Keