BUDDY Review

Buddy (Keegan-Michael Key) is an anthropomorphic talking unicorn with magical powers and the host of a 1990s-style children's television program. The show centers around him teaching lessons and playing with four children, in the same vein as something like Barney. But when two of the children, Freddy (Delaney Quinn) and Wade (Caleb Williams), become increasingly suspicious of Buddy and his short temper, they begin planning their escape from this seemingly inescapable world. Meanwhile, in the real world, Grace (Cristin Milioti) is tormented by the absence of someone — or something —that continues to loom over her life.

With Buddy, you have a multidimensional film that is going to work for many groups of people. The film is conceptually brilliant. The screenplay operates as a puzzle you are trying to solve, but not a very difficult one, which works perfectly because it doesn't distract you from being able to feel. The story takes place in multiple different realms and bounces seamlessly between them. Director and co-writer Casper Kelly legitimately bites off a lot here, but he is consistently able to chew it. There is a deep political allegory sprinkled in here, and they manage to do so without sacrificing the film's brisk, entertaining pace.

As a metaphor, this film is open-ended and also free to many interpretations. The character of Buddy, as well as the TV show itself, is an inevitable entity. The kids have no idea who they are, who they used to be, or how they arrived on this show, but they ask no questions. This is their world, and they are subject to the wrath of Buddy. There is a way to look at this through many lenses; organized religion and our current government come to mind relatively quickly. The most direct throughline is child abuse.

First, these children, who are unsupervised, are ripped from their homes, due in part to neglect of some kind. Once they arrive, Buddy wants to suppress growth and independent thought. He wants to keep them young in mindset to feed his predatory behaviors. When a child wants to read a young adult novel rather than participate in a dance party, this sets Buddy off. There are other adult figures inside this world, and they are enablers. It seems like they all know about Buddy's dark side, but choose to sit on this information because that is easier to do. The victims are so traumatized that they struggle to pinpoint where to direct their blame and who to trust. It is a truly vicious cycle, amplified by the symbolic backdrop of a children's television show.

The ensemble is great here, you have some impressive child performances all around, Tristan Borders and Caleb Williams are worth highlighting as youngsters who understand the complex layering required to play a victim. Delaney Quinn is extraordinary. Truly one of the finest child performances I have seen in a long time, she possesses so much gravity and urgency in her angst it is truly a sight to behold from a youngster. Cristin Milioti is also really great, she is long overdue to be in a horror film, and this role perfectly harnesses her charisma. Some unsurprisingly great voice acting from Keegan-Michael Key as the titular Buddy, and you have yourself a really balanced ensemble that carries the weight of this really impactful script on its proverbial shoulders.

The film is also a technical delight. This project was an absolute field day for the production designer, this is the kind of world building that allows them to be the star of the show. The sets are immersive, and constantly impressing more and more. With this and Backrooms (2026), horror is having a great year when it comes to this kind of literal world-building. The edit is clean, crisp and concise, which is really essential for a film with subtext this dark, because it keeps the film entertaining for the masses.

Buddy is a surrealist allegory about the urgency for us to protect our children at all costs, and to properly pinpoint what we need to protect them from. It blends genre and tone, and never shy's away from leaving a sour taste in your mouth. However it doubles as a very entertaining thriller about a big orange monster and a bunch of children trying to escape a television show they are trapped in. This is why independent filmmaking will never die. We will be discussing Buddy for a while.

🍿 SCORE = 83 / 100