Full Transcript for Buddy (2026)

programming, it feels super committed to recreating the texture of it. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:39.839 So the colors, the songs, the performances, the cheap looking stuff, the forced positivity. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:53.680 And what really sold me, and I don't know about you, Sean, but I was invested in and surprised by how patiently the movie lets that sweetness become threatening. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:55.439 I'm 100% with you. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:06.800 It's definitely it there's a lot to be said with how this movie aesthetically gets you into the realm of feeling like you're in like a 90s kids' TV show. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:08.319 It definitely captures that. 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:12.240 There's a lot to talk about with that just as a whole for this episode. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:16.079 So I'm sure we're gonna circle back to that even more throughout the episode. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:31.279 But yes, and I do think it also does a good job at really just bringing you from that children's TV show vibe and just slowly trying to integrate something that's a lot more sinister. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:39.519 You get the unease that something is very wrong, which but it's subtle at first, and then it slowly starts to pick up throughout the movie. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.319 It's this is probably the dominant feeling in the movie. 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:43.600 Everything is too happy. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:48.399 The colors, like you said, the smiles, the songs, that forced positivity, all of that stuff. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:52.160 It's the kind of manufactured positivity that eventually becomes sinister. 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:58.560 So you start watching Buddy's friendliness differently because you know that there's something underneath it. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:11.759 Yeah, and I love that because you think about the movie Child's Play, like not the original Child's Play with Chucky, but the reboot that we got in 2019 with Mark Hamill voicing Buddy. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:20.240 The entire time I was watching this movie, I had Mark Hamill's buddy song, You Are My Buddy, until the end. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:32.000 So I'm like hearing both of these jingles in my head the entire time I experienced this, but this buddy, this buddy is not AI tech gone wrong. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.439 He doesn't suddenly flip a switch and then become scary. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:43.759 You have this really insidious moment of hearing irritation that's hidden under that friendliness that you alluded to, Sean. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:08:00.879 His affection feels controlling, and the same voice that has meant to comfort children makes you deeply uncomfortable, which is why I think the mascot horror angle of this is an inversion that makes it a part of why it works for me. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:07.759 Because, okay, the last mascot horror we saw, I know that Banana Split's got a movie, but Five Nights of Freddy's. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:08.399 Yeah. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:10.079 It doesn't do that for me. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:10.639 Yeah. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:12.560 It's the nostalgia for sure. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:17.680 Like you said, there's just something almost comforting about the visual language in this movie. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:27.920 If you did grow up with Barney and Friends, Sesame Street, Pee-wee's Playhouse, like any of those shows, you recognize that kind of vibe, that vocabulary immediately. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:35.039 But Buddy essentially takes that childhood comfort, that blanket of childhood comfort, and just soaks it in blood. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:35.840 You know what I mean? 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 That's a big part of I think this movie's appeal for sure. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:45.519 And there's just this reoccurring feeling throughout the movie of they actually went there. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:46.320 You know what I mean? 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:50.320 There's a couple moments where this movie you're just like, wow, they actually went there. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.000 The movie keeps escalating the premise rather than letting you settle into it. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:02.799 And I think between the gore and the increasingly bizarre behavior, it just makes you wonder how far Casper Kelly is willing to take the joke of this movie, you know? 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:17.919 And speaking of the joke of this movie, you gotta give it up for Keegan Michael Key because whoo, he is magical as the voice of Buddy, and it's so hard not to laugh right along with him or at him. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:30.639 But what I love is this duality where okay, yes, this is a surreal horror comedy, it'd be so easy to just laugh the entire time, but no, that this thing is fucked up. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:36.559 Like I was reading emotion from a giant orange unicorn constantly. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:49.519 There was frustration, neediness, jealousy, affection, anger, and that is a massive reason why the whole premise of this movie is beyond the initial joke of the movie. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.279 Oh, yeah, 100%. 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.960 There is so much more complexity to this. 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:58.879 There's a little bit of genuine sadness, I think, is another way to put it too. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:11.360 I think underneath the comedy and the carnage, there it there are surprisingly uncomfortable ideas of loneliness, abandonment, family conformity, and really just like the need to be loved. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:12.159 You know what I mean? 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:20.399 That's where the movie can briefly stop being that haha, evil unicorn type thing and become something a little bit more emotionally uncomfortable. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:33.679 I want to highlight that this Calvin show that takes place in this movie, the credits of it that roll at the end of each episode of the children's show, copywritten in 1999. 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:36.799 And you

know what else was released in 1999? 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:37.279 What? 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.080 Britney Spears Baby One More Time. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:46.559 And of course, a lyric in that song is my loneliness is killing me. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:47.440 Oh my god. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:52.480 So, Sean, I feel like Buddy's just getting it from all angles. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:53.519 It's true. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.120 It's 1999. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.039 There's a lot of loneliness going on. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:00.080 There's loneliness, there's sadness. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.240 This movie is a fucking bummer. 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:04.879 It is funny, but it's also a bummer. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:12.399 It is laughable, but it's also violent, it's weird, it's super mean, it's occasionally disgusting. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:17.120 And to your point, John, it was so much sadder than I was prepared for. 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:22.480 And I love how this movie transitions between its tones. 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:34.320 It can go from something that's genuinely upsetting to a ridiculous children's song without giving you time to recalibrate, but also without making it so heavy-handed, it feels like whiplash. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:35.519 For sure. 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:44.799 I also think just surprisingly, this movie gets, and we mentioned it earlier, but it's just so surprising how dark it actually gets as well. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:51.279 Going in, you might expect this goofy killer mascot, children's TV horror nonsense. 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:59.919 And I think what surprised me is how willing Buddy is to move beyond the joke and become genuinely violent and uncomfortable. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:04.720 It's how much the movie relies on, I don't know, it just it's crazy. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:18.320 I think the movie balances a lot, but it's also relying heavily on this absurdity instead of genuine scares, but it definitely integrates this really violent kind of undertone, which I think is very interesting. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:23.440 I guess it's hard to put to words, but the contrast between the two that are happening at the same time. 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:24.240 You know what I mean? 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:32.879 There's so much positivity happening on the screen, but at the same time, there's violence happening, and at the same time, they're talking about violence in a very positive way. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:39.919 Yeah, it's super fucking cheery, and that cheery is exactly what makes the horror feel more horrific. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:42.960 It's a wild juxtaposition for sure. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:13:04.559 And they lean in on the commitment and fidelity to a children's TV show, but not just from a cheery place, not just from the warm, fuzzy memories that we have when watching children's TV, but more like this is an environment in which you are conditioning children, you're conditioning them for compliance and obedience. 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:16.240 And again, there's the cheerfulness of that, but there's also this insidious and sinister subtext of why are they being conditioned? 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:20.720 Obviously, as millennials, we grow up with this stuff, we're no strangers to this. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:31.840 Generations of children have grown up with some sort of media that influences our life lessons, and we learn and adopt behaviors from that all the way into adulthood. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:51.440 But there is something particularly unsettling about this angle to it, and it's because this movie also underscores that with really bloody, really grotesque imagery and a lot of emotional consequence that's attached to what's actually happening outside of just a big fluffy fucking unicorn. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:52.639 Yeah, 100%. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:56.480 And I think that's just where the movie really thrives. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:04.320 It's that, it's the fact that what we were saying earlier that Buddy himself is more complicated than anyone really would have expected in a movie like this. 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:08.799 It's not just this evil mascot that kills people and things like that. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:22.480 There's just really that uncomfortable element to Buddy's need to be loved and his obsession with being everyone's friend, and I think that just makes some of you know the behaviors in the movie feel more disturbing than if he were just this mindless killer. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:29.279 Buddy is nothing if not the biggest people pleaser and also the biggest person who needs to be pleased. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.159 And those two things don't go together very well. 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:37.759 But I do deeply appreciate how hard this movie commits to the bit. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:45.440 It commits to the children's TV show world instead of just winking at you the entire time about how stupid everything is. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:54.240 And Buddy himself is wonderfully expressive, despite being, again, a giant fluffy orange mascot. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:00.960 You can tell what he's feeling without needing the movie to radically change his appearance, although that happens too. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:02.240 I know for sure. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:04.960 I mean, it's all in the voice work at that point. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:06.799 Like there's some movements that happen, right? 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:16.799 The Barney movements, if you can picture it in your head, but it's really the voice and the way that you're projecting and the things that you're saying and how you're saying it that I really think makes Buddy come to life. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:29.519 And that's exactly why Key is so essential, because he has that buddy voice that is recognizably the same buddy, regardless of what flavor of Buddy you're getting. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:36.000 If he's adorable, if he's irritated, if he's

