Casper Kelly

In Buddy (2026), a murderous unicorn inhabits a children’s television world that Kelly has bothered to make convincing. We were amused, and a little unsettled, because the familiar educational habits remain recognisable even with a killer in the programme. Kelly understands why people enjoy the programmes he spoofs, and does not treat that enjoyment as stupidity.

There is a clear progression from the early Cartoon Network promos and shorts to Adult Swim comedy and Too Many Cooks (2014). Kelly wrote and directed that short, turning a sitcom title sequence into horror comedy. Precise editing lets repetition build the joke and the threat together, rather than merely extending the running time. The familiar format means he can start disturbing us without a lengthy explanation.

The move to longer work kept that interest in apparently harmless television. Adult Swim Yule Log (2022) uses fireplace footage as the starting point for horror, and Kelly directed a sequel in 2024. His first theatrical feature, Buddy, moves into children’s programming of the 1990s, with Jamie King sharing the writing. At 95 minutes, though, Buddy exposes how much this approach depends on knowing which jokes deserve another go.

Kelly and King’s interest in the children gives the film something to care about beyond the mascot’s next outrage. Cristin Milioti’s Grace and Delaney Quinn’s Freddy provide the emotional weight that keeps the gore from becoming the only attraction. The more earnest dramatic passages are less secure, asking for changes of feeling that the absurdity around them has not prepared us for. Kelly sustains an odd atmosphere more reliably than he builds fear, so the promise of a murderous unicorn needs that qualification. Start with Too Many Cooks; give Buddy an evening if its peculiar television world appeals, and allow for some jokes making an unnecessary return.