Buddy

Every so often, a film comes along that is so completely committed to its wild idea that it doesn't just work, it raises the bar for creativity. That's what you get with Buddy, a movie so bonkers and yet so perfectly executed it is destined to become a classic!

Directed by Casper Kelly in his feature debut from a script he co-wrote with Jamie King, Buddy (2026) stars Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, and Delaney Quinn, with Keegan-Michael Key voicing the title character. The film is set inside It's Buddy!, a bright, sugary kids' show from 1999 hosted by a towering orange unicorn who teaches life lessons and hands out hugs at the end of every episode. When one kid refuses to play along, the show's cheerful surface starts to crack, and the outside world gets pulled in right along with it.

Buddy takes the cheeriest kids' show mascot you can imagine and asks what he might be hiding behind that constant smile. Then it answers the question with an axe.

Welcome to Buddy's World

Going in, I expected something closer to a creepypasta brought to life; a Channel Zero-style dig into the history of some canceled kids' program, with the movie standing outside the show and slowly investigating what happened to it. Instead, the movie throws you straight into the world of It's Buddy! and never lets you out.

There's no framing device and no true-crime-style unpacking of the past, and letting go of that outside perspective turns out to be exactly what makes the movie work. I wasn't expecting to be this surprised by a structural choice alone. It feels like a feature-length episode of The Twilight Zone, asking you to just accept the reality it presents. And because the film takes its absurd world so seriously, you do.

Bright Colors, Dark Corners

The visual design is one of the movie's biggest strengths. The It's Buddy! world looks exactly like the kind of children's programming it is supposed to be, with bright colors, cartoonish sets, cheerful costumes, and that unmistakable 1990s television aesthetic.

The film even opens boxed into a cramped 4:3 frame, mimicking old television broadcasts, then opens up to full widescreen once the story steps outside the show. It's a small but effective technical decision that marks the line between the two worlds, and signals that you're not just watching a show, you're in it.

The oversaturated color palette sells the nostalgia while making the sinister undercurrent land harder by contrast. Even as Buddy becomes more deranged, the world around him retains that artificial, colorful quality. And when the costume starts to tear and deteriorate to match his turning form, it's both fun to watch and genuinely unsettling.

However, the movie never pushes Buddy into over-the-top territory. He's sinister without being all-encompassing, evil without being too cartoonish. That balance is where so many films with similar concepts (Imaginary comes to mind) completely lose their footing. Buddy knows exactly when to push and when to pull back, and the result is a villain perfectly calibrated to the world around him.

The Kids Are Alright

None of this works if the child actors can't carry it, and every single one of them delivers. Delaney Quinn and the rest of the young cast sell the strange reality of the show, and Madison Skyy Polan as Hannah particularly stands out. Her performance carries real emotional range beyond what you'd expect from a horror movie built around kids.

The adult cast is just as committed. Cristin Milioti and Topher Grace make the outside world feel grounded without pulling the movie away from its bizarre premise. The whole ensemble plays it completely straight. Nobody winks at the camera here, and that matters, because a premise this silly on paper only works if everyone treats it like the real thing.

Just Sinister Enough

This isn't a heavy-gore movie, even with an R rating attached to it. The violence is there, and when it shows up, it earns its place, calibrated exactly right for the film's tone rather than piling on for shock value.

There aren't really many jump scares to speak of either, and the movie certainly doesn't need them. What it runs on instead is dread, a sinister undertone that never fully lets up from start to finish, cut with just enough dark humor to give you room to breathe before it tightens back up again.

There's a current of social commentary running underneath it all too, with a subtle message about kids and screens presenting itself without being heavy-handed or preachy. It shows up late, says what it needs to say quietly, and adds another layer to the film without turning into a lecture.

Is Buddy Your Friend?

Buddy is bonkers, unconventional, imaginative, and somehow exactly as committed as it needs to be. It shouldn't work. But somehow, it completely does.

If you grew up with a version of this kind of show, or if you just want horror that takes real swings instead of playing it safe, this one's for you. Fans of Cabin in the Woods, who like horror that's aware of its own rules, or fans of One Cut of the Dead, who like a movie that pulls off a hard tonal left turn, will find a lot to connect with here too.

This isn't the movie for you if you're only chasing heavy gore, if a story centered on kids isn't your thing, or if you want your horror straightforward and predictable. Buddy earns its scares by breaking the mold instead of following it.

As for rewatchability, I'll definitely be putting this one on every Halloween season from here on out! It's a new favorite, the kind of movie that only gets better on repeat viewings once you already know where it's headed.

Horror.Exchange exists for exactly this kind of discovery: where the movie you didn't see coming ends up sticking around for good. Buddy is definitely one worth keeping the TV on for!