New Clip for ‘Buddy’ Highlights the Twisted Unicorn Horror Comedy

Children’s television has long harbored a subtly unsettling edge beneath its cheerful facade, a theme that horror filmmakers have explored for decades. This year’s standout Sundance horror comedy, ‘Buddy’, takes that discomfort to new heights with its inventive approach.

‘Buddy’ made its debut in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year before hitting theaters on August 28, courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. Directed by Casper Kelly and co-written with Jamie King, the film reinterprets the aesthetics of beloved shows like ‘Barney’ and ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’ as the backdrop for a chilling survival horror narrative.

Fandango has just released a new clip from the film, providing audiences with a glimpse of the terrified reactions from the young cast as their once-innocent surroundings begin to unravel. This clip perfectly encapsulates the tone that critics have lauded throughout the film, showcasing a jarring clash between saccharine children’s programming and genuine horror.

The story follows a group of children trapped in a surreal, 1990s-style children’s television show titled ‘It’s Buddy!’, hosted by a bright orange, anthropomorphic unicorn with magical abilities. What starts as a cheerful world filled with songs and dance parties quickly descends into darkness when one child, Josh, refuses to join a group dance and mysteriously vanishes from the show.

According to the film’s plot details, Josh’s disappearance triggers a series of increasingly disturbing events, culminating in Freddy, played by Delaney Quinn, discovering his bloodstained book hidden in the trash. From that point, the film escalates into full-blown horror, with Buddy transforming into a violent and demonic figure whenever the children fail to adhere to the show’s cheerful rules.

The cast features Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt, and Clint Howard, alongside young talents Delaney Quinn, Caleb Williams, and Tristan Borders, who portray the trio of children fighting to survive in Buddy’s twisted realm. Patton Oswalt and Eric Bauza also lend their voices to a range of sentient objects populating the show’s set, including a talking backpack named Strappy and various other unsettling characters.

‘Buddy’ currently boasts strong reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising how effectively the film weaponizes the cheerful conventions of children’s entertainment into what one review described as an inventive, hilarious, and creepy descent into pop culture madness. Another reviewer highlighted the film’s practical effects and handmade production quality as a significant strength, noting how refreshing that tactile, physical approach felt compared to more digitally reliant horror releases.

Audience reactions have echoed that praise, with many viewers likening Buddy to a twisted, evil version of Barney the Dinosaur, complete with a corrupted rendition of the character’s signature laugh and cadence. This blend of nostalgia and horror seems to be central to the film’s strong resonance with genre fans since its wider release.

Despite its vibrant, childlike aesthetic, ‘Buddy’ has gained a reputation for its genuinely brutal violence once the horror elements come into play. Buddy himself can unleash lethal force against the children and adults trapped within the show, graphically dispatching cast members who fail to adhere to the rules of his increasingly unstable world.

This commitment to its horror premise, rather than softening the violence for the sake of its cutesy visual style, has become one of the film’s most discussed aspects among genre critics and fans. As ‘Buddy’ continues to generate buzz following its theatrical release, this new clip offers just a glimpse of the unsettling tonal whiplash that has characterized much of the film’s critical reception thus far.

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