If you were watching Adult Swim in 2014 late at night, you might've seen the bizarre opening titles of a fictional sitcom called "Too Many Cooks," a riff on those classic large-family situational comedies like "Eight is Enough," "Too Close for Comfort," or "Full House." The trippy opening sequence spiraled out to myriad television tropes, such as scifi space shows, Saturday morning cartoons, and eventually became a delirious metacommentary on montage as stalked by a deranged killer. The short managed to both comfort and terrify, perfectly blending the saccharine nature of old sitcoms with a foreboding sense of dread as the killer usurps the beautiful smiles and situations.
Or maybe you recall the 2018 horror/action mindfuck MANDY, directed by Panos Cosmatos and starring Nicolas Cage as a man driven to bloody vengeance after his beloved is murdered by an evil gang of cultists. Rocking the conventional tone of a blood-soaked revenge fantasy is a retro commercial within the film seen on television depicting the Cheddar Goblin, a green beast of evil intent who vomits macaroni-and-cheese all over laughing children.
What do these two nostalgia-soaked descents into madness have in common? Director Casper Kelly, who has now helmed his feature film debut with BUDDY, releasing in theaters August 28, 2026 after making waves at Sundance this January. The film stars Delaney Quinn (IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU) as Freddy, one of several smiling kids dancing along in the children's television show "It's Buddy!"
"Remember BUDDY—the bright orange unicorn and star of that classic children’s television show who brought joy and life lessons into your living room?
Inside the colorful world of "It's Buddy!", a group of children spend their days singing, dancing, and helping Buddy spread happiness. But when one child refuses to play along, Buddy is not pleased and cracks begin to appear in this seemingly perfect world."
BUDDY shows Casper Kelly as a fresh voice in nostalgia horror, blending tropes from children's television, Internet Creepy Pasta, fever dreams, and creature features. Everyone involved, from Quinn to BUDDY voice actor Keegan-Michael Key (KEANU, "Key + Peele'), Patton Oswalt (THE FAN, "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD"), Cristin Milioti (PALM SPRINGS, "The Penguin"), and Topher Grace (PREDATORS, "That 70s Show") are firing on all cylinders to craft a narrative that is as familiar as it is subverted.
The less you know going in to BUDDY, the better. You can divine from the trailers and online discourse, of course, that the veneer of friendship and wholesome lessons peels away to reveal a horror beneath, but the journey toward this revelation is the meat and potatoes of the film. We see both the sweet innocence of the curated television show as well as the muted reality of existence in a world more akin to ours, revealing their connection or lack thereof in a deft interplay of drama versus technicolor dreamscape.
I had the chance to chat with director Casper Kelly about crafting BUDDY, its inspirations, the collaboration of the actors and artisans who created the worlds within, and what franchise he'd like to tackle if given the opportunity.
Long story short, BUDDY is clever, cute, terrifying, and a glimpse of the future of horror storytelling. This inventive commentary on groupthink, nostalgia, the subversion of our memories and the corruption of innocence is exactly the shot in the arm that mascot horror has been needing. Casper Kelly has a fresh, unique vision of what unsettles us rooted in comedic timing and a plumbing of the absurd. This film will most definitely leave an indelible mark on the box office when it releases tomorrow and will engender conversations of what storytelling can be as we move forward through a real world that seems increasingly bizarre and unfamiliar with each passing day. BUDDY capitalizes on that fear that we wrap ourselves in as each day brings new horrors that we have no choice but to adapt alongside. What's old is new and far more terrifying than we remember... or is it our remembrance that has reframed our recollections into forced boxes of sweetness? Do we remember yesterday as "the good old days" because we're terrified of tomorrow?
Decide for yourself when you see BUDDY in theaters on Friday, August 28, 2026. Be sure to sound off below and let us know what you thought of the film and our chat with Casper Kelly, and we'll see you next time.
Take scare,
-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-