pathetic, if he is like horrific and monstrous. 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:43.840 I cannot express to you enough, Sean, how much range I feel in Key's performance voicing Buddy. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:45.440 It's very, very well done. 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:50.799 I don't even think you'd have to, if you haven't watched it by now, you have to watch it to really understand. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:57.600 But yes, 100% that it's just really well done to bring the character to life that I think makes the movie what it is. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:00.159 Because if you don't have that, you don't have anything. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:01.919 It just falls apart for sure. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:14.799 And I think one of the things that was kind of disappointing in the movie was there were parts, there were stretches where the movie feels like it's building towards something really wild, maybe followed by moments where the momentum kind of slows down. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:28.000 The pacing in certain areas of the film feels a little bit uneven, I would say, depending on your tolerance for surrealism, that that can either be part of the charm or make the movie feel longer than it needs to be. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:35.360 Because for me, I liked some of that charm, but then there were also moments where I felt like this could have also been just a short film. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.399 I am so sure that we're gonna talk about the same exact part of the movie. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.200 And I think for me, I'm right there with you. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:57.679 There is a component of this movie that's for as much as I love that it commits to the bit, it committed to the wrong bit in some moments, there's already so much visual and tonal weirdness in this movie that is it it's inherent to it. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.840 I don't think it needs the extra detour that it gives us. 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:03.279 That's just me. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:09.119 It feels like it it strains a little bit more than it really should. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:17.039 And from what I recall, there's even there was even debate about that scene even not making it to the final cut of the movie. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:22.960 So I think my my frustrations with this are really only localized to that one, that one specific part. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:29.920 Yeah, because the stuff that I love substantially outweighs the one moment that gave me. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:30.960 God, yeah. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.039 Okay, I could see that for sure. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:41.839 And I think also this movie, the comedy aspect, the absurdity of this movie is maybe not going to work for everyone, right? 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:46.160 This is probably the biggest your mileage may vary type of scenario. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:55.359 If you click with the movie's particularly brand of absurdity, grotesque humor, you're probably going to have a blast with this film. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:03.039 But if you don't, if you don't like stuff like that, some scenes may feel like they're trying hard, like really hard to get a reaction. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:10.960 I think this is most certainly for the millennials and all the kids that grew up with shows like Barney and all of that. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:19.759 I think this, if you like that kind of absurd horror, different than the norm, just a little bit goofy but dark at the same time, this movie is gonna be for you. 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:24.559 I I don't know that if you don't like that stuff, that you will have a good time watching this movie. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:31.200 Yeah, if your inner child is screaming for something a little fucked up, then this is such a great move for you. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:40.960 And if you want your horror comedy cut with a little bit of the savory like brutality, a hundred percent, this is for you. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:48.160 I actually and I was really just trying to consider here for a moment who could this who could not watch this. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:53.359 I feel like this is this movie is so palatable, Sean, and maybe that's a weird thing to say. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.160 I feel like just about anybody could watch this movie. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:04.160 Yeah, this is a movie that even your non-horror friends could watch, and they would feel like they're watching something really intense, even though it's pretty chill. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:05.119 Yeah, for sure. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:06.160 I definitely agree. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.400 Anyone can sit down and watch this movie. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:13.359 It's just a matter of if you actually buy into it or you actually enjoy it or not. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:14.000 That's the thing. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:16.720 Now I can't wait to see how your score actually shakes out here. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:20.319 But before we actually rate the movie, Sean, how would you describe the gore score? 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:30.640 I describe the gore as surprisingly graphic, but presented in a very playful, absurd way rather than as relentlessly grim horror. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:35.440 The gore in this movie is actually pretty damn gnarly in some parts. 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:43.359 It's not necessarily the most brutal thing I've ever seen, but there's a surprising amount of blood and some really nasty kills. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:48.319 And I think what's interesting is that the gore is almost as absurd as everything else in the movie. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:57.440 So you're watching something that looks like it escaped from a 90s children's television show, and then suddenly someone's getting absolutely destroyed. 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:05.839 And so you're simultaneously going, Oh shit, that's gross, and laughing at how completely ridiculous this whole thing is. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:10.319 It really just earns itself a I would say a solid medium gore score. 00:20:10.400

--> 00:20:15.200 I think there if it was a little more serious in tone, it would probably be a little bit higher. 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:21.599 But I think because of how absurd it leans into the gore, it levels it down just a tad and makes it a little more palatable. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:23.359 And what about the animal report? 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:27.039 Fortunately, this movie is safe for all of us animal lovers out here. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:41.200 I think there is violence against some of the uh puppet and mascot characters that may depict some type of animal, but the good news is that Casper Kelly specifically said that he didn't want scenes involving animal or dogs being hurt to push viewers away. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:43.440 So we gotta thank you for that. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:46.160 Thank you for doing what Halloween the game couldn't. 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:48.720 Now let's go ahead and get into our ratings. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:52.720 Buddy from 2026, was it a hack or slash? 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.400 And trying to think I want to kick this off. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:55.279 Damn. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.039 I really love this movie. 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:01.680 This movie is wildly fun, it's bleak, it's brutal. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:13.759 It is also, I think it in those three words are such a great way to explain the overall foundation of this slash because it takes an inherently silly premise. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:23.039 Silly, goofy guy premise, and it understands that committing harder is funnier and scarier than going halfway on it. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:30.319 When you take the audacity to commit compared with Keegamiko Key, it is just phenomenal. 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:32.880 It's a children's show world that feels convincing. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:36.480 The horror gets so much nastier than I could have expected. 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:43.200 Now I I'm walking away wanting to see what a blues clues treatment of this could look like. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:51.759 The joke consistently landed for me, and most importantly, I actually cared when the movie started taking things away from the characters that are in it. 00:21:55.359 --> 00:22:00.559 Good luck with child actors, but I felt like these kids absolutely Nailed in. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.039 Now, of course, there are choices I don't love. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:04.000 We spoke about that. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:08.720 But none of them undo what this movie manages to get right. 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:24.640 And while I came for a murderous and homicidal mascot in corrupted children's television, I stayed for and did not expect to find a feeling of being genuinely bummed about what these characters had to go through. 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:28.400 How can you make me laugh and also make me care so much? 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:34.480 And that emotional commitment is what pushes us far beyond a gimmick for me. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:36.720 So a hundred

