TRAVERSE CITY — A Traverse City musician’s work will be featured in an upcoming nationwide film release.
According to a Sept. 30 news release, Good Boy, a paranormal horror film with music composed by award-winning teacher and musician Sam Boase-Miller, is set to open in theaters Oct. 3.
The movie is being distributed by Independent Film Company and Shudder.
The film, told from the perspective of Indy, a dog who can see supernatural forces, was shot over three years at a country home outside New York City. Director Ben Leonberg said his goal was to create a haunted house story from an entirely new viewpoint.
“When we set out to make Good Boy, I wanted to create a haunted house movie from an entirely new perspective,” Leonberg said. “That meant inventing a new method of filmmaking: one that allowed us to capture a singular canine performance without the benefit of a hero who can speak.”
The film premiered March 8 at the 2025 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, where it sold out multiple screenings.
Boase-Miller, who graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and is now the coordinator of the audio technology department at Northwestern Michigan College, composed the score using both cello and experimental instruments. Among them is the “Celloscillator,” an eight-string spinning zither he designed and built with his stepfather, Conrad Kaufman.
“Being able to watch the film with the creative team and an audience of hundreds reacting to it in real time made me fall in love with cinema all over again,” Boase-Miller said after the SXSW premiere.
A special screening with a live question-and-answer session with Boase-Miller is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 2 at AMC Cherry Blossom 14 in Traverse City.