Horror Movie News Report
BUDDY, Casper Kelly’s horror film about a seemingly wholesome children’s television show concealing something darker, is set to open August 28 from Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. Kelly directed the movie and co-wrote it with Jamie King.
In an interview with Rue Morgue, Kelly described the film’s central premise: BUDDY begins inside the televised world of its title character, an orange unicorn voiced by Keegan-Michael Key. Buddy presents himself as a friendly guide offering life lessons, but the show’s carefully controlled reality changes when one of the children refuses to follow its rules.
Kelly said the idea came from wondering why children on television programs are often so obedient compared with real-life kids. He also became interested in the unease created by attempts to present a supposedly perfect world, suggesting that BUDDY explores what might be hidden beneath that polished surface.
The character Buddy was influenced by Barney the Dinosaur, although Kelly emphasized that the film’s fictional program was intended to feel like its own show—one that might have existed during the 1990s. Key helped develop a distinct voice for the character and worked with Kelly on the emotional shifts that reveal cracks in Buddy’s cheerful persona.
According to Kelly, the project began after J.D. Lifshitz of Boulderlight, the company associated with films including BARBARIAN, FRIENDSHIP and WEAPONS, saw Kelly’s viral video TOO MANY COOKS and arranged a meeting. Kelly and King then wrote the script, which was circulated before Low Spark Films responded positively to the material.
The production also required careful casting of the young performers. Kelly said casting agents were instructed to make clear to parents that the project was a horror movie. The children who ultimately auditioned were familiar with the genre and asked detailed questions about whether their performances should resemble heightened children’s television acting or feel more naturalistic.
Delaney Quinn plays the film’s central young survivor, while Key voices Buddy. Michael Shannon provides the voice of Willie the marionette. Kelly said Low Spark Films’ connection to Shannon’s earlier work may have helped bring him aboard, while also describing the actor as someone willing to pursue unusual material.
BUDDY’s visual design draws from PEE-WEE’S PLAYHOUSE, with Kelly working alongside production designer Anna Kathleen and puppet designer Devon Hawkes Ludlow. The production involved puppeteers from New Mexico and Atlanta, as well as the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts community.
Kelly also discussed the film’s shifting aspect ratios, color palettes and sound formats. The movie begins in a 4:3 frame intended to evoke a 1990s children’s show, then changes its visual and audio presentation as the story moves into other worlds. He said the film’s ideas can extend beyond children’s programming to broader authority structures, including families, companies and countries.