percent, this is a slash. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:37.440 I agree. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:39.039 I I think the movie is really fun. 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:40.640 I'll make it very short and sweet. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:23:02.400 Buddy is like taking all of the nostalgia of growing up with 90s kids TV, Barney, blues clues, all of that, and that and aggressively cheerful, brightly colored world of childhood, and then feeding it a steady diet of absurdity, darkness, and really just enough blood to make you question what the hell you are watching. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:15.200 And the movie absolutely nails that nostalgic children's show vibe, but it leans so heavily into the absurd that it becomes increasingly bizarre, dark, and somehow still pretty darn funny throughout the whole runtime. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.400 There's so much dark humor riddled in there. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:36.319 And yeah, it does suffer from some pacing issues about halfway into the movie, and it can feel like it should have been maybe a short film at times, but still, there's enough creativity, humor, and sheer weirdness here to make Buddy a pretty solid horror comedy that I could easily see becoming a cult following over time. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.680 For sure, this becomes a cult classic at some point in the future. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:43.440 And I gotta say, I had a pretty good time watching this one. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:46.640 So, you know, hug it out and sing, I love Buddy. 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:50.079 Yes, I do, because this one is definitely a slash. 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:57.599 Oh, that Buddy from 2026 has earned a universal slash, and there is so much more to say over in the spoiler zone. 00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:01.440 So if you haven't seen it yet, now's your chance to pause the episode and go check it out. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:04.319 And when we get back, we'll dive into these spoilers together. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:05.920 We'll see you in a bit. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:13.920 This episode of Hacker Slash is brought to you by Happy Time Television. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:20.240 At Happy Time, we're bringing back the magic of children's television with Buddy, your new best friend. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:24.480 There's always a hug, a song, and a fun new adventure waiting for you. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:28.720 And don't forget Bobby and Benny, your other favorite happy time friends. 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:33.440 They love to laugh, play, and make sure nobody ever leaves the fun. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:34.799 That's right, parents. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:39.599 Once your little one enters a happy time program, they become part of the family forever. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:48.720 No more bad influences, no more scary outside world, no more pesky channel changing, just smiles, friendship, and mandatory fun. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:53.279 So grab your kids, turn on the television, and let Buddy bring them inside. 00:24:53.599 --> 00:25:00.319 Happy Time

Television, where every child gets a starring role and every show has a captive audience. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:08.880 Happy Time Television is not responsible for missing children, missing parents, unexplained disappearances, or children who remain inside their television after the program ends. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:14.079 Happy time television, stay happy, stay friendly, stay tuned. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:18.319 Happy time, everybody's doing fine. 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:20.880 Grab a hand and come inside. 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:23.279 There's no need to run and hide. 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:25.759 Buddy's here and Bobby too. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:28.079 Fanny's waiting just for you. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:33.759 Laugh and singing, don't be scared, cause happy time means you're staying there. 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:36.720 Welcome back, folks. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:41.759 You're now entering the spoiler zone for Buddy from 2026, which has earned a Universal Slash. 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:45.839 There's so much here to unpack and so many laughs along the way. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:48.640 But before we get there, let's go through that sleigh-by-slay. 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:56.559 Yeah, the kills in Buddy are as creative, exaggerated, cartoonishly brutal, and often played for laughs. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:02.640 Like they're as all of the rest of the themes in this movie, and I think they fit the movie's overall philosophy, right? 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:08.799 Take something that looks innocent and child-friendly, then push it into increasingly absurd territory. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:12.960 The kills aren't necessarily about like building the dread. 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:17.920 They're often just about the shock of seeing just how far the movie is willing to go. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:32.480 And I think it with the practical effects, the creature feel, like it's the physicality of Buddy and the violence gives it this tangible old school horror comedy quality rather than feeling completely sanitized in CGI. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:35.759 And it just makes everything look really good. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:42.559 So like the you end up getting stuff that like where the kills range from bloody and brutal to completely ridiculous. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:48.480 I I there's a lot to choose from, but I gotta know, Chris, what was your favorite kill? 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:50.319 I can't even stop at one. 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:52.160 There was so much in here. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:59.680 I think if I had to really break it down, the kills that I hated the most were Grace and Wade. 00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:00.160 Sure. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:08.720 The funniest kill, buddy, and the kill that I found the most gratifying because fuck that kid, Oliver. 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:10.720 Yeah, Oliver, for sure. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:12.880 Oh man, it was so funny, man. 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:18.319 Oliver's death of just being like, he's like, come in for a

hug, and he's like, it's not gonna hurt, right? 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:20.640 And he's like, no, and then he just eats him. 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:22.319 He just straight up eats the kid. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:24.799 That's the level of absurdity that we're talking about. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.079 We've seen a lot of kills. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:36.400 We saw Wade getting impaled by the unicorn horn that Buddy has, but for Oliver to be actually eaten alive, where is that going? 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:37.200 You know what I mean? 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:41.839 He has a big bottom stomach, I guess, but that whole ass body is in that guy. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:42.319 I don't know. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:43.359 It's why it's okay. 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:46.720 He has room to spare since he shaved off to that point. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:48.079 Yeah, for sure. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:49.119 For sure. 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:55.920 I, on the other hand, for some reason just loved the back-to-back mailman deaths that we got. 00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:03.599 First, mailman Miles literally getting just shanked to death, like literally stabbed so brutally was wild. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:10.160 So when that kill happened, because like before that, we had Josh who got killed off-screen, like we knew something happened. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:14.880 We heard the struggle, we saw the blood on the book, things started to not feel okay. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:20.720 And then I know like we had nurse Nancy, Tommy, the train getting his face ripped off, things like that. 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:25.039 But mailman Miles getting brutally stabbed to death was a level up. 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:25.839 It was. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:29.680 Man, even you mentioned the train getting his face ripped off. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:38.480 The absolute brutality of murder, not only just of the humans, but of the inanimate objects that are slightly animated in this world. 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:47.680 And then we even got Betty Bunny's brutal death, and was also because I guess a human, perceivably a human in a costume, all the blood there. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:48.880 That shit was fucked up. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:54.720 Sean, before we even got to the mailman, we had the nurse being killed. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:55.599 I know. 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:04.640 What a funny moment that was because Freddie and Wade are peering in, thinking, okay, maybe everything's actually fine. 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:10.160 They walk away, and then Strappy says, Yeah, look how tightly he's hugging her neck. 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:13.519 Which is what a fucking funny thing to say. 00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:14.079 Right. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:19.200 They witness this murder, she's dead, annihilated, getting wrecked. 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:26.400 And then it cuts back to the kids singing a song with Betty Bunny about cleaning. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.400 It was just absolutely hilarious. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:35.519 Witness this horrific thing, and then bam, Hannah, Oliver, and Betty are just singing. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:39.759 And Bud steps in saying, Don't go in the clubhouse. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:41.119 I've just mopped. 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:43.599 This movie tickled me in all the right ways. 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.599 Yeah, that's what we're talking about here. 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:51.920 We see some wild, horrific stuff, but in such a weird environment that you're not used to seeing this kind of stuff in. 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:57.039 And then it just bounces right back to the happy-go-lucky singing stuff, the cleaning song. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:00.799 We think of the Barney cleaning song, clean up everybody everywhere. 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:02.160 It was a whole thing, man. 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:04.880 It just brings you back, and it's just wild to think about. 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:13.680 But yeah, though that nurse Nancy was a wild kill, strangled and smashed her face smashed against the desk a few times just for good measure. 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:15.359 Like, dang, that's wild. 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:15.920 Yeah. 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:20.319 Nancy's death, and again, I know I mentioned already, but Wade. 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:24.480 I was so gutted when Wade died. 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:27.359 I thought, for sure, move over Freddie. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:29.519 Give me a final boy, make him Wade. 00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:33.279 He had so much grit, he had so much fight. 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:41.839 He wasn't quick to believe everything, but once he had some evidence in front of him, he was about it, and he was scrappy, which I absolutely loved. 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:50.880 Even when Freddy lacks the fortitude to actually use the aerosol can and the lighter, Wade picks it up and does it himself. 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:52.559 He was a man with the plan. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:31:03.359 And the second time that I watched this movie, I just thought, damn, kid, couldn't you have just climbed over one set of trash cans instead of just trying to make it up without the trash can there now? 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:05.359 It was absolutely devastating. 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:14.160 Yeah, it was unfortunate for sure, but still a pretty solid kill getting impaled through the fence, and then we get to see Buddy's eye poking through the fence. 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:25.119 And the way that they filmed it, so his back up against the fence, Buddy charging in, and the camera is tracking from left to right on both sides of the fence. 00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:26.000 Yeah. 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:28.559 Listen, cinematography was great. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:30.000 I loved the way it looked. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.079 Just hated that Wade died that way. 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:38.079 And not only to die that way, but to then be puppeteered that way after. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:38.960 Yeah. 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:40.960

