The movie stars award-winning Line of Duty and Boiling Point actor Stephen Graham in a chilling lead position
One fan admitted they needed to pause it received so tense(Image: Signature Entertainment)
A ‘wickedly unusual’ thriller that includes a famend actor has proved difficult viewing for sure audiences.
The Good Boy has not too long ago been added to Prime Video’s streaming catalogue. While it initially obtained a cinema launch in 2025, it seems to have slipped previous many filmgoers. In sure areas, the movie additionally glided by the choice title Heel.
This marks the debut English language manufacturing from Polish director Jan Komasa, whose earlier work contains Corpus Christi. That specific movie secured a nomination for Best International Film on the Oscars, although in the end misplaced out to Parasite.
While The Good Boy is incessantly categorized as horror, some argue it aligns extra intently with the thriller and household drama classes. The synopsis describes the narrative as centring on 19 yr previous hooligan Tommy, who embraces a way of life of medication, events and violence, experiences OK!.
During one night out, whereas on a bender along with his reckless companions, he turns into separated from the group and is seized by an unidentified determine. Despite being well-versed in shelling out violence himself, he finds himself each livid and terrified upon waking to find he is been chained within the basement of an remoted suburban household residence belonging to Chris, his spouse Kathryn and their younger son Jonathan.
The household embarks on a mission to rehabilitate Tommy’s wayward conduct, compelling him to both undergo their unrelenting psychological manipulation or try escape by no matter means crucial. The manufacturing is headlined by the multi-award-winning Liverpool-born actor Stephen Graham, recognised for his earlier work in Peaky Blinders, Adolescence, Boiling Point, Line of Duty and This Is England amongst others.
Graham assumes the menacing position of patriarch Chris, showing alongside Alice and Jack’s Andrea Riseborough and MobLand’s Anson Boon.
Notwithstanding its restricted cinema launch, it proved vastly profitable amongst critics, reaching an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes. One reviewer characterised it as “a sick, twisted nightmare” whereas one other branded it “wickedly strange and sick”.
Meanwhile, Graham’s efficiency has attracted predictable acclaim, being described as “superbly creepy”.
Another critic wrote: ” This is a curious, unsettling picture, with parallels to A Clockwork Orange: in this meeting of monsters.”
One asserted: “Good Boy is relentlessly bleak ‘fun’ and twisty-turny throughout, with Stephen Graham once again excelling in a role about adolescence of a different kind.”
Numerous fans seem to share this sentiment, although one cautioned that some viewers may discover it difficult. They commented: “It was difficult to watch but rewarding in the end. Interesting story told well.”
It is likely to be the best weekend late-night viewing, as one viewer noticed: “This film keeps you guessing from start to finish! The Good Boy is a thoroughly disturbing yet highly enjoyable piece of cinema. It’s rare to see black comedy executed this well, but it completely hits the mark – keeping you laughing even through its darkest, most unsettling moments.”
One individual described it as “a disturbingly relevant masterpiece.”
Another viewer confessed it grew to become overwhelming at factors, remarking: ” I fully enjoyed it. I had to pause it when he was trying to escape, so intense!”
The Good Boy is streaming on Prime Video.
