Have you ever watched a children’s TV show and wondered what would happen if the character who was supposed to make children happy turned out to be a complete nightmare?
Well, that’s basically what Buddy gives us.
And honestly, this movie makes you look at those colourful children’s shows a little differently.
At first, everything looks innocent. There’s a bright orange unicorn called Buddy, a cheerful clubhouse, children singing songs, and the usual lessons about happiness, friendship and being a good person.
It looks like the kind of show you’d expect children to sit down and enjoy.
But there’s a problem.
Buddy isn’t as friendly as he wants everybody to believe.
The story takes place inside a children’s television programme called It’s Buddy! where children are supposed to sing, play and learn lessons from their beloved unicorn host. But when one child refuses to follow along, the cracks in this supposedly happy world begin to show. Meanwhile, Grace, played by Cristin Milioti, becomes caught up in the disturbing mystery surrounding the show.
And from there, things get seriously creepy.
What I found interesting about Buddy is the contrast between what you see and what is actually happening.
Everything is colourful.
The characters smile.
The music feels cheerful.
But underneath all that happiness, something is terribly wrong.
And that contrast is what makes the horror work.
Because normally, when you watch a horror movie, you expect the scary things to happen in dark places. You expect abandoned houses, creepy forests and strange noises in the middle of the night.
But Buddy takes something associated with childhood innocence and turns it into something frightening.
Imagine watching a children’s show where the character teaching everybody to be happy is the very person you need to escape from.
That’s the disturbing idea behind this movie.
And I think the film understands how unsettling that can be.
Another thing that caught my attention is Buddy himself.
He looks like a character designed to make children laugh. He’s colourful, energetic and supposedly full of wisdom.
But when that cheerful personality starts to disappear, the character becomes much more disturbing.
It’s a reminder that appearances can be deceiving.
Someone can smile at you and still have bad intentions. Something can look harmless without actually being safe.
Of course, it’s a horror movie, so it takes that idea to an extreme.
But the contrast between Buddy’s appearance and his behaviour is a big part of what makes the film memorable.
I also think the movie plays with nostalgia in an interesting way.
Many of us grew up watching children’s television. We remember the colourful sets, the songs, the mascots and the characters who seemed to make everything better.
Those shows were supposed to be safe places for children.
Buddy takes that familiar feeling and twists it into something much darker.
Instead of giving you comfort, it makes you question what’s happening behind the scenes.
And that’s a clever concept.
However, I wouldn’t recommend this movie to someone expecting a normal family film just because it features a colourful unicorn.
This is horror, not children’s entertainment. The movie is rated R and contains bloody violence, including violence involving children.
As for the movie’s deeper message, one thing I took away from it is that we shouldn’t blindly trust something simply because it looks friendly or familiar.
We often judge things by their appearance.
If somebody looks nice, we assume they’re a good person.
If something looks beautiful, we assume it’s good for us.
But appearances don’t always tell the whole story.
Sometimes, we need to pay attention to what is actually happening instead of believing everything we’re shown.
That said, I think the movie’s biggest strength is its unusual concept. Whether every moment works for you will depend on your taste in horror and dark comedy, but the idea of turning a cheerful children’s television world into a nightmare certainly gives it a distinctive identity.
For me, Buddy is the kind of movie that takes a simple idea and pushes it into a very strange direction.
It’s colourful, creepy, darkly funny and deliberately unsettling.
And after watching it, you might think twice before trusting a smiling children’s TV mascot.
Because apparently, even a unicorn can have a dark side.
Sometimes the scariest thing isn’t the monster hiding in the dark. It’s the one smiling at you in broad daylight.
James