It was a little bit wild for sure. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:43.920 We didn't want to see Wade go, but it did happen. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:45.200 It did happen. 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:50.960 And then I don't think anyone really cared that George and Willie died, although, you know, I I get it. 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:58.240 They were previous cast members that were trapped and now living into oblivion, somehow growing old in there. 00:31:58.319 --> 00:31:58.640 I don't know. 00:31:58.720 --> 00:31:59.759 It's a whole weird thing. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:10.720 But but the new mailman that showed up when the TV show, when Buddy reset the TV show, sucked a couple more people in, got some more people into the show, some new character replacements. 00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:12.799 Zatkill was even more wild. 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:25.359 If mailman Miles getting stabbed to death brutally wasn't wild, this new mailman literally got impaled by Buddy's horn and spun around like a helicopter blade, which was absolutely brutal, absurd, and awesome at the same time. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.400 Yeah, damn. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:29.519 That was one of those where I was like, Am I still watching the same movie? 00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:34.559 Like, how is this continuing to escalate in such an absolutely horrific way? 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:36.400 It's it was crazy. 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:38.319 It honestly was absolutely wild. 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:40.960 And it just kept getting even more wild. 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:44.480 Even you said the bunny or whatever getting her the head ripped off. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:48.640 And and you mentioned something like, is it the blood because there's humans inside? 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:53.119 Is it is that another person, like a parent that was sucked in, or it was like, what is this? 00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:56.559 This is the stuff that I'm thinking about while watching this movie twice now. 00:32:56.640 --> 00:33:13.759 So yeah, I it's not that I genuinely believe there's a human inside there for sure, but in this magical land, if you think of Buddy, Buddy has a lot of blood, buddy's bleeding, buddy cuts off his hips at some points, and you see flesh costume. 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:21.200 Yeah, so I do think that this costume is a living, breathing creature organism situation. 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:30.319 I don't think it's literally a human in a suit, but I think it bleeds because it's like a a fantasy representation of a human in a suit. 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:32.000 It's it's weird to explain. 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:45.519 But Betty Bunny, oh my gosh, how much love she had for Bunny, but also when she was hearing the right things, man, Betty Bunny was a battered woman. 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:56.480 Betty Bunny knew what was up, she knew what this abuse was, and she was just for Buddy to understand that she loved him, and it was even more sad to see her go. 00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:58.880 Terrible, absolutely terrible. 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:03.200 Yeah, she just yeah, it was just time, it was time, and a whole cast got it. 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:04.880 Cauchy got ripped to shreds. 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:14.800 It was a time in that whole sequence of kills as they're trying to get out, and then we just kept losing great women in this movie because Grace I know the sacrifice. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:16.000 I wasn't ready for that. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:17.440 I honestly don't know. 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:18.559 It kind of sucks. 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:22.400 I don't know if it should have happened that way, but I get it, I get it. 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:38.239 Yeah, I kept waiting, wishing, hoping, and just praying that she would come through at the end, that she was silenced but not killed, and then we cut to her body super fucking dead, super depressing. 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:47.039 I felt like she worked so hard to break through her own delusion after Freddie was separated from her. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:55.519 Her death is honestly an emotional breaking point, especially when you get the rekindling of her mother-daughter relationship with Freddie Beans. 00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:57.039 Yeah, it was sad. 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:58.239 We just got that. 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:01.840 I feel like we literally got that, and then two minutes later she's gone. 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:02.559 You know what I mean? 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:11.440 I feel like we wanted to live in that a little bit longer, at least appreciate the moment of them like coming back together, but it felt like it all went really fast for her. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:19.679 I I and I think the only way that could have happened would be if she was the first nurse and the only nurse. 00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:20.400 Right. 00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:24.719 If we had more time with her in the show's world, but then that movie would have been way too long. 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:26.639 And I like the movie as it is. 00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:35.920 I just damn this actress, first you go on how I met your mother, and now you go here, and it's just yeah, no good luck, no good luck. 00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:37.679 It's a tough one for sure. 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:39.840 It is a tough one, and it's so wild. 00:35:39.920 --> 00:36:01.920 Like this is now we're at the point where they had sung the song that George and Willie told them was sung and turned Buddy into this evil form, and he turns into this evil form, and now we're at the point where this this new kid that replaced one of the other kids, Tyler, is bringing him back to the happy buddy by just hugging him and saying, I love you, buddy. 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:13.679 And he and in doing that, he gets suffocated to death and tossed to the side, which is so sad, but also damn, he was so funny when he just poked out around that tree after buddy was already fucked up. 00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:15.199 He says, Are we still playing baseball? 00:36:15.440 -->

00:36:16.960 He just wanted to play a game of baseball. 00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:17.519 That's all. 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:20.320 The whole thing was just trying to play some ball, you know. 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:22.000 This kid showed up on the wrong day. 00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:25.039 Yeah, this is not the right episode to be on, my friend. 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:25.679 Sorry. 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:30.400 And Oliver was not the right character because what do you mean he outlasted Hannah? 00:36:30.719 --> 00:36:31.360 I know. 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:33.840 I was so sad when Hannah went. 00:36:34.079 --> 00:36:38.239 She was so fierce, she was afraid, but also brave. 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:39.840 She even sings a song. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:42.159 She was cute, supportive, funny. 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:45.039 I thought she was a girl's girl, she was down to clown. 00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:49.840 And then Oliver, I don't want to say fucked up things about a kid, but he was a little narc. 00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:52.960 He yeah, he literally fucked everything up from the get-go. 00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:58.480 They were trying to have like a secret moment, and he's like, Buddy, oh buddy, come on, man. 00:36:58.719 --> 00:37:00.400 Well, he promised he wouldn't be mad. 00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:02.480 Yeah, you fucking idiot. 00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:03.760 Yeah, terrible. 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:06.239 I'm really surprised he lasted that long. 00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:11.840 Yeah, honestly, any kids watching this movie have to know that the moral of the story is don't be an Oliver. 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:13.519 Yeah, don't ever be an Oliver. 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:20.079 But but you mentioned that Buddy was like the the most comical death, or is that what you said? 00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:22.079 It was like the funniest death in the movie. 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:30.800 100% the funniest death for strappy to trip Buddy and then to get impaled with Mr. 00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:31.760 Mailbox. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:35.280 Honestly, we could have gotten to this answer a lot sooner, kids. 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:36.159 That's true. 00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:37.119 Team effort. 00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:38.800 This could have happened way long ago. 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:44.320 If you just really did some kind of strategy there, it could have been a lot easier, but it was a good moment. 00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:45.679 We gotta like that for sure. 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:52.400 Especially because he gives this big emotional speech about how proud he is of her, and then with his dying breath, he calls her a bitch. 00:37:52.559 --> 00:37:53.679 No notes, buddy. 00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:54.719 It was wild. 00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:57.679 Yeah, the kills in this movie were a lot of fun for sure. 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:03.119 There was a lot of interesting moments, a lot of absurd moments, a lot of sad moments and funny moments. 00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:09.840 It was a roller coaster ride of

