Buddy Review – Casper Kelly’s Mascot Horror Satire

Filmmaker Casper Kelly (V/H/S/Halloween, Adult Swim Yule Log) drops viewers straight into the world of a kids’ show with Buddy, a high-concept horror comedy that dials up the absurdities of kids’ television programming to a lethal degree. Those on board with an experimental structure, tonal shifts, and Kelly’s darkly playful sense of humor will find this raucous yet polarizing midnighter highly entertaining.

Buddy drops viewers straight into an episode of the cuddly mascot’s ’90s style TV show, “It’s Buddy,” an almost perfect amalgam of Barney and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse that sees kids gathered around the friendly orange unicorn host as he guides them through song and lessons. Everything goes swimmingly until one of the kids refuses participate in the latest chore, raising suspicion in cast mate Freddy (Delaney Quinn).

That’s precisely when the episode ends, and another begins, and where the cracks really begin to form in the seemingly wholesome facade. Buddy, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, doesn’t take kindly to those who don’t play by his rules and snuffs out troublemakers with alarming ease. Just when you’re sure you’re caught in a season-long binge of a nightmare series gone awry, Kelly shifts gears, crossing the fourth wall barrier to introduce Grace (Cristin Milioti), a mom losing her grip on reality thanks to a lingering feeling like something is off.

How Grace’s predicament dovetails into the nightmare realm of “It’s Buddy” is part of the fun as Kelly, sharing writing duties with Jamie King, really takes this nostalgic TV experiment off the rails and sends viewers into an imaginative sci-fi slasher.

It’s not just the way that Buddy isn’t afraid to gleefully dispatch its cast, children and puppets included, but also in the increasingly surreal trip down memory lane as Freddy rallies a few allies, including the Dora the Explorer-like Strappy the backpack (Patton Oswalt), to evade Buddy’s clutches. Michael Shannon and Clint Howard steal scenes late in the film as Howdy Doody-like ventriloquist dummy Willie and his lover George, respectively.

If it’s not already clear, Kelly has assembled quite a cast of actors and voice actors committed to his brand of bonkers fun. Just as important are the puppeteers who bring the denizens of “It’s Buddy” to life on screen and sell their utter fear of Buddy to an almost heartrending degree. Buddy is a modest budget effort, yet the production design, creature work, and puppetry are so creative and immaculate that it punches far above its weightclass.

Of course, not all of it works. Shifts in structure and tone can be initially jarring, though ultimately to the benefit of Buddy‘s sheer unpredictability. Certain supporting characters are left stranded without any purpose or closure, on occasion, and its high concept starts to stretch thin just about the moment where Kelly pulls back for a wild finale.

Casper Kelly continues his explorations of pop culture insanity, this time with an engaging and energetic descent into puppet-induced madness. While its satire is never quite that deep, Buddy‘s foremost aim is to entertain. It certainly succeeds at that.

To date, mascot horror tends to bring the murderous mascots into our reality. By bringing viewers into the depths of Buddy’s twisted realm, Kelly is able to really dig into the weirdness of kids’ programming and mine for even more horror madness. Here’s to hoping future features in the niche but growing subgenre follow suit, because Buddy’s imaginative, gory style of mascot horror is a delight.

Buddy made its world premiere at Sundance and is seeking distribution.