When it comes to the unusual, darkly funny and deeply disturbing, “Good Boy” is the kind of treat arthouse horror fans sit up and beg for.
Show host Carolyn Smith-Hillmer takes a deep dive into the unforgettable Norweigan horror thriller Good Boy, written and directed by Viljar Bøe. The only thing more demented and strange than the film’s intriguing premise is the way it twists and turns and delivers one nasty surprise after another—moving from sweetly off-kilter to disturbingly sinister.
– Stephanie (Editor-in-Chief)
SHOW NOTES FROM HOST CAROLYN SMITH-HILLMER:
Editor’s Notes:The bitch is back! Sorry for the impromptu month off I took there. Between illness and travel, your girl was run down and had no voice to talk to you with, my dear. So celebrate with me while I talk to you about the harrowing 2022 film Good Boy.
Good Boy boasts a plot that makes it hard to pass up, especially for the morbidly curious who regularly seek out the weird and subversive. Christian (played by Gard Løkke but giving off major Bill Skarsgård vibes) is what most people would call a real catch. Not only is he tall and handsome, but he’s also a millionaire heir living in a stunning palatial home he inherited from his parents. He also comes off as sweet, shy, and endearingly charming.
He connects with young psychology student Sigrid on a dating app, and the two immediately hit it off — so much so that she follows him home after their first date, and the two enjoy a chemistry-fueled romantic tryst.
The next morning, she unexpectedly meets Christian’s roommate, a man named Frank, who dresses up and constantly acts like a dog.
It’s offputting, so much so that she quickly exits home and tells her roommate about the strange encounter. But instead of supporting Sigrid’s smart instincts to get as far away from Christian as possible, she chastises her for losing such a lucrative catch over something so silly.
Against her better judgment, Sigrid decides to overcome this hurdle, and the couple grows more intimate. Christian then invites Sigrid to a weekend getaway to his cabin home with Frank in tow.
From there, things get exponentially weirder and more menacing, resulting in one hell of a final act.
Spoilers abound in this episode, so make sure you watch before listening unless you want to be spoiled.
SOURCES/INFORMATION
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19705884/?ref_=tt_urv
ABOUT THE SHOW:
The Final Girl on 6th Ave is a weekly show where host, Carolyn Smith-Hillmer, dissects an arthouse/elevated horror film. Each episode includes a detailed play-by-play of the film itself and a subsequent deep dive into the thematic elements and symbolism. Because elevated horror is sometimes viewed within the horror community as pretentious, Carolyn makes sure to use her down-to-earth tone and unique perspective to make these films less intimidating for the casual horror viewer and less ostentatious for the genre lover.
Listen to more episodes on the show’s website here.
The Final Girl on 6th Ave is a bi-weekly podcast where host Carolyn Smith-Hillmer reviews arthouse horror films in a non-pretentious way.
Lars von Tier and Horror
Lars von Trier has been called a visionary, a sadist, and a self‑mythologizing provocateur—sometimes all in the same breath. In this episode, we unpack how an anxious kid from Copenhagen became one of the most controversial figures in world cinema, and why his work looms so large over modern horror and “extreme” art‑film. Focusing on Antichrist, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac, and The House That Jack Built, we explore von Trier’s “Depression Trilogy,” his use of grief, sex, and violence, and the ongoing debates about misogyny, ethics, and audience complicity. Along the way, we bring in film scholarship, critical essays, and production histories to ask a simple but uncomfortable question: when von Trier pushes horror this far, is he revealing something profound about suffering—or just building a house out of pain?
SOURCES/INFORMATION
Biographical and career overviews
“Lars von Trier.” Wikipedia.wikipedia
“Lars von Trier – Simple English Wikipedia.” Simple Wikipedia.wikipedia
“Lars von Trier.” Encyclopaedia Britannica (biography, awards, filmography).britannica
“Lars von Trier filmography.” Wikipedia.wikipedia
“Lars von Trier – IMDb.” IMDb.imdb
“List of awards and nominations received by Lars von Trier.” Wikipedia.wikipedia
Context and Danish film culture
“Lars von Trier and Cultural Liberalism.” Danish Film Institute.dfi
Excerpt from Regional and Global Dimensions of Danish Film Culture and Film Policy (on Dogme 95 and Danish film branding).catalogimages.wiley
Critical profiles and interviews
“Lars von Trier: Behind the Curtain.” The New Yorker (profile on von Trier’s persona and controversies).mubi+1
“Lars von Trier: A Problematic Sort of Ladies’ Man?” NPR radio piece and transcript (Pat Dowell, with Caroline Bainbridge).npr+1
“The Many Faces of Lars von Trier.” BFI feature.bfi
“Lars von Trier: An Overview.” Film Festival Today (career overview).filmfestivaltoday
Horror‑specific and film‑specific sources
“The Immersive Examination of Depression and Grief in ‘Antichrist’ [Unveiling the Mind].” Bloody Disgusting.bloody-disgusting+1
“Antichrist (2009)” – film entry and production details. IMDb and Wikipedia.imdb+1
“The House That Jack Built (2018).” IMDb (plot, reception).imdb
“Manically Macabre: Lars von Trier as Horror Icon.” Horror Obsessive.horrorobsessive
“‘Terrifier 2’ and 9 Other Horror Movies Which Famously Made Audiences Sick.” Collider (section on Antichrist).collider
Scholarly / analytical work
“Lars von Trier – The ‘Sex’pression Ideology.” Academic essay (via Academia.edu PDF).academia
Caroline Bainbridge, The Cinema of Lars von Trier (discussed in NPR and academic contexts).npr+1
Career primers
“Notebook Primer: Lars von Trier.” MUBI Notebook.
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