kills in this movie and a surprisingly high amount of kills, which was pretty fun. 00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:24.320 But I just gotta say that the movie's strongest trick, if you will, the the strongest element that this movie has going for it is really that childhood aesthetic mixed with the adult kind of gore mixed in there. 00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:29.199 It's just that balance, that kind of fusion that I think is just something that we haven't really seen before. 00:38:29.360 --> 00:38:30.800 Even in the Poohverse, right? 00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:38.800 Even in that, it doesn't feel exactly what this movie captured because you're not capturing what Winnie the Pooh actually felt like. 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:39.920 That's not what that is. 00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:47.920 This movie is actually capturing what watching Barney, what a Barney show or any of those types of kids shows felt like. 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:58.239 It's sprinkling in the darkness and the gore and all of that stuff, and something that visually feels like it belongs in one of those shows suddenly becomes very bloody. 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.320 I think it just makes it hit differently. 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:10.559 It genuinely feels like something could have crawled out of a late 90s show and and and then take that world and inject it with this absurd horror. 00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:14.000 And I think that the practical character work and effects really help sell it. 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:22.960 Buddy actually feels like a physical presence in this world, and I don't know, it just makes it more believable and ironically a lot creepier. 00:39:23.199 --> 00:39:24.320 100% agreed. 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:32.320 It is insane to me that they can take something so sunny and so cute and so pretty and make it feel like an actual freaking prison. 00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:39.280 And Sean, you're talking about the way that this feels so so true to this 90s television. 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:53.119 It's because they continuously shift back and forth between even the image formats, the the aspect ratio of these shots, intentionally period appropriate music, you have that practical mascot and puppet work that you alluded to. 00:39:53.519 --> 00:39:58.639 All of that reinforces selling uh this show for what it is. 00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:09.840 And I also really love that the show sequences are also played completely straight because again, if everybody treats it like a parody, then we're standing outside the joke. 00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:16.480 But the level of sincerity in the performances in this movie puts us inside the joke. 00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:28.880 And that's what helps it be so damn funny, so damn frightening, and also super nostalgic in a really weird kind of mix, even though it feels incredibly hostile. 00:40:29.599 --> 00:40:32.880 But one of the things that I mentioned this earlier, right? 00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:43.679 There's the conditioning and the fascism interpretation from the production research that sets this groundwork of something so much darker in Buddy. 00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:51.119 Everybody's happy, everybody sings, everybody cooperates, and none of it is optional. 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:58.400 When you watch these shows growing up, as a kid, you're just like, oh, this is just what doing the right thing looks like. 00:40:59.039 --> 00:41:03.599 But then Buddy is like, nah, motherfucker, you're gonna dance. 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:08.400 You're gonna dance, you're gonna put these shoes on, and you're gonna dance for me. 00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:14.960 And that's what makes Buddy's constant kindness scarier because it feels even more like a threat. 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:20.000 He doesn't need a secret evil personality or this ultra ego. 00:41:20.639 --> 00:41:34.639 He just has his cheerful unicorn host persona, and that cheerful persona is perfectly capable of controlling and being controlling of all these kids, and then his affection becomes coercive. 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:40.400 Hug me harder, tell me you love me, sing, participate, follow the lesson, be happy. 00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:45.360 And oh man, I'm even just thinking of the most disgusting scene for me, Sean. 00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:50.079 The grace sequence, the nurse sequence where he's like grabbing her. 00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:55.519 I was like, okay, this was one of the moments where I was, I'm curious to hear what you thought. 00:41:55.599 --> 00:42:04.079 But my reaction in that moment was, Oh my god, is this about to go down a path that I didn't even think this movie was gonna go down? 00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:10.320 And it halfway did, and then it stopped, and I thought it was gonna be really bad for a second, and I was not prepared. 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:15.599 Yeah, I really thought that we're gonna get a lot of the controversies that have followed, like Disney and Nickelodeon. 00:42:15.760 --> 00:42:16.079 Yeah. 00:42:16.239 --> 00:42:31.679 I thought it was gonna allude to that, but oh my gosh, that entire scene is just this super ugly expression of the idea because he does this whole show me you love me thing, it becomes physically violating. 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:45.760 He slips his tongue at her, he asks for a hug, he then starts licking her and groping her, and the second she pulls away, you feel like he is seconds away from just annihilating her. 00:42:45.920 --> 00:42:51.599 Yeah, and he's just watching her while he grabs the axe, grabs the bandage, and go. 00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:54.639 Because how dare she pull back from him? 00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:56.239 Yeah, that was wild. 00:42:56.400 --> 00:42:57.679 It was absolutely absurd. 00:42:57.760 --> 00:43:05.440 I thought she was gonna die for sure in that moment, but or at least it was gonna be like a a fight, like something was gonna go down and then it didn't. 00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:07.280 But wow, yeah. 00:43:07.519 --> 00:43:10.559 I thought for sure it was going, it was gonna go

