New BUDDY Teaser Trailer Introduces an Orange Unicorn Ready to Turn Childhood Into a Horror Show
If creepy kids' entertainment and nightmare-inducing mascots are your thing, then Buddy looks like it's going to be right up your alley.
Director Casper Kelly, the wonderfully twisted mind behind Too Many Cooks and V/H/S/Halloween, is back with another bizarre horror experience, and the newly released teaser trailer offers a quick taste of the madness that's headed our way.
The story centers on Buddy, a cheerful children's television mascot whose bright, friendly personality hides something much darker. While kids sing, dance, and learn lessons alongside their favorite unicorn, the cracks in that colorful world begin to spread when one child refuses to follow the script.
The official synopsis reads: “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.”
The teaser leans into that unsettling contrast between innocent children's programming and full-blown horror. It feels like the type of movie that takes everything comforting about Saturday morning TV and twists it into something completely unhinged.
Cristin Milioti stars as Grace, a suburban mother who unexpectedly gets pulled into Buddy's disturbing world. Delaney Quinn plays Freddy, a courageous young girl who decides to fight back after discovering Buddy's true nature.
The terrifying unicorn is voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, with Topher Grace, Michael Shannon, and Patton Oswalt rounding out the cast.
Kelly co-wrote Buddy with Jamie King (Jessica Jones), and he's thrilled audiences will get to experience the movie on the big screen.
“It’s an honor to be partnering with Roadside Attractions and Saban Films, two companies that have built reputations for championing bold films,” commented Kelly.
“The theatrical experience means so much to me personally, and I made Buddy to be experienced in a theater. I’m thrilled that audiences will get the chance to see the movie in theaters everywhere.”
Saban Films co-presidents Jonathan Saba and Shanan Becker are equally excited about what Kelly has created, saying:
“Casper Kelly is one of the most wildly inventive and audacious filmmakers working today, and Buddy is a testament to his singular genius. He possesses a rare aptitude for taking the wholesome nostalgia of our childhoods and flipping it into a brilliantly unhinged, laugh-out-loud nightmare.”
I've been looking forward to seeing more from this movie ever since it was announced, and this teaser definitely delivers. Between the creepy mascot, the warped children's show setting, and Kelly's unique style of horror, Buddy looks like it could become one of the year's most memorable genre films.
Check out the new teaser trailer below and let us know if you're ready to spend some quality time with Buddy... or if you'd rather keep your childhood memories intact.
The film arrives in theaters on August 28.