Buddy is a new horror/dark comedy from Too Many Cooks director Casper Kelly. It follows a group of kids stuck in a twisted Barney-esque world, hosted by a mascot named Buddy, an anthropomorphic orange unicorn who hides some dark and deadly secrets.
Thanks to its interesting premise and a great cast that includes Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt and Keegan-Michael Key, this film has been on my radar since its Sundance Film Festival premiere. Having seen it now, I can safely say I was satisfied, even though I have a few gripes that held it back.
One of the film’s biggest strengths is definitely the technical side of things, as the film perfectly nails the vibe of its inspirations, especially with its production design. Along with that, the practical effects here are great. The many creatures who inhabit this strange world are all brought to life by some outstanding puppetry and full body suits and given a lot of personality thanks to a great team of puppeteers and performers. The film also showcases its terrific effects in its gorier moments with lots of over-the-top kill sequences, which are often played for a laugh but are serious and tasteful when they need to be.
I also have to give a lot of praise to the actors here, as they all understood the assignment and did a great job with it. I especially have to give props to Keegan-Michael Key, who provides the voice of Buddy. He understands exactly how characters like Barney would’ve acted and does a good job replicating it while still having his own unique personality to make them stand out, managing to be both menacing and funny at the same time. The kid actors and Patton Oswalt, who voices a backpack named Strappy, also stand out for bringing some of the funniest and most emotional moments to life.
One of the things that kept Buddy from being even better was that some of its interesting ideas just felt too underdeveloped, especially towards the end. There were multiple moments where they would introduce a really cool concept and then it would just get left in the dust as they ran to the next one, which left me not intrigued by the mystery but just feeling disappointed with the botched potential of it. That’s not to say the writing is bad, it’s very clever with how it satirizes tropes of preschool TV and is well paced overall, but I feel like they just needed to either dedicate a little more runtime to their ideas or save a few for the inevitable sequel in order to feel more satisfying.
Overall, while it has its weaker moments that keep me from giving it a higher rating, Buddy is nonetheless a creatively twisted film that perfectly replicates the styles of preschool TV shows like Barney and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. It reminded me a lot of the 2024 Hulu original Mr. Crocket, but where that film had poor pacing and a bland protagonist (despite having a great antagonist), Buddy improves on it with great acting and smart writing. In a world where we’re constantly getting horror projects of “thing for kids turned scary and evil,” it manages to stand out thanks to some clever storytelling, great visuals and an awesome new villain who I think will be remembered and loved by horror fans for a long time.
Rating: 4/5
Buddy is currently playing in theaters – Rated R for “bloody violence, some drug content and language – all involving children.”
Nathaniel Sherwood can be contacted at
nathaniel.sherwood@keene.edu