further than that. 00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:14.960 I'm actually thankful it didn't go further than that because I think that would have been too crazy for this movie. 00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:16.639 That would have been a little bit too much. 00:43:16.719 --> 00:43:19.360 That would have brought me out of the movie a lot more than you know. 00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:20.719 It absolutely would have. 00:43:20.880 --> 00:43:26.320 But in that scene, though, can we at least acknowledge Buddy's design looks fucking sick? 00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:27.519 It does look great. 00:43:27.760 --> 00:43:32.800 Okay, big fluffy orange unicorn, but again, the burns, the exposed eyeball. 00:43:33.119 --> 00:43:39.199 Yeah, there's so many parts where you can look at it and you're like, is that burned flesh or is that burnt styrofoam? 00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:48.000 It was all part of that practical effect of actually using these types of full body suits and things and really just making it look like that, which is great. 00:43:48.159 --> 00:43:49.599 I think that adds to it, right? 00:43:49.760 --> 00:43:56.159 Even if it did look like burnt styrofoam or whatever his insides were made of, it adds to the charm of this movie. 00:43:56.320 --> 00:44:02.880 It just works in this world, in this universe, because if it was too Realistic of flesh, I feel like it wouldn't fit. 00:44:03.119 --> 00:44:06.239 It's perfect that it almost feels like burnt styrofoam. 00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:07.519 Oh, it absolutely is. 00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:11.280 And man, I'm even thinking about how fucking cute little buddy was. 00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:13.920 Like the little unicorn, the little plushie. 00:44:14.239 --> 00:44:14.800 Yeah. 00:44:15.119 --> 00:44:23.360 Especially when there are moments where Freddie and Wade are telling Hannah and Oliver what's going on, and they try to make their escape. 00:44:23.679 --> 00:44:27.440 But all you see is little buddy just like pop up every once in a while. 00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:29.920 They look away, they look back, he's in a different place. 00:44:30.159 --> 00:44:42.079 You get a whole a tiny like sting of music that it feels very horror movie, very simple gag, but it's very effective and also hilarious because it's just a tiny little fucking plushie. 00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:46.639 It's just a little plushie, but it's there, it's watching you, it's everywhere, it's just following you. 00:44:46.719 --> 00:44:48.960 Yeah, it was wild, absolutely wild. 00:44:49.199 --> 00:45:00.719 I also I really loved the moment where Grace is actually being enticed to go into the TV, and I think that that whole sequence was wild. 00:45:00.800 --> 00:45:05.760 I don't know what you thought about it, but just the first time we're actually seeing how this could happen. 00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:07.519 How did these kids get in there? 00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:09.679 It's like the first time that we actually see it. 00:45:09.840 --> 00:45:23.280 The the show comes on it came on earlier, and that kind of messed with her, but it came on in the middle of the night as she was on the couch or whatever, and you just see Buddy trying to wave her over to the TV screen. 00:45:23.519 --> 00:45:25.039 It was very poltergeist, John. 00:45:25.360 --> 00:45:29.440 It was very poltergeist, it's very poltergeist, and I really loved it. 00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:39.199 And it also felt like the instant Grace entered, even just a portion of her entered the television, Buddy already began erasing her from the real world. 00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:42.400 Oh, then she glitches away, the room completely changes. 00:45:42.559 --> 00:45:44.239 Yeah, incredible sequence. 00:45:44.320 --> 00:45:47.920 And I think even the technical feat of pulling that off, it looked really good. 00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:49.039 It was so good. 00:45:49.199 --> 00:46:05.360 That was the one of the best moments in the entire film because yes, the moment that you realize that even because even just like you said, her arm is in the TV and she's trying to fight getting sucked into it or pulled into it or whatever, you realize that her husband can't hear her. 00:46:05.519 --> 00:46:07.760 Her husband can't hear her, and she's gone already. 00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:08.639 That's already gone. 00:46:08.719 --> 00:46:13.679 And then on top of that, you see her like glitch out, and then the whole room changes. 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:18.639 Probably presumably the whole house probably changes because now it's depicting a whole life without her. 00:46:18.960 --> 00:46:20.559 Crazy how that works. 00:46:20.719 --> 00:46:21.280 Crazy. 00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:25.039 Yeah, to be clear, her husband wasn't hearing her before then anyway. 00:46:25.519 --> 00:46:26.159 He wasn't there yet. 00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:27.360 He was a douchebag. 00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:33.519 You know, we're gonna get to that guy in a second, but man, what a great scene! It was absolutely fantastic. 00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:35.760 I did love it, I did love it. 00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:41.360 I also really loved the buddy backrooms because it was great. 00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:45.039 How is this a children's television show? 00:46:45.440 --> 00:46:57.840 At some portion, it looks like it's gonna broadcast studio, but then also then it looks like an elementary school with the mascot being painted on as a mural on the wall, and then just endless hallways of lockers. 00:46:58.320 --> 00:47:00.079 This really is the buddy backrooms. 00:47:00.320 --> 00:47:05.280 It was the second you even see multiple buddies and different colored buddies. 00:47:05.519 --> 00:47:09.199 I thought for sure she was gonna end up in a different TV show. 00:47:09.440 --> 00:47:12.159 I thought for sure she was gonna get pulled right back in. 00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:16.880 Yeah, like it's very interesting what in this segment of the movie. 00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:21.199 In the we'll call we'll just I like the name, we'll just call it the buddy

backrooms. 00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:29.280 But this segment of the movie is I think really interesting because it opens the door for a lot of you know thinking of what could be happening. 00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:33.360 If there were ever to make another one, what could they do with this story? 00:47:33.599 --> 00:47:36.880 Because obviously there's still a lot left on the table here. 00:47:37.119 --> 00:47:58.000 You have one I really liked the whole hall of prior nurses, if you notice that it was like a whole bunch of previous nurses, and so a whole bunch of moms basically there, but also that mural that's that has Buddy and it has Bobby and it has Benny, and they're three different colored of the same type of unicorns characters. 00:47:58.079 --> 00:48:04.239 I wonder either what happened to the other two specifically, is one of them the decrepit one that was in the room. 00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:06.320 Is it is that one of the characters? 00:48:06.480 --> 00:48:08.079 Is there more TV shows? 00:48:08.320 --> 00:48:10.239 Is this bigger than we anticipated? 00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:12.320 What's going on here is what I want to know. 00:48:12.800 --> 00:48:19.760 There's a lot of kids still looking at that TV screen after Freddy escaped back into a whole different country, it looks like. 00:48:20.079 --> 00:48:20.960 What's gonna happen? 00:48:21.119 --> 00:48:22.400 The story could go on. 00:48:22.719 --> 00:48:30.239 Good for her, though, for saving another kid and pushing them right back to where they belong in the some comfort and safety of their own living room. 00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:36.480 But man, you you just mentioned her waking up and exiting into a whole new country. 00:48:37.039 --> 00:48:39.840 What a fucking bummer of an ending, Sean. 00:48:40.079 --> 00:48:42.559 I hate that the it makes the movie even better. 00:48:42.880 --> 00:48:46.320 I really hate that because Freddie survives, but at what costs? 00:48:46.639 --> 00:48:48.719 What does surviving really mean here? 00:48:48.960 --> 00:48:52.000 Her mom's dead, she's completely traumatized. 00:48:52.400 --> 00:48:52.639 Mr. 00:48:52.800 --> 00:48:57.280 Mailbox and Strappy are suddenly ordinary, inanimate objects. 00:48:57.440 --> 00:49:10.559 She ends up in the home of complete strangers with whom she doesn't even share language, she can't talk to anybody about anything, and she has nobody who can possibly understand what just happened to her. 00:49:11.119 --> 00:49:12.239 It's a bummer. 00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:13.280 It's a bummer. 00:49:13.440 --> 00:49:18.239 I was gonna ask you how you felt about the ending of this movie because it is a bleak ending for sure. 00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:20.960 She survives, but does she really survive? 00:49:21.119 --> 00:49:22.639 You're still left with questions, right? 00:49:22.880 --> 00:49:29.679 Her escaping doesn't maybe necessarily mean that her life comes back and her dad remembers her, right? 00:49:29.920 --> 00:49:31.199 That could still not be a thing. 00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:38.000 We don't know what this new world of her being out in the real world is, and that's the interesting thing. 00:49:38.239 --> 00:49:41.119 Yeah, there is no coming back from this. 00:49:41.360 --> 00:49:45.840 You can maybe get through it, but you're never gonna be back to where the way that it was. 00:49:46.079 --> 00:49:51.280 And I love that this movie doesn't pretend that escaping automatically means everything is okay. 00:49:51.440 --> 00:49:58.320 It feels like that's a real lesson that we have to learn as kids, and it's just here giving us the fucking sad part of it. 00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:01.280 Yeah, it was wild for sure. 00:50:01.440 --> 00:50:04.079 There's a lot, there's a lot left on the table for sure. 00:50:04.400 --> 00:50:24.719 One of the stronger scenes in this movie was the Freddie and Grace reunion, the whole build-up to that, like them having the vibes in the nurse's office as she's putting the bandages on and she knows like why the little saying, and then Grace says Freddie beans, and that triggers that, and then it was that that whole realization there that broke the veil. 00:50:24.800 --> 00:50:25.760 I think that was great. 00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:32.239 I mean, even when she talks about Finn the fish and that she wanted to pet, it's just so sad, man. 00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:35.360 It's really sad, and it inspires so much hope. 00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:40.239 And there are so many moments in this movie where it feels like hope gets lost. 00:50:40.800 --> 00:50:50.079 Because I even think about when the kids arrived at Diamond City and they realized it's just a fucking cardboard cutout that was like framed differently for perspective and scale, it's an illusion. 00:50:50.400 --> 00:50:51.199 Ridiculous. 00:50:51.679 --> 00:51:07.360 So to see the hope drain out of their face in that moment, but then to see the way Freddy finds hope again and Grace finds hope again when they find each other, only for Grace to make the ultimate sacrifice for her daughter's safety, it's just so fucking sad. 00:51:08.159 --> 00:51:12.719 It's a good thing this movie is so funny, or else I would be crying in it. 00:51:12.880 --> 00:51:15.440 Thankfully, it does just enough for me to not cry. 00:51:15.679 --> 00:51:21.760 I think Grace and her presence in this movie really made me like Freddie more because I didn't care for her in the very beginning. 00:51:22.559 --> 00:51:31.039 I do appreciate that she even just goes on her way to rescue a mailbox, a mailbox that already had his jaw ripped off. 00:51:31.280 --> 00:51:32.719 What are we what is this mailbox doing? 00:51:32.800 --> 00:51:34.559 Clearly, what's been done to him is done. 00:51:34.800 --> 00:51:37.280 He's not gonna get better or worse from this. 00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:54.079 But between the little acts of courage that we see from her and her starting out as a coward and then really leaning into that, and then finding this real this

