Published Oct 7, 2026, 12:02 PM EDT
Hannah covers horror, sci-fi, and games at Collider, where she writes news and features, reviews new releases, and interviews the people who make them. She’s helping build out Collider’s gaming coverage, with Pokémon as one of her specialties. If she isn’t writing about a monster, she’s probably watching one on a tape from her VHS collection.
Children’s television has given horror filmmakers plenty to work with, but an orange unicorn with a problem taking “no” for an answer might be one of this year’s most memorable nightmares. Buddy takes the familiar comforts of a colorful TV clubhouse and makes staying there sound like a terrible idea. With Cristin Milioti and Michael Shannon among its cast, the movie has turned that bizarre premise into a box-office success, earning more than $26 million during its theatrical run.
The setup sounds innocent enough, at least until its host stops getting his way. Inside the fictional children’s series It’s Buddy!, a group of kids spends its days singing, dancing, and helping the cheerful unicorn spread happiness. When one child refuses to participate, the show’s seemingly perfect world begins to unravel, making obedience a much more frightening part of the programming. It’s an appealingly nasty premise for Halloween viewing, especially for anyone who grew up watching oversized mascots teach lessons about being a good friend.
Now, Roadside Attractions and Saban Films have announced that Buddy will arrive on digital on October 13, giving horror fans time to add it to their Halloween plans. The Blu-ray and DVD editions follow on December 8, but collectors have another option that feels particularly appropriate for this movie. A VHS edition from Witter Entertainment will be available for preorder beginning November 24, with shipping planned in time for the holiday season. Anyone hoping to invite Buddy over before October 31 will want to circle the digital date.
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
Casper Kelly directed Buddy and co-wrote the screenplay with Jamie King, assembling a cast that also includes Delaney Quinn,** Patton Oswalt, Topher Grace, and Keegan-Michael Key**. Kelly’s previous projects include Too Many Cooks and Adult Swim Yule Log, making a children’s show gone horribly wrong a fitting addition to his filmography. According to the distributors’ announcement, Buddy has become the highest-grossing movie in Saban Films’ history and Roadside Attractions’ third-highest-grossing release, behind I Can Only Imagine and Manchester by the Sea. It also overtook The Invite to become the highest-grossing acquisition from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival to date. Those are substantial milestones for an original, R-rated horror movie built around a tyrannical unicorn, and its home release gives the movie another opportunity to find an audience.
The VHS announcement is an especially fun addition for a movie steeped in the look and atmosphere of children’s programming from the videotape era. A copy sitting on a shelf would feel right at home beside the childhood favorites that helped inspire this particular nightmare. Whether viewers choose a digital screening for Halloween or wait to add a physical edition to their collection, Buddy’s next stop is the living room.
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Casper Kelly, Jamie King
Drew Sykes, J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules, Tracy Rosenblum, Tyler Davidson