All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. As an added bonus, I’ll be doing a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

The Best in Horror 2025-2026 So Far…

#31 – DOLLY (GATOR FACE)
#30 – THINESTRA (SACCHARINE)
#29 – ONSLAUGHT (BEAST OF WAR)
#28 – READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (PENNY LANE IS DEAD)
#27 – IN OUR BLOOD (V/H/S/HALLOWEEN)
#26 – SEND HELP (HEEL)
#25 – THE CARPENTER’S SON (THE BOOK OF SIJJIN AND ILLIYYIN)
#24 – OTHER (YOU ARE NOT ME)
#23 – WHO’S WATCHING (MATCH)
#22 – HOPE (TOUCH ME)
#21 – THEY WILL KILL YOU (MEAT KILLS)
#20 – IT ENDS (ANACORETA)
#19 – TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (PLAY DEAD)
#18 – IRON LUNG (THE DEEP DARK)
#17 – LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY (SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT)
#16 – BUFFET INFINITY (KETCHUP ON WAFFLES)
#15 – DUST BUNNY (THE YETI)
#14 – BUDDY (MONKEY’S MAGIC MERRY GO ROUND)
#13 – INFLUENCERS (PRIMAL DARKNESS)
#12 – KEEPER (THE HOUSE WAS NOT HUNGRY THEN)
#11 – UNDERTONE (MAN FINDS TAPE)
#10 – EXIT 8 (GHOST TRAIN)
#9 – HONEY BUNCH (BONE LAKE)
#8 – RESIDENT EVIL (WE BURY THE DEAD)
#7 – HOKUM (MOTHER OF FLIES)
#6 – EVIL DEAD BURN (BLOOD BARN)
#5 – GOOD BOY (KENNELED)

#5 – GOOD BOY (2025)

Released on October 3, 2025!
Streaming on Hulu and Shudder and What’s Wrong With Your Dog!
Directed by Ben Leonberg.
Written by Alex Cannon, Ben Leonberg.
Check out the trailer here!

GOOD BOY is told from the perspective of Indy (played by a dog named Indy), a loyal pooch who adores his owner Todd (played by Shane Jensen). But Todd has problems. He is dying from what seems to be cancer and decides to head out to his grandpa’s empty cabin in the woods for his final days. Todd’s sister Vera (played by Arielle Friedman) worries about him incessantly, constantly blowing up his phone and checking in on him to make sure he’s ok. But Todd prefers to live out his remaining days in solitude with his dog. Turns out, grandpa’s cabin is inhabited by dark forces. The same evil entity that took out grandpa (played by the godfather of indie horror Larry Fessenden) and his own dog a few years ago. Through the eyes of this innocent and lovable dog named Indy, GOOD BOY shows how one dog tries to protect his owner’s life from impending doom.

While I’ve always been more of a cat person myself, I understand how dog’s can win the hearts of so many. They are loyal to a tee, protective, and seem to have this inherent innocence that you just don’t find in other animals. Sure, it’s awesome when my cat sits next to me while I’m writing. But the way a dog looks up at you makes you understand that for it, you are the absolute center of its world. GOOD BOY shows the powerful relationship between Indy and his owner in the opening minutes, hoping that this montage of how strong this relationship is will help make the viewer invest in this film until the end. One of the thing that director/writer Ben Leonberg and his co-writer Alex Cannon do so well in GOOD BOY is that it shows so much yet tells so little. Yes, we do find out about the cancer and some other key plot points through dialog, but for the most part, there are long silences simply allowing Indy to be Indy around his owner. By keeping things so quiet, this love between owner and dog is highlighted through long looks of confusion and understanding shared between these two soulmates.

Leonberg and Cannon really know how to reel the investment in and do so very well. And once they have that investment, boy-howdy are they going to rip, twist, and squeeze your heart until it bursts. Once alone in the cabin, Indy and his owner are trapped with this evil force. Though Todd is busy feeling sorry for himself, though, Indy is aware of the situation and dead set on protecting his owner at all costs. This isn’t told to us. But you can read it on every long stare, turn of the head, and careful movement of this wonderful little pooch.

I don’t know if subtle CG was used for the dog’s eyes or not, but the Indy’s mannerisms, specifically his eyes, are amazingly emotive. Nevertheless, this dog gives a performance that most human actors would drool for. This is a film that would fall apart if the central pup didn’t have the skills to tell a story. All of the perspective centers on Indy. And the tension and concern this movie brought out of me was almost overwhelming.

