Unlike that tacky and unnecessary Coca-Cola AI ad that’s currently airing, the holidays aren’t coming but are in fact here. That being said, while we were out and about this weekend Adu…

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Casper Kelly's horror film Buddy became a surprise box office hit in its debut weekend. Roadside Attractions president Howard Cohen tells us how it happened.

Buddy turns children’s TV nostalgia into a twisted horror playground in one of the year’s more refreshing genre offerings.

Closing out this year’s Overlook Film Festival is Buddy, the latest feature film by director Casper Kelly (V/H/S/Halloween, Adult Swim Yule Log). Co-written by Kelly and Jamie King (Jessica J…

The Emmy-nominated Milioti ('The Penguin') stars in 'Buddy', described as a "new experience in horror" from the director of quirky Adult Swim fare.

Plus proche de la comédie que du pur film d’horreur, Buddy transforme un programme télé pour enfants en un univers aussi drôle qu’inquiétant. Une proposition étrange, folle et particulièrement réussie, malgré une fin qui laisse beaucoup de questions en suspens.

With BUDDY, CASPER KELLY "[doesn't] want it to be just a good time. I want people to have a good time. But if you want to dig deeper, I want there to be things in the ground for you to find if you do ...

<p>Writer-director Casper Kelly may be some kind of demented genius, although I appreciate that not everyone will agree with me. And not everyone will enjoy <b>Adult Swim Yule Log</b>, a film created by someone who just thought "what if you were watching one of those burning yule log videos and someone walked into the shot?", but those who enjoy it should REALLY enjoy it.</p><p>It all starts with that standard burning log footage. Then a woman comes in and starts to clean the floor, getting everything ready for people who are booked to stay in the log cabin. Then something happens. It's not necessarily the focus of the film though, as the log continues to burn and viewers continue to watch it in the centre of the frame. Then Alex (Justin Miles) and Zoe (Andrea Laing) arrive, and things eventually get more and more bizarre from that point on. The camera eventually pulls back to show the bigger picture, and we are shown different viewpoints, and even different time periods, but that burning log is at the heart(h) of everything.</p><p>In case I forget before ending this review, let me praise the cast. Miles and Laing are excellent in what you could call the lead roles, and they are given enough to do in their first scenes to establish their characters well enough before things go completely bonkers. Tordy Clark and Brendan Patrick Connor make a strong impression with their characters, I won't tell you who they are (the constant surprises are part of the pleasure), Mark Costello and Jonathon Pawlowski are a couple of law enforcement individuals who stop by at the cabin, and Michael Reagan, Jessica Fontaine, Sean Hankinson, Hannah Alline, Skye Passmore, Danielia Maximillian, Thy Bui, and Charles Green play a wide variety of characters who end up dragged into the unfolding madness.</p><p>The real star here is Kelly though, someone who has a real knack for walking a line between comedy and horror, making use of surreal touches to comment on, but also still deliver, popular TV and movie tropes. If someone was to describe the opening scene and the final scene of this movie to you then you would laugh at the ridiculous distance between the start of the journey and the final destination, but Kelly crafts something that actually feels as if it moves logically from one step to the next. Nobody watching this will feel suddenly shocked, we're all frogs sitting in a pot as Kelly slowly and steadily turns the heat up to boiling point. </p><p>The dialogue doesn't always feel as if it is more than filler in between a number of highlights, but the second half delivers a number of pay-offs that emphasise just how dense and smart the script is. Many horror fans may be put off by the silliness of certain moments, but there's a good selection of gory moments and nastiness throughout to satisfy those who can enjoy the ride.</p><p>The more I think about this, the more I love it. It's unlike anything else I have seen in recent years, and I'm already keen to watch the sequel. I encourage everyone else to check this out, as long as you're prepared for the parade of wonderful oddities that it delivers.<br/></p><p>8/10</p><p>If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing, and ALL of the links you need are here - <a href="https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast">https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast</a><br/>Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - <a href="https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews">https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews</a><br/>Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share">https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-8_uWcWQ69YP1jQ-7mGv54m_wO0RKLLYNmyAWAvvuDCRlNl4zwlZnKHE4xFAk4KSGEQ8e0wqz4hCs0sBVWWknybFLv-hlGz5MIa2-8U65OlgWl-pl6-KnSH3kko8IEXEzSKQYKvYnaUtT5OGgS7hiYnZbT4XhPYl_MnKpvQBhO-fnD3xVWz1kdwMseWD/s1174/Screenshot%202024-12-14%20at%2014.48.41.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="902" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-8_uWcWQ69YP1jQ-7mGv54m_wO0RKLLYNmyAWAvvuDCRlNl4zwlZnKHE4xFAk4KSGEQ8e0wqz4hCs0sBVWWknybFLv-hlGz5MIa2-8U65OlgWl-pl6-KnSH3kko8IEXEzSKQYKvYnaUtT5OGgS7hiYnZbT4XhPYl_MnKpvQBhO-fnD3xVWz1kdwMseWD/w308-h400/Screenshot%202024-12-14%20at%2014.48.41.png" width="308"/></a></div><p></p> <div style="clear: both;"></div>

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