BUDDY

As a child who was practically raised by that big purple dinosaur (you know exactly who I’m talking about), I can really appreciate what BUDDY is doing. There’s so much good stuff happening here that really fascinated me. However, my issue is that there’s almost too much happening. The film feels disjointed and chaotic, sometimes to the point where I just felt completely lost on what I was watching. I can appreciate when films leave questions unanswered, and I can’t sit here and criticize BUDDY for leaving certain aspects up to the viewer’s interpretation when I praised BACKROOMS for doing the same thing. However, I think it certainly gets to a point where too much can be left to the audience to decipher.

The titular role of BUDDY is voiced by the one and only Keegan-Michael Key. It strikes me as funny just how grating his voice sounded over the course of the movie. It parallels what our parents heard as we watched our favorite children’s shows, and now, as I am older, I could not bear to sit and listen to the annoying goofy persona he was putting on. Though I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or critique? The film is supported by the incredible performances of the child cast, the standouts being Delaney Quinn as Freddy, Tristan Borders as Oliver, Caleb Williams as Wade, and Madison Polan as Hannah. The comedic timing, fear, and emotional turmoil were brilliant; this is a really great representation of child actors. I also appreciated the balance Cristin Milioti brought to the cast. You certainly feel the isolation these characters are experiencing; it feels very claustrophobic to be so trapped alongside them.

The design elements are without a doubt one of the most spectacular parts of the film: the VHS lens used to represent the episodes of “It’s Buddy,” the design of the puppets, and the colorful sets. Many people hoped that BACKROOMS would have included more of these whimsical elements in the plot, so people who are fans of “dream core” will really appreciate the production design here. The 80’s/90’s costuming also really stood out to me; it all felt very natural to the time period presented. This comes as no surprise due to the other work the director has done, but fans of Adult Swim will gravitate towards this one as well.

I must give immense praise for how original BUDDY is. When it comes to both horror and film in general, it’s really doing something we have yet to see. BUDDY is filled with tension. I would 100% classify it as a horror film (while it may seem weird that I even have to clarify that point, I’ve heard many people try to make the debate that it’s not a horror film – at that point, what are we even doing anymore? This is one of the clearest horror films we’ve seen in recent years). Though it doesn’t necessarily have stereotypical jumpscares, the lurking sense of unease that we see throughout really works. It always had me questioning what was going on, who these people were, and what this world truly was. I don’t think the humor always mixed with this. BUDDY has elements of being a dark comedy, and it felt as if it came out of nowhere. I think the main issue with BUDDY is that I came into the theater with questions, I spent the entire film with questions, and I left the theater with even more questions. Maybe this is an issue of my generation; we so often have every little detail spelled out to us. But my favorite films are ones that are artistic and completely out of reality. David Lynch has been highly influential when it comes to my taste in media, and a large part of that IS because of how films rely on personal interpretation and ideas. As I said in my first paragraph, BUDDY just has a plethora of themes and ideas happening at once. When you don’t take the time to establish them clearly, they can just mash into a tangled web that you really need to sit and take apart. I don’t think BUDDY was meant to be this highly complicated psychological drama – I think it was supposed to be a critique on child exploitation, grooming, the system of Hollywood, child trafficking, and a lot of deep ideas that would work great in this setting. When you put them all together at once, it can just feel like a wall of noise.

I look forward to revisiting BUDDY in a couple years; perhaps I will view it differently on a second watch. I recommend fans of horror go to see BUDDY, but be prepared to do some extra work on what you think the movie might be about. I enjoyed these characters being vessels for serious topics that should be addressed; I just wish we got more information about who they were on a deeper level. I don’t say this often, but I believe BUDDY would benefit greatly from an extra 15-20 minutes being added to the runtime. I look forward to the cult classic following of BUDDY forming.