The film stars award-winning Line of Duty and Boiling Point actor Stephen Graham in a chilling lead role
18:20, 24 Jul 2026Updated 20:16, 24 Jul 2026
One fan admitted they had to pause it got so tense(Image: Signature Entertainment)
A ‘wickedly strange’ thriller featuring a renowned actor has proved challenging viewing for certain audiences.
The Good Boy has recently been added to Prime Video’s streaming catalogue. While it initially received a cinema release in 2025, it appears to have slipped past many filmgoers. In certain regions, the film also went by the alternative title Heel.
This marks the debut English language production from Polish director Jan Komasa, whose previous work includes Corpus Christi. That particular film secured a nomination for Best International Film at the Oscars, though ultimately lost out to Parasite.
While The Good Boy is frequently classified as horror, some argue it aligns more closely with the thriller and family drama categories. The synopsis describes the narrative as centring on 19 year old hooligan Tommy, who embraces a lifestyle of drugs, parties and violence, reports OK!.
During one evening out, while on a bender with his reckless companions, he becomes separated from the group and is seized by an unidentified figure. Despite being well-versed in dishing out violence himself, he finds himself both furious and terrified upon waking to discover he’s been chained in the basement of an isolated suburban family residence belonging to Chris, his wife Kathryn and their young son Jonathan.
It has been dubbed ‘sick and twisted'(Image: Signature Entertainment)
The family embarks on a mission to rehabilitate Tommy’s wayward conduct, compelling him to either submit to their unrelenting psychological manipulation or attempt escape by whatever means necessary. The production is headlined by the multi-award-winning Liverpool-born actor Stephen Graham, recognised for his previous work in Peaky Blinders, Adolescence, Boiling Point, Line of Duty and This Is England amongst others.
Graham assumes the menacing role of patriarch Chris, appearing alongside Alice and Jack’s Andrea Riseborough and MobLand’s Anson Boon.
Notwithstanding its restricted cinema release, it proved hugely successful amongst critics, achieving an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One reviewer characterised it as “a sick, twisted nightmare” while another branded it “wickedly strange and sick”.
Meanwhile, Graham’s performance 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.”
The film is now streaming on Prime Video(Image: Signature Entertainment)
Numerous fans appear to share this sentiment, though one cautioned that some viewers might find it challenging. They commented: “It was difficult to watch but rewarding in the end. Interesting story told well.”
It might be the ideal weekend late-night viewing, as one viewer observed: “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 person described it as “a disturbingly relevant masterpiece.”
Another viewer confessed it became overwhelming at points, 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.
