Buddy
September 3rd, 2026
MOVIE: BUDDY
STARRING: CRISTIN MILIOTI, DELANEY QUINN, TOPHER GRACE, KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY, PATTON OSWALT, ERIC BAUZA
DIRECTED BY: CASPER KELLY
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 96 MINUTES
It’s going to be interesting to hear the response from audiences to Casper Kelly’s new horror film, Buddy. I guess that a certain range of viewers will find it both hilarious and inventive, while others will see it as a thin idea with not much else going for it. If you grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and Barney, you will certainly see the inspiration behind it: a lovable giant orange-and-purple unicorn that starts murdering children in his magical wonderland. The result, for me, is a horror film that may be one-note, but injects so much creativity, dark humor, and gnarly kills into its premise that it becomes a slasher film that knows exactly how to chop up your childhood.
The film starts with an opening theme song introducing the various characters on the show: a giant bunny named Betty (Jimmica Collins), a talking backpack named Strappy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), and a collection of happy children—Wade (Caleb Williams), Oliver (Tristan Borders), and Freddy (Delaney Quinn)—who are always ready to learn new lessons from their best friend, Buddy (Keegan-Michael Key). He’s initially a small stuffed unicorn doll, but when the kids say his name, he comes to life as their lovable, cuddly friend. They learn lessons about sharing, cleaning up the house, and saying thank you. Oh, and he will have you killed if you step out of line…
The first half is where Kelly and co-writer Jamie King introduce us to the entire world of Buddy, from the tree house to the playhouse. The second half shifts to the real world, where a mother named Grace (Cristin Milioti) begins experiencing strange panic attacks and soon finds herself sucked into the television. She is brought into Buddy’s world as the new nurse, but by this point, children have gone missing, and precocious Freddy is desperately trying to escape the world of a murderous unicorn. With the help of Grace, the story turns into a messed-up version of The Wizard of Oz, taking Buddy beyond its initial gimmick and into a delightfully maniacal world of surrealism.
The story itself may be limited to a combination of a smart gimmick and turning childhood nostalgia on its head, but Buddy thrives because Kelly and company have such a wildly creative imagination. The sets look ripped straight out of a Barney episode, while the talking couch feels like a demented version of Pee-Wee’s Chairry. Even the VHS-style cinematography looks as if it were pulled directly from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood on Channel 11 PBS.
It’s Kelly’s wildly demented and creative mind that brings Buddy to life. If the creative elements don’t win you over, the insane imagery of a happy unicorn going after little kids certainly might. When the horror genre combines brilliant creativity with the shocking and surreal tropes of a slasher film, we get something that reminds us why there is still so much room for imagination in cinema. Buddy is a warm, demented, and twisted hug of horror fun.
3 STARS
BUDDY IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS.
Written by: Leo Brady
