Sep 16, 2026 · 16 min · 9 segments
Buddy may LOOK like an adorable, cuddly unicorn, but don’t let that smile fool you, Theorists. There’s something seriously WRONG with this children’s show, and the deeper we dig into Buddy’s hidden…
Buddy is one of the scariest, most creative horror films in ages.
Why? Because underneath this cute cuddly exterior is a monster that isn't afraid to change reality to get exactly what it wants.
Hello, Internets! Welcome to Film Theory, the show that's reaching out to you through the television.
Come on in! We got so many videos in here! So, I don't know about you guys, but there's a brand new, adorable mascot character that's been popping up all over my feed.
Meet Buddy!
He's an adorable, cuddly unicorn that's been showing up at Comic-Con, on the streets of New York, getting kicked out of Halloween Horror Nights, and...
Wait.
Halloween Horror Nights? This guy? Yeah, if you hadn't heard, this cute mascot is the star of Buddy, a brand new horror film that takes the idea of Barney and mashes it together with Five Nights at Freddy's.
Let's just say that not everything is good in this neighborhood.
Buddy was created and directed by Casper Kelly, who made that viral Adult Swim short from a few years back, Too Many Cooks.
All right, all right, that's enough of that.
Shut it off before it gets stuck in my head whole day.
Yeah, so similar to how Too Many Cooks was a sitcom intro that went off the rails and became a bizarre horror piece, Buddy takes the idea of a nostalgic 90s television series and throws it into the analog horror machine.
See, Buddy isn't what he appears to be, and though everything seems fine when everyone goes along with what he wants, if you question him or just don't do what he wants, well, let's just say you get recast and you leave the show in a body bag.
Now that already is a great premise for a horror series, but Buddy takes it one step further.
No, no, no, no, no.
This is much more than your average run-of-the-mill mascot horror film.
There's some true existential terror here because these new castmates have to come from somewhere.
And by the end of the movie, we realize that Buddy is literally kidnapping children from the real world to join his show.
And worst of all, no one remembers the kids afterwards.
It's like they never even existed, and now they need to escape.
This was one of the most fun and original horror films that I've seen in ages, and shout outs to the writing team here at Theors for putting me onto this one.
It has everything a theorist could possibly want.
Hidden lore, Easter eggs, and a mystery that's left open-ended.
Perfect for theorizing.
Like, what exactly is Buddy? How do his powers work? Is he from another dimension? And most importantly, is the government somehow trying to harness Buddy's power? Put on your dancing shoes, loyal theorists, as we do a jig right into the dark lore of Buddy.
This one gets weird.
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Buddy is one of the scariest, most creative horror films in ages.
Why? Because underneath this cute cuddly exterior is a monster that isn't afraid to change reality to get exactly what it wants.
Hello, Internets! Welcome to Film Theory, the show that's reaching out to you through the television.
Come on in! We got so many videos in here! So, I don't know about you guys, but there's a brand new, adorable mascot character that's been popping up all over my feed.
Meet Buddy!
He's an adorable, cuddly unicorn that's been showing up at Comic-Con, on the streets of New York, getting kicked out of Halloween Horror Nights, and...
Wait.
Halloween Horror Nights? This guy? Yeah, if you hadn't heard, this cute mascot is the star of Buddy, a brand new horror film that takes the idea of Barney and mashes it together with Five Nights at Freddy's.
Let's just say that not everything is good in this neighborhood.
Buddy was created and directed by Casper Kelly, who made that viral Adult Swim short from a few years back, Too Many Cooks.
All right, all right, that's enough of that.
Shut it off before it gets stuck in my head whole day.
Yeah, so similar to how Too Many Cooks was a sitcom intro that went off the rails and became a bizarre horror piece, Buddy takes the idea of a nostalgic 90s television series and throws it into the analog horror machine.
See, Buddy isn't what he appears to be, and though everything seems fine when everyone goes along with what he wants, if you question him or just don't do what he wants, well, let's just say you get recast and you leave the show in a body bag.
Now that already is a great premise for a horror series, but Buddy takes it one step further.
No, no, no, no, no.
This is much more than your average run-of-the-mill mascot horror film.
There's some true existential terror here because these new castmates have to come from somewhere.
And by the end of the movie, we realize that Buddy is literally kidnapping children from the real world to join his show.
And worst of all, no one remembers the kids afterwards.
It's like they never even existed, and now they need to escape.
This was one of the most fun and original horror films that I've seen in ages, and shout outs to the writing team here at Theors for putting me onto this one.
It has everything a theorist could possibly want.
Hidden lore, Easter eggs, and a mystery that's left open-ended.
Perfect for theorizing.
Like, what exactly is Buddy? How do his powers work? Is he from another dimension? And most importantly, is the government somehow trying to harness Buddy's power? Put on your dancing shoes, loyal theorists, as we do a jig right into the dark lore of Buddy.
This one gets weird.
