‘Buddy’ Review: Keegan-Michael Key Shines in a Messy, Very Weird Horror Comedy

My daughter dragged me to see Buddy, and I only agreed because we made a deal: if she watched E.T., I would go see Buddy with her. After sitting through it, I would like my money back.

I should probably start by admitting that I am not a horror movie person, but Buddy is not really a traditional horror movie anyway. It plays more like a horror comedy, poking fun at the bright, overly cheerful children’s television shows many of us grew up watching. Think Barney & Friends, except the friendly costumed character might actually want to kill you. That sounds like something I could have fun with. Earlier this year, Send Help blended horror and comedy in a way that worked for me, even though it is not normally my genre. Buddy, unfortunately, never completely clicked.

The movie drops us into the world of It’s Buddy!, a seemingly innocent children’s show hosted by an orange unicorn named Buddy. The children sing, dance and learn lessons while Buddy keeps everything running according to plan. Of course, things are much darker than they initially appear, and once the kids begin questioning what is happening around them, the movie starts peeling back the layers of this very strange world.

My biggest problem was that it took me a while to understand exactly what the movie was trying to do. Even after I got there, the story still felt all over the place. There are funny moments, and I definitely chuckled a few times, but the movie keeps throwing ideas at the screen without giving enough explanation for some of them.

I especially wanted more information about Buddy himself and where this monster, demon, whatever we are calling his true form actually came from. I understand that mystery is part of the appeal, and the movie clearly embraces absurdity, but there is a difference between intentionally being weird and leaving me wondering whether I missed an entire scene.

And then there is Buddy's final form. Considering Saban Films is one of the distributors, I could not stop thinking about Power Rangers. Saban, of course, is closely associated with bringing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to American television, and once Buddy transforms, he looks like he could have walked straight onto the show as a monster of the week from the '90s. I do not know whether that was intentional, but once I saw it, I could not unsee it.

One thing that does work is Keegan-Michael Key's voice performance as Buddy. He understands the assignment completely, switching between the overly enthusiastic children's-show host and something far more sinister without losing the comedy.

The child actors are also entertaining and do a lot to keep the movie moving whenever the script starts wandering.

Ultimately, though, the script is where Buddy lost me. Maybe the messiness is intentional. Maybe the confusion and randomness are part of director Casper Kelly's whole approach. That does not necessarily make it satisfying to watch, especially when I kept wanting the movie to slow down and explain some of the mythology it had created.

I will give Buddy credit for its ending, though. After everything the movie puts its characters and the audience, through, I found the conclusion surprisingly satisfying. It gave me enough of a payoff that I did not walk out completely annoyed.

Buddy is going to have an audience. In fact, I can easily imagine horror-comedy fans loving how bizarre, violent and intentionally ridiculous it gets. I am simply not that audience.

My daughter owes me an E.T. screening.

Grade: C