Busy scheduling meant there was no official interview with writer/director Casper Kelly about his magically macabre movie, Buddy. However, we were mindful enough to bring a recording device to the lively and informative Q & A session immediately following the film. Keep an ear out for a loud, hopefully familiar voice.
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DIRECTED BY: Casper Kelly
FEATURING: Delaney Quinn, Cristin Milioti, Tristan Borders, Madison Skyy Polan, and the voice of Keegan-Michael Key
PLOT: A group of children’s-show friends attempt to escape from the increasingly homicidal titular unicorn.
WHY IT MIGHT JOIN THE APOCRYPHA: Buddy’s lair is carved directly into the sheer walls of the uncanny valley, sure, but the denouement’s dreamy poignancy secures Kelly’s caper a place in our weird hearts.
COMMENTS: You may not know it, but Buddy wants to be your friend. And even though he’s just met you, he loves you very much. But unless you want to spend the remainder of your existence (or perhaps longer) cycling through an endless series of singing, dancing, frolicking bromides, do not extend your hand to this beastly television host. Watch out for your family, too, because once they’ve gone Buddy, there’s no going back.
Buddy will appeal to a number of audiences: horror fans seeking something candy-coated and full of carnage; adventurous viewers yearning for the sinister side of wacky; drug aficionados who have themselves tasted of the butterscotch psychotropic flower petal; and especially anthropologists studying television culture of the late second millennium. This film is a simulacrum of excesses that, in hindsight, feel almost barbaric.
I am not referring to the creepy gore found in Buddy, no. I speak of the bombardment of treacly songs and horrific performance foisted on the youth of yesteryear—and, regrettably, today as well. Strip away Buddy’s murderous rampages, and there’s still an ever-pulsating technicolor blob of repulsiveness. When we root for Freddy and her liberated buddies, we’re not just invested in their physical safety: we want them to escape to live a well-adjusted life, with all its surprises and misfortunes.
Casper Kelly leaps out of the fire and into the impossibly vibrant world of 1990s children’s programs with his latest film, and the product of his imagination both sears the eyes and slashes the mind, all while also capturing the heart. During Kelly’s introduction to his movie, he commented on his own children’s viewing of the various late-20th-century “children’s classics.” I can only hope and pray that those days are gone, that the memories fade, and that in years to come we can look upon Buddy as a totem of daytime horrors past.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
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DIRECTED BY: Harrison Atkins
FEATURING: David Brown, Suzanna Son, Chase Williamson
PLOT: Ricky works on writing projects until memory lapses begin plaguing him after a grocery run.
WHY IT MIGHT JOIN THE APOCRYPHA: When men lick the road with abandon, and small fish appear in your pocket, and boom mics come alive, things ain’t quite right.
COMMENTS: “Really? You don’t find that disturbing?” Tepper has just been scrolling through his phone, landing on a picture of an ornamental plant growing from a raised stone urn. Roommate Ricky doesn’t share Tepper’s discomfort about this image and the benign object within. But by this point in Sour Minnows, it is already difficult to tell what may and may not be ominous, as the narrative has already proven as slippery as a fish.
The point of view slides around between the three main characters, screenwriter Ricky, his somewhat-girlfriend Aura, and the distracted Tepper. Each character becomes progressively compromised as they find themselves in situations they can’t control and awaken with only a hazy recollection of the events. Aura slathers a department-store evening gown with a rotted bird corpse, in order to astrally-project her hand into Ricky’s car to smear his headrest with the goo; Tepper’s mind wanders into a nearby window, either removing his television from the room or removing his own self; and Ricky attends a fancy media event where he receives a cryptic note before traveling through a tunnel connecting the men’s room to his home, frightening his sleeping doppelganger as he looms at his bedroom door.
If you’re comfortable with a lack of clarity and semi-detached performances (“Are you doing a ‘bit’?”), Sour Minnows is quite a treat. I saw it once, at its second screening, when the festival programmer introduced the movie with his remark that this would be the fourth time he’s watched it. Subsequent viewings probably unlock coherency, but even my one-time visit to the odd world Harrison Atkins has crafted and confettied proved satisfying. Not unlike the Tepper’s reaction to the urn, Sour Minnows is a bit disturbing, and more than a little absurd.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
Those looking for a quick and thorough behind-the-scenes breakdown to Angus Silver‘s creature feature, Insectasy, are in luck. 366’s Giles Edwards skittered into Fantasia’s green room and landed squarely on a scoop with remarks on the story, the production, the actors, the intimacy coordinator, and, most important of all, the bugs.
Rest assured, listener: no insects were injured during production, either of this interview or the film. Bzzzz
Entering the green room, 366’s Giles Edwards was surprised to observe such a full house. From right to left on the couch sat Louiza Aura, Leonor Oberson, Aminata Thiboult, and Nicky Murphy, the three leads and the director. Off in the far left corner, Fantasia press-person Maggie studiously typed away on their laptop, while in the near-left corner sat Nicky Murphy’s partner with their infant. To 366’s right, an unidentified woman assured us that she needn’t be identified. Our thoughts slightly swimming from a lack of sleep and innumerable films, we dove headlong into an question and answer session for the I Love Paris team about their vampire/music mockumentary. So commenced a fun fifteen minutes.
Giles’ festival capsule review of the film can be found in his latest Fantasia Festival 2026 festival omnibus.