Kids’ TV shows that go way off the rails propel a horror subgenre that never seems to grow tiresome, yielding entries as varied as I Saw the TV Glow, Channel Zero‘s Candle Cove season, Nope, The Banana Splits Movie, and Kiersten White’s novel Mister Magic. That long-teased Barney movie has yet to materialize, but we’re extremely excited to welcome Casper Kelly’s Buddy to the fold, especially after watching this jaw-droppingly eerie first teaser.
While mining nostalgia for frights has become a trend lately (looking at you, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Screamboat), Buddy isn’t another attempt to seize on a familiar character in the public domain. This is an original tale that feels both pulled from our world and also broadcast from some nightmare parallel reality.
“Remember BUDDY—the bright orange unicorn and star of that classic childrens’ television show who brought joy and life lessons into your living room?” reads the press release. “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 is co-written and directed by Adult Swim veteran Kelly (Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, Too Many Cooks). He’s also the unhinged mind behind the “Fun Size” candy nightmare that was part of last year’s V/H/S/Halloween.
Buddy stars Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Patton Oswalt, and Michael Shannon, with Topher Grace and Keegan-Michael Key. It hits theaters August 28.
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