Good Boy is in theaters today, and as part of io9’s chat with Ben Leonberg —its director and co-writer, as well as the owner of the film’s canine star, Indy —we asked him about the biggest question animal lovers have when approaching any film featuring an adorable pup: does the dog die? (If you’re a horror fan, you know the odds historically aren’t great.)

We also asked Leonberg about the film’s supernatural frights, and some thematic hints dropped by the vintage horror movies that pop up along the way.

Obviously, if you haven’t seen Good Boy yet, beware of spoilers to follow.

“Horror movies, I think in particular, have trained audiences to expect that dogs frequently don’t make it out of act one,” Leonberg said. “The concept we’re playing on is how there’s that dog in a horro

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