"Like an off-brand ripoff from the 90s (anyone remember Ricky's Room?), he's another friendly, furry friend to wide-eyed young children, the main star of a TV show we're thrown straight into, neatly styled to feel like we're suddenly transported back to that era (similar to 2024's far darker and far superior Sundance throwback I Saw the TV Glow). The formula is familiar lessons, singing, syllables overpronounced but there's something off."
"The persistence of Buddy, an orange unicorn with undying enthusiasm, is bordering on aggressive as his playful suggestion to dance suddenly devolves into something far more sinister. What if Buddy isn't really our friend after all? For the rare few who have seen 2002's black comedy flop Death to Smoochy, the sight of a Barney-adjacent figure losing his temper might not be a novel surprise, but in Buddy we're not just witnessing a temporary breakdown."
"Writer-director Casper Kelly, whose work has mostly been for Adult Swim, wants us to see him as a bold new horror icon, creating an elaborate universe centered around his power and influence (Buddy himself even turned up to last night's midnight premiere). Is Buddy quite deserving of being so forcefully propelled into the spotlight? Not nearly. The gimmick of Buddy, who stabs and decapitates with sunny disposition intact, is a basic joke that wears off far too quickly."
Buddy centers on an orange unicorn children's-TV mascot whose enthusiastic persona conceals violent impulses. The film recreates a 1990s kids-show aesthetic with overpronounced syllables, musical lessons and bright production design, then subverts it as Buddy escalates from playfulness to stabbing and decapitation while maintaining a sunny disposition. Casper Kelly frames Buddy as a potential horror icon and builds an elaborate universe around the character's influence. The young cast, led by Delaney Quinn, must use limited resources to survive as they discover Buddy's crimes. The central gimmick proves thin, and the premise struggles to sustain a 95-minute feature.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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