As awards season starts to ramp up and horror fans are keen to see our favorite genre win big, the 9th Annual Astra Film Awards made film history this weekend by recognizing the unconventional star of Good Boy , one of our 25 Best Horror Movies of 2025.
Indy, the adorable pup protagonist of Ben Leonberg's supernatural horror, took home the award for Best Performance in a Horror or Thriller, making him not only the first canine to be nominated for a major film acting award that had previously recognized only human talent, but also winning said award, making further history as the first animal to win a major film acting award.
Indy beat out tough, Oscar-nominated human competition to take home the prestigious award, with Alison Brie (Millie Wilson, Together), Ethan Hawke (The Grabber, Black Phone 2), Sally Hawkins (Laura, Bring Her Back), Sophie Thatcher (Iris, Companion) and Alfie Williams (Spike, 28 Years Later) losing to their furry competitor.
Co-written by Alex Cannon, Leonberg's feature debut follows Indy (Indy), a middle-aged, 35-pound retriever, who, along with his owner Todd, has left city life for a long-vacant family home in the country. But after moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant’s grim death.
Following its sold-out SXSW premiere last year, Good Boy‘s theatrical release was expanded by Independent Film Company and Shudder after the trailer showcasing Indy's talents went viral. In our glowing review of Good Boy, Jordan Hoffman already anointed Indy as the performance of the year, so it's nice to see an official body recognize the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever as the talent he is.
While Indy wasn't in attendance to accept his award in person, director Leonberg did send over an adorable acceptance video that you can watch below, before streaming Good Boy on Shudder. All of us at FANGORIA would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Indy and the Good Boy team.
