Buddy (2026)
Directed by: Casper Kelly
Premise: A little girl (Delaney Quinn) and her friends are trapped on the set of a 1990s children’s television show starring an increasingly erratic magical unicorn named Buddy (voice of Keegan-Michael Key).
What Works: Buddy is a surreal horror picture with a unique approach. The film opens as a 1990s children’s television show that is clearly modeled on Barney & Friends and Pee-wee’s Playhouse. The filmmakers recreate that kind of show very well in the set design, songs, and performances but also in the analog look with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a low-resolution image. What initially seems like an innocent and inane program becomes a horror show. Buddy is revealed to be a control freak who becomes violent whenever the children refuse to take direction. Keegan-Michael Key voices Buddy and it’s a fantastic performance. The children are also quite good. They transition from the kind of mannered acting typical of children’s programming to something more frightened and real. The contrast between the cutesy setting and the violence is both funny and unnerving and the filmmakers nail the tone. For viewers of a certain age, Buddy plays subversively. Adults who grew up watching 1990s children’s television shows are now aware of the abuse that occurred off camera. Buddy plays to that awareness which adds to the creepiness and pierces the nostalgia for that era much more effectively than the Five Nights at Freddy’s movies.
What Doesn’t: Buddy switches its style halfway through, pivoting to the real world where a mother is haunted by hints of a daughter she and her family cannot remember. Cristin Milioti is very good as the mother but the film does not do enough with her character. In the first half, Buddy wastes no time getting to the violence. That reveal occurs a little too fast. It is obvious right away that the kids are in danger. The filmmakers do not allow for ambiguity nor do they draw out the tension leading up to the revelation. The supernatural aspects of the premise are left unexplained. Fantasy horror does not have to explain everything but Buddy has no motive or backstory and the filmmakers leave some of the film’s potential on the table. There’s no exploration of what Buddy is and why he appears as this 1990s television show. An explanation could have deepened some of the movie’s themes. The lack of context limits the film’s subversion. This lampoon of 1990s nostalgia is ultimately shallow because there’s not much to it beyond the initial premise.
Bottom Line: Buddy will primarily appeal to viewers who grew up in the 1990s. The first half is stronger than the second half but it’s unique, impressively crafted, and wickedly funny.
Episode: #1115 (September 6, 2026)