reconnection with Grace, it makes me fully invested in her getting home. 00:51:54.480 --> 00:51:56.559 Which, okay, yeah, again, she doesn't. 00:51:57.199 --> 00:52:04.320 She lands in a foreign country, or at least in a house with a family who does not share the same language as her. 00:52:04.639 --> 00:52:08.800 Between Freddie and Grace, I think they added a lot of depth to the film for sure. 00:52:08.880 --> 00:52:16.320 And I think both of them depicted the characters and the chemistry between the two, even for the short time that they were together, I think worked really well. 00:52:16.639 --> 00:52:18.480 Let's just rip the band-aid off. 00:52:18.719 --> 00:52:26.320 Ben, the dad, completely douchey, takes the dismissive, unsupportive dad to another level in this movie. 00:52:26.559 --> 00:52:28.480 Just and also just kind of arrogant. 00:52:28.559 --> 00:52:29.599 And it's just, I don't know. 00:52:29.760 --> 00:52:32.800 He was from the the the actors from that 70s show, right? 00:52:32.880 --> 00:52:34.320 That's where I remember him from. 00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:44.159 But he still has the same kind of goofy kind of vibe to him in this movie, just arrogant dumbness that I felt like I just hated every aspect of this character, every single bit. 00:52:44.480 --> 00:52:48.000 Sean, there are two big bitches in this movie, and neither of them are buddy. 00:52:48.239 --> 00:52:48.960 That's true. 00:52:49.280 --> 00:52:51.440 Ben, what a jackal. 00:52:51.679 --> 00:53:05.280 And especially because when Grace is going through these motions and steps to try to figure out what's up with this missing child that she thinks she has, he is unsupportive and antagonizes her along the way. 00:53:05.519 --> 00:53:09.599 Again, it's a weird situation, but I don't love the way that he talks to her. 00:53:09.840 --> 00:53:15.679 Yeah, and I wanna I'm wondering though, was this the way that it was when Freddie was still with them? 00:53:15.840 --> 00:53:24.239 Because the remembrance of the dinner scene where they're all laughing and having a good time felt like a different family than it was afterwards. 00:53:24.320 --> 00:53:26.719 So there's an impact maybe that happens. 00:53:26.960 --> 00:53:35.119 So I'm really curious to see is this actually how this character was prior to the events of everything that already happened. 00:53:35.440 --> 00:53:37.920 Yeah, I'm confident it wasn't. 00:53:38.159 --> 00:53:39.039 We're hoping. 00:53:39.199 --> 00:53:40.559 We're hoping, anyways. 00:53:40.800 --> 00:53:47.760 I could tell you right now, the medium in this movie added a perfect amount of comedy throughout the movie. 00:53:47.840 --> 00:53:52.719 The whole I take Venmo line was great, like all of that stuff just felt really good. 00:53:53.039 --> 00:53:56.159 I absolutely loved every bit of the medium in the house. 00:53:56.400 --> 00:53:58.079 Oh, I absolutely did too. 00:53:58.320 --> 00:53:59.599 Super fucking funny. 00:53:59.840 --> 00:54:11.519 Again,

the movie is funny enough on its own around that scene, but to have her coming in, it's a really what is a tense moment between Grace and Ben. 00:54:12.000 --> 00:54:12.800 Absolutely loved it. 00:54:12.880 --> 00:54:15.119 And again, it felt more like poltergeist. 00:54:15.280 --> 00:54:17.679 It definitely did, it definitely did. 00:54:17.760 --> 00:54:19.679 There were some hints there for sure. 00:54:19.920 --> 00:54:30.719 But I think the real thing, and let's get into it, is when we talked about this earlier, but Buddy has a character, way more complicated than anyone would have expected in this movie. 00:54:30.800 --> 00:54:38.559 And I actually think that I say at first he's basically this bizarre children's TV character who's a little creepy, right? 00:54:38.719 --> 00:54:39.199 Absurd. 00:54:39.280 --> 00:54:43.039 And I think you obviously have to feel like he's dangerous in some way. 00:54:43.119 --> 00:54:47.599 But underneath all of that, there's this weirdly sad element to him. 00:54:47.760 --> 00:54:53.360 Buddy desperately wants to be loved, accepted, and everyone's friend. 00:54:53.440 --> 00:55:00.159 And he genuinely seems to believe that what he's doing is coming from his a place of love almost. 00:55:00.239 --> 00:55:09.840 And I think the problem is that he doesn't understand boundaries or rejection or the idea that someone might simply just not want to be his friend. 00:55:09.920 --> 00:55:13.920 I think, and that's what makes him more interesting than just a typical killer in this movie. 00:55:14.239 --> 00:55:21.199 You know, put Buddy at Camp Crystal Lake, and the kids and the counselors might let him drown too, is what I'm saying. 00:55:21.360 --> 00:55:26.239 Yeah, there's just something way more disturbing about a villain who thinks he's doing everything out of love. 00:55:26.480 --> 00:55:28.159 Does he really think it though? 00:55:28.400 --> 00:55:37.519 Or else he's being so manipulative that he is exerting control and then trying to manipulate and gaslight those around him. 00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:40.800 That's I think that's more the the read that I got. 00:55:41.039 --> 00:55:51.199 I yeah, I struggle because maybe he really does believe it, but I struggle to think, just especially with like, don't go in there, I just finished mopping. 00:55:51.440 --> 00:55:53.920 There's a level of consciousness and deceit there. 00:55:54.159 --> 00:55:56.639 Yeah, there definitely is a level of consciousness. 00:55:56.880 --> 00:55:58.400 He knows exactly what he's doing. 00:55:58.719 --> 00:56:05.920 You even see it when they confront him about Josh's book, and he's just changing his story throughout the whole conversation. 00:56:06.079 --> 00:56:28.960 For sure, he knows what's going on, but there's also the element of him turning into a completely different character or look or whatever type of monster turning into this like black fucking demon dragon looking unicorn rather than the happy-go-lucky orange unicorn, magical