See, GOOD BOY has a simple story. A dog tries to protect his owner from death itself. It’s a primal tale. And while there are all kinds of supernatural stuff going on at grandpa’s cabin, rest assured that it is his owner’s death that serves as Indy’s main antagonist. I found myself rooting for some kind of miracle to happen, even though I knew this story was ultimately going to end in heartbreak.

But I can hear you screaming at your screen, screw the cancer dude. Does the dog die? Well, I’m not telling you. All I will say is that this is both a heart-wrenching and heart-warming film that will not leave a single eye dry after viewing.

Speaking of CGI, the effects in GOOD BOY are low fi, but the film occurs mostly in darkened rooms and thick forests. So, even if the effects weren’t top notch, I didn’t notice it. I was damn terrified quite a few times and the jump scares work as the shadows creep loser to this furry little protagonist.

GOOD BOY is one of those films that makes you say, why hasn’t anyone made a film like this before? OK, yes, I know Courage the Cowardly Dog did it first, but this is next level scares paired with an amazing doggy performance. Indy is destined for stardom with his performance in GOOD BOY and that recognition is well-deserved. I guarantee there’ll be a cat version of GOOD BOY (GOOD KITTY?) or a fish version or a gerbil version. Whether this is the start of a new animal horror trend or not, I don’t know. But what I do know is that GOOD BOY is worth seeing and wagging your tail about. It’s going to bring out emotions that you just don’t usually have in horror movies, emotions as pure as a loyal dog’s love for his owner.

Worth Noting – KENNELED (2026)

Released on March 21, 2026!
Streaming on Screambox from Cinescape!
Directed by Jay Burleson.
Written by H.K. Moore.
Check out the trailer here!

Down on his luck artist Walker (Jack Ryan Beckner) needs money pronto-squanto and decides to put up a flyer advertising his services as a dog walker, under the name “Walker Puppy Wrangler.” Soon, Walker gets a call from a client for a job to walk a very special dog. But Walker’s new client isn’t like other dogs. This dog is a man in a dog suit who never breaks the act of being a dog named Doug (Dan Cutts). Freaked out at first, Walker soon comes to appreciate his high paying client even though his girlfriend Kylie (Emily Ferguson) thinks it’s beyond weird. Walker soon gets caught up in the strange world of Doug, a neighborhood full of people acting like animals and their wealthy owners.

GOOD BOY, not the 2025 movie about the dog taking on ghosts haunting his owner, is a 2022 Norwegian film about a girl who finds out the perfect guy she is dating keeps a person dressed as a dog in his home. That was one twisted time at the movies. But surely there’s room in the wide world of horror for more than one film about people dressed like animals. And while there are similarities with GOOD BOY 2022 and KENNELED, the two films would make for one hell of a bent double feature.

The oddity of seeing a person acting like an animal evokes a primal uneasy feeling and that persists throughout KENNELED. Through Walker’s eyes, we are introduced to this strange world slowly and then, suddenly, like Walker as well, you feel trapped in this world of submission, control, and inhumanity. Doug seems like a perfectly playful pup, but he is an unwell man, and the situation Walker stumbles into quickly overwhelms him. In a way, along with Walker, the viewer is groomed to trust the situation Walker is in and gets close until it’s too late for everyone.

I don’t want to give away any more of the plot but KENNELED delves into some very perverse places by the end. Actor Jack Ryan Beckner as Walker plays a likable lead. He’s naive and dense at times but well-meaning and the financial problems he finds himself in are relatable in these trying times. That’s a crucial element to this film because if he doesn’t do his job to pull you in, this story is just too bonkers to buy on its own. But because Walker approaches this situation with an open mind (and in this day and age where people can identify as anything, why wouldn’t he at least try to be empathetic to Doug’s preference to be a dog), you follow him hoping for the best. Hell, who wouldn’t love to live the leisurely, simple life of a dog in a mansion, away from the world’s problems?

But yeah, prepare for the other shoe to drop hard in the latter half of KENNELED. It’s a twisted bit of cinema. There’s not a ton of gore, but the psychological icky you’re going to feel from this one are immeasurable. Recommended for those sick puppies out there. You know who you are.

Once again, feel free to agree, disagree, or how about you play along at home and give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies. It’s October, so let’s talk horror. Come back tomorrow for the next level in the Best in Horror Countdown. Be sure to hit all of the pertinent bells and whistles down below and you’ll never miss a post! Happy Halloween, folks!