Hi! Prior to dating Johnny, I wholeheartedly admit that I was a horror movie snob. I was all about the atmospheric, moody, psychological thriller scary movies and nothing else would do. I didn’t care for silly slashers, couldn’t be bothered with creature horror films, and turned up my nose at anything remotely campy. All of these examples, however, are exactly what Johnny loves and I certainly changed my tune after he took me to school on all of his favorites. I recently saw Buddy with a friend, which is a comedy horror that checked all of the boxes of Johnny’s scary movie must haves. This movie was not great but I don’t think I would have slightly liked it without my further education from Johnny! Let’s discuss in a spoiler free setting, as always, but first I’ll be placing a trigger warning for gory violence and disturbing content. Here we go:

^^^ As always, I have no rights to this video!

It’s Buddy! is a Barney style children’s show featuring a huge orange unicorn named Buddy. At his playhouse it is fun and games, dance parties and songs, and learning lessons like apologizing or being brave. When all of the kids participate and smile, it is an excellent day at Buddy’s. If they don’t comply… not so much. After a little boy refuses to learn a dance routine, Buddy snaps and the remaining playmates are terrified. Freddy, Oliver, and Hannah thought that Buddy loved them. Was he lying this whole time? One thing is for sure, the kids need to get to the real world and fast.

In the real world, we come across a perfectly normal family. A mom named Grace, her husband, and their two sons. There is something bothering Grace, though. Something that feels missing and she can’t shake it. Deep in her being, Grace believes that she has another child out there and takes matters into her own hands by hiring a psychic. The psychic insists on contacting the spirit in the house that is plaguing Grace but it isn’t a pesky ghost or poltergeist at all. It’s Buddy and he needs a new friend.

Grace knows that Buddy is behind her missing child and when he invites her into the television later that night she joins him as the new clubhouse nurse. The kids and Grace only have one chance to get back to the real world and danger lurks at every turn. Buddy is intent on closing this horrific episode out with a song and it is up to them to stop it. Will Grace’s family become whole? Will the other children get to return home too? Watch Buddy to find out!

I feel a bit torn about Buddy because there were parts of it that I liked and parts that dragged and I consider that difficult to do in a barely hour and a half flick. Buddy’s clubhouse was uber fun with nods to Barney and Pee Wee’s Playhouse that I deeply appreciated. What dragged, in my opinion, was the repetitive and relatively tame nature of the film. There were parts that literally felt like we were just watching an off brand Barney episode and that’s a massive bore for a room of adults. In fact, it was almost painful until more major plot points were introduced like Grace and her family.

Buddy did provide laughs and a couple of jump scares but it was overall a very average flick. I actually REALLY liked the plot but I didn’t like the execution of it and there were parts that were just plain weird AF. If you watch Buddy, you will know exactly what I’m talking about! Was this a movie worth seeing? If you’re looking for a very different, semi horror comedy then I guess? I left the theater feeling neither here nor there either way but was definitely glad that it was a short movie!

I am going to rate Buddy with a three out of ten stars. I don’t think this is one to go see in the theaters but it could be a laugh if you are watching at home!

Did you see Buddy? What did you think about it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah