Film Review: BUDDY (2026): This Scarefest Is an Original and Terrifying Film Unlike Any Other

Buddy Review

Buddy (2026) Film Review, a movie directed by Casper Kelly, written by Jamie King and Casper Kelly and starring Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace, Caleb Williams, Bennie Taylor, Eric Bauza, Patton Oswalt, Sergey Zhuravsky, Keegan-Michael Key, Luke Speakman, Cedwan Hooks, Jimmica Collins, Tristan Borders, Phuong Kubacki, Madison Skyy Polan, Devon Hawkes Ludlow, Seamus Flynn and Bryson JonSteele.

Filmmaker Casper Kelly’s new demented over-sized puppet movie, Buddy, is one of the most original horror pictures to grace the silver screen in recent years. This is an unpredictable and terrifying cinematic experience unlike any other. Though one may immediately recall the years when the kids’ TV Show, Barney, was immensely popular, this movie goes beyond tearing apart that show’s banality by digging deeper underneath the surface of themes that are unnerving and frightening to behold in all their grotesque glory.

Buddy stars the young actress, Delaney Quinn, in the type of role that could make her a movie star in the same way that Halloween launched the career of Jamie Lee Curtis almost 50 years ago. Quinn portrays a little girl named Freddy, who moves and grooves with the other children on the “Buddy” television program. Buddy (Sergey Zhuravsky in the suit and the voice of Keegan-Michael Key) is a unicorn, and appears to be a harmless representation of innocence who works alongside fellow large puppet, Betty Bunny (Cedwan Hooks in the suit and the voice of Jimmica Collins), who teaches the kids life lessons in a show that seems to unveil itself in a roughly half-hour format. Betty Bunny is like the Baby Bop character from the Barney kids show.

This film opens with a series of scenes that are set on the show, itself. Viewers immediately become immersed in the show’s sweet and corny nature until Buddy intentionally kills a kid and throws his blood stained book in the garbage, which is soon discovered by the other children. These kids become terrified, and a new child addition to the program, Hannah (a terrific Madison Skyy Polan), starts to become truly immersed in fear because she thought Buddy was the embodiment of goodness. He’s anything but.

Bodies start piling up, including the nurse (Phuong Kubacki), and it becomes clear that Buddy isn’t going to stop unleashing his violence upon the kids until they’re all dead.  We’re soon taken into the real world where we meet Ben (Topher Grace) and his wife, Grace (Cristin Milioti), who believes one of her kids is missing. Ben thinks that Grace is crazy as she tries to recall a child that could have been wiped from their memories. From there, the film picks up speed and goes back and forth between the television show and the real world, unleashing Buddy’s wrath on the characters in a way in which the film will certainly get underneath audience members’ skin in an unconventional and disturbing way.

Buddy is a nightmare come to life, and could be the next big Halloween costume if this film continues taking off the way it has been so far. A unicorn from hell, the film reveals there are two other over-sized puppet characters in the Buddy universe, making a sequel almost inevitable. This movie makes Five Nights at Freddy’s pale in comparison.

Milioti is terrific as the woman searching for her possible third kid throughout a creepy other worldly universe. Grace is also strong in his scenes within the picture as well. Caleb Williams as the young Wade, who meets a gruesome fate, also shines significantly. This film, however, belongs to Delaney Quinn, who runs the gamut of complex emotions during the course of the picture as her character, Freddy, must use her wits to survive the evil Buddy’s clutches. Quinn is one of the most interesting new child actresses and has a personality that is larger than life, making this character the one who has the power to potentially defeat Buddy, once and for all.

Freddy takes the neighborhood mailbox (voice of Eric Bauza) from the television show with her on her journey to try to save it from Buddy’s wrath as well. There is also a character called Strappy, which is a bookbag voiced by the great Patton Oswalt. Buddy has unique and creative ideas that often succeed and rarely, if ever, falter in the context of the dark material that is expertly presented to the audience.

Buddy is, quite simply, one of the most fascinating horror movies ever made. In a year where some horror movies are getting over-hyped, this one truly deserves any and all praise it receives. That’s because of the sheer terror that is presented on-screen in a way that makes the viewer question our society’s ideals and those characters who are chosen to present values to our children. Buddy has a raw edge that makes the scary scenes leap off the screen with horrifying precision, and the movie is all the stronger as a result. It’s sure to become a midnight movie classic.

Rating: 9/10

Leave your thoughts on this Buddy review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons.

Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page.

Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Apple News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, Bluesky, and Threads.