

It's got some repetitive shots and long expositions of places that it makes me think that they were employed just to make the movie longer. It has little soundtrack, which at least to me makes the movie even more tedious.

I do find the central theme of the movie good, but the movie refuses to expand it and instead we're left with the Sigrid boring problem of being stuck with a delusional agressive man.

Wonderfully creative & twisted, blending conventional horror-thriller foundations with something new

[I_Ailurophile · 10/10 · 6 October 2023]

A wildly outrageous premise can make something ordinary feel fresh and new; tried and true foundations can temper the ridiculousness of even the most far-flung idea. It's safe to say that reading the one-line synopsis of Viljar Bøe's 'Good boy' raises a quizzical eyebrow, and one's bewilderment isn't quickly ameliorated as the film presents from the outset as a romantic comedy-drama. One can only assume that a turn will come, but until then the picture is just fabulously curious - or rather, creative, in a way that it so often seems filmmakers in the United States have forgotten. Yet while the space this plays in ultimately proves to cover familiar territory, Bøe's twist on the violence, cruelty, and madness allows this 2022 movie to feel wholly original. I had no idea what I was getting into when I sat to watch, but I could hardly be happier with the end result: 'Good boy' is fantastic!

It's well made in all the ways one hopes of modern features, with high production values. The cinematography is crisp and vivid, the editing is sharp, the sound design is crystal clear, and the filming locations are terrific. Gard Løkke and Katrine Lovise Øpstad Fredriksen give outstanding performances of range, nuance, emotional depth, and intensity that bring the tale to vibrant life, from the sweet, to the strange, to the diabolical - and what can one say of Frank except that, well, he's a very good boy? Bøe illustrates a keen wit as director, orchestrating shots and scenes with a sly, wry playfulness accentuating the lighter moods, and a cold viciousness augmenting the places where the narrative goes. In terms of that narrative it's fair to say that we viewers can guess at where the horror-thriller will end up, yet like the superficial absurdity and the underlying commonness, that predictability does not in any way diminish the ghastliness of the third act. The writing swerves hard from quirky romance into bold, dark, earnest (if quirky) insidiousness, and the ending splits the difference between providing the sinister vibes genre fans crave, and simply being too sickening to actually sit well with us.

Yes, one may also reasonably offer the criticism of the writing that Sigrid makes one specific choice that is too poor to pass muster of our suspension of disbelief. I can't argue much with that criticism. I would, however, firstly just suggest in turn that it's no worse a sin than many other titles have committed; secondly, given the fearful behavior she illustrated before that, perhaps those traits we see borne out at the end were already boring their way into her thoughts. With this point having been considered, I can't think of any other flaw or weakness in 'Good boy.' I sat to watch unsure of what I was getting into, certain only that it would be peculiar. It is that, but swirled together with more conventional flavors that complement each other very nicely. As a matter of personal preference this won't appeal to everyone, but I am utterly delighted with how smart and inventive this film is - inventive, and nefariously grim, not least in some of the themes it touches upon. It's definitely a picture best appreciated by those who are receptive to all the wide, wacky possibilities that the medium generally and the genre particularly have to offer, yet so long as one isn't put off by the very premise, I'm pleased to give 'Good boy' my very high, hearty, enthusiastic recommendation! Bøe has given us something very special, and I can't wait to see what he does next. Two paws up!

Dog life

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 6 February 2023]

No pun intended - sometimes a dog can have a better life than humans. Especially if it is by choice. Now here is where this gets bizarre ... well not just here. But the movie starts off with introducing us to the dog owner and the "dog" itself. Now it is safe to assume that you will be taken aback ... to say the least.

That being said, you have to suspend your disbelief and not overthink the whole thing. It would not make much sense if you do. Like the beginning and end ... where would that all be? What would it all mean? And how would it play out? And then there is the ... swing and a miss thing. Although that is not entirely true ... because it is a swing and hit .. but just a single one! And if like me you won't understand why it stays singular ... well you may have bigger issues with the conclussion of the movie. Not that it is going to be hard to guess where it is leading ... to.