unicorn when people actively say that they don't like him or hate him becomes a whole different thing. 00:56:29.039 --> 00:56:31.119 And loving him turns him back into that. 00:56:31.199 --> 00:56:37.760 So, like it's a very it's almost like that love is the is like the power that he needs, but it's a very interesting concept. 00:56:37.920 --> 00:56:46.079 Yeah, the kids of Dairy Main can just bully Pennywise and he'll deflate like a little clown, but you bully Buddy and he's bullying you right back. 00:56:46.320 --> 00:56:47.519 Oh, yeah, for sure. 00:56:47.760 --> 00:56:50.000 Oh man, wild, absolutely wild. 00:56:50.239 --> 00:56:55.920 Sean, what I do want to get into though is what is undoubtedly the worst part of the fucking movie for me. 00:56:56.239 --> 00:57:06.480 Did we really need drug trips in the middle of the desert with former cast members and a former puppet who also are making out with each other? 00:57:06.800 --> 00:57:09.519 Yeah, no, I don't think we needed it at all. 00:57:09.679 --> 00:57:10.480 It's very weird. 00:57:10.960 --> 00:57:14.639 How many movies have done this where at some point there's a desert trip scene? 00:57:14.800 --> 00:57:15.519 You know what I mean? 00:57:15.599 --> 00:57:17.679 So many movies have gone down this road. 00:57:17.840 --> 00:57:20.639 I don't know why this one had to be there at all. 00:57:20.800 --> 00:57:29.440 I get like running away through the forest, it felt like some wizard of odds shit trying to get to fucking Emerald City, meeting some weird characters along the way. 00:57:29.599 --> 00:57:30.960 That's the vibe I was getting. 00:57:31.039 --> 00:57:33.840 And I don't know if that whole segment of the movie needed to happen. 00:57:34.000 --> 00:57:42.079 It felt like they could have been they could have been in the TV show, not on set, not in this weird woods on the way to nowhere. 00:57:42.320 --> 00:57:44.480 I don't even know why that piece existed. 00:57:44.639 --> 00:57:46.719 I think that's the part of the movie to me. 00:57:46.960 --> 00:58:06.320 There was funny moments like Oliver peeing and can't remembering having to ever pee or whatever, and like there's some in the flower getting peed on, and there's some little funny things, but it's also like it didn't need to be none of that needed to be there, and that's where I was like, okay, this could have been cut out, it could have been a short film, maybe we could have or we could have done more with other characters. 00:58:06.480 --> 00:58:07.280 I don't know. 00:58:07.519 --> 00:58:11.119 But no, I don't think that whole segment of the movie needed to be there. 00:58:11.440 --> 00:58:20.320 You know, I was fine with the whole segment, but it was really just the drug trip surrealism that made me way less interested. 00:58:20.639 --> 00:58:26.719 I liked them going to Diamond City because it reminded me of The Wizard of Oz and following the Yellow Brick Road. 00:58:26.880 --> 00:58:29.360 So there's something there that I was really into. 00:58:30.400 --> 00:58:42.960 But the yeah, no, making out the the older man making out with a fucking puppet, and that's a that's their love affair after being trapped for a lifetime in this TV world. 00:58:43.360 --> 00:58:43.840 So strange. 00:58:44.079 --> 00:58:45.119 It was just yeah. 00:58:45.599 --> 00:58:49.679 Someone can explain it to me, and maybe I'll be open to listening, but I just didn't like it. 00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:55.519 Thankfully, it was fucking weird, but not enough to threaten this movie being a slash for me. 00:58:55.840 --> 00:58:57.039 Yeah, I feel you. 00:58:57.199 --> 00:58:58.559 It definitely was strange. 00:58:58.800 --> 00:59:00.960 It's probably one of the worst parts of the movie. 00:59:01.119 --> 00:59:06.960 I think for me, it's probably just I guess it's kind of ties into what you're talking about, but it's some of the pacing. 00:59:07.119 --> 00:59:17.519 I think when we get to that part of the movie, that's where the pacing for me starts to feel a little bit off or it slows down, or we're staying too long in moments that I don't feel like needed to be in the movie. 00:59:17.599 --> 00:59:21.599 So it's one of those things that I think just didn't do the movie any favors. 00:59:21.760 --> 00:59:24.400 But again, just like you said, doesn't ruin the movie for you. 00:59:24.480 --> 00:59:26.960 It's just an aspect that wasn't as enjoyable. 00:59:27.199 --> 00:59:30.639 Yeah, and dare I say it's also not enough to hold me back from watching it again. 00:59:30.719 --> 00:59:32.480 I've already watched this movie twice. 00:59:32.800 --> 00:59:34.480 Oliver remained a punk. 00:59:34.719 --> 00:59:36.480 That's an important scientific finding. 00:59:36.880 --> 00:59:38.480 The the the studies show it. 00:59:38.880 --> 00:59:52.639 But even more genuinely and seriously, knowing where this movie lands emotionally makes the early aspect of the movie, like the children show material, way more interesting than less interesting. 00:59:53.440 --> 01:00:03.440 There's these little shifts in Buddy's voice and behavior that I feel like I can appreciate more when I already understand what kind of creature personality I'm dealing with. 01:00:04.239 --> 01:00:10.239 And even the production design, it feels like it's 100% built for revisiting. 01:00:10.639 --> 01:00:21.280 Because then you're looking at props, you're looking at the background differently because you know how aggressively this movie likes turning seemingly harmless pieces of the show against the characters. 01:00:21.599 --> 01:00:29.039 And honestly, even between not only visually or the characters and how they change, but the fucking jokes in this movie have rewatch value. 01:00:29.199 --> 01:00:33.760 Sean, I feel like I laughed more the second time watching this movie than I did the first time. 01:00:34.000 --> 01:00:34.400 Yeah. 01:00:34.639 --> 01:00:35.199 I agree. 01:00:35.360 --> 01:00:37.199 I've watched this twice now as well. 01:00:37.360 --> 01:00:42.639 I think it definitely is you enjoy it definitely even more the second time around for sure. 01:00:42.719 --> 01:00:44.000 And I think it you have a point. 01:00:44.159 --> 01:00:54.559 You know what's going on a little bit more, so you're now you're really paying attention to some of the smaller details, the mannerisms, the the way things are said and done. 01:00:54.639 --> 01:00:58.480 And I think, yeah, the it is funnier the second time around for sure. 01:00:58.719 --> 01:01:00.639 I definitely would watch this one again. 01:01:00.800 --> 01:01:02.480 I already said it, I'll say it again. 01:01:02.559 --> 01:01:05.599 I think this is going to be a cult classic, 100%. 01:01:06.159 --> 01:01:08.400 People are going to be following Buddy. 01:01:08.480 --> 01:01:10.719 We're gonna see some Buddy merch out there. 01:01:10.960 --> 01:01:12.239 I can already see it. 01:01:12.480 --> 01:01:16.159 Time will tell, Sean, if the prophecy becomes true. 01:01:16.320 --> 01:01:21.360 But for now that you haven't, folks, Buddy from 2026 has earned a universal slash. 01:01:21.440 --> 01:01:26.079 And while we've certainly had a robust discussion here, the conversation about this movie doesn't end here by any means. 01:01:26.400 --> 01:01:38.239 No, if you enjoyed singing and dancing your way through the episode on Buddy and want to find out how you can go behind the scenes with this episode and more, consider supporting the show by visiting patreon.com/slash hackerslash. 01:01:38.800 --> 01:01:51.679 This is where you can enjoy even more of the show, including bonus content with early access, extended episodes with our B sides, which are free sides through the spookies season, movie nominations, and live shows. 01:01:57.119 --> 01:01:59.360 Boy, are my wheels tuckered