Christian (Gard Løkke) lives a pretty quiet life as a millionaire. At the beginning of the new thriller GOOD BOY, we watch as he goes through his placid existence. Christian spends time preparing meals for himself, working out, and jogging around his expansive estate with his trusty dog. Eventually, romance sends a message via Tinder and Christian decides to take a chance on it. Of course, there is the matter of the dog. You see, Christian’s pet is actually just a human in a head-to-toe dog costume. Odd, but hardly dangerous. Or is it? Writer-director Viljar Bøe crafts a fiendish flick about relationships and power dynamics that leaves the viewer chilled to the bone.

Sigrid (Katrine Lovise Øpstad Fredriksen) meets Christian at a local cafe. He is alone and the two really seem to hit it off. Afterwars, Sigrid’s bestie, Aurora (Amalie Willoch Njaastad), grills her about the date. The two discover that Christian is, in fact, the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune. The next date is at Christian’s home where he decides to cook an elegant dinner for his new love interest. In passing Christian has mentioned his dog, and eventually, Sigrid asks to meet the pet. The next thing you know, Christian calls his dog in and in crawls a man, in a dog costume. Understandably shocked, Sigrid leaves and breaks things off. That is until her friend begins to reason with her. So what if he has a friend that wants to be a dog, he has money. right?

This is where GOOD BOY really begins to toy with the audience. We begin to question what we might do if confronted with the same situation. The insidious opening of the film spends a good ten minutes showing us the life that Christian lives with his “pet”. It seems relatively calm and healthy. So by the time Sigrid arrives, we have already been gaslit into thinking that this is a pretty normal relationship that she is becoming a part of.  That is, until the getaway weekend at the family’s country cabin happens.

GOOD BOY is such a cunning little film. Bøe anticipated the average reaction to the absurdity and then toys with it like a lump of clay. We watch as Sigrid slowly allows her reasoning to vanish in favor of true love and security. Speaking of, Fredriksen‘s Segrid is an entirely believable character. In lesser hands, the part would have become a caricature. Here Fredriksen gives Sigrid a doe-eyed innocence and carefree nature that makes her ripe for victimization. Løkke‘s Christian is a chilling creation. With unbridled sensibilities and endless resources, he is the picture of evil.

What will happen to poor Sigrid? Will Christian exploit her visions of happiness for his benefit? Bøe is a smart writer and will keep you questioning things. GOOD BOY will give you that cold damp feeling deep inside and we loved it.

7 Out of 10