Buddy takes a "killer Barney" premise to its delightfully unhinged conclusion

Casper Kelly’s Buddy is a monster mash-up of children’s programming elements, turning an innocent show into a dark, unhinged horror movie. The story begins like many ’90s children’s shows, featuring a catchy song and a friendly giant host surrounded by kids. Named after its Nickelodeon-orange unicorn, Buddy (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) lives in a colorful home filled with friends, visitors, and talking objects, like a chatty backpack named Strappy.

However, as the show progresses, a child refuses to obey Buddy, leading to a series of disturbing events. The children in the cast, including Freddy (Delaney Quinn), become suspicious of Buddy and his demands. They seek help outside his home, discovering a strange world and encountering more shocking twists. For viewers who grew up watching Barney & Friends, Buddy feels like a nostalgic funhouse mirror, warped into a killing field of cartoonish violence.

Director Casper Kelly, known for TV parodies like "Too Many Cooks," takes a meta-step with Buddy, flipping between the show’s set, a dangerous forest, the real world, and a Backrooms-like abandoned school. The film leans into the campiness of talking furniture and songs, using them to terrify the kids on the show. It references shows from several generations, reflecting a persistent nostalgia for TV that we love as children.

The film's unnerving sequences include Buddy goring a victim with his unicorn horn and his bullying of generations of children. Cinematography captures the TV set and props with accuracy, creating an imaginative world for Buddy. While some bits may last too long, the film’s world is enough to sustain its silly, splattery story. Buddy is an imaginative horror movie about childhood, made for adults who can look back at their own half-forgotten shows and laugh, wondering why they liked these oddly endearing, sometimes alarming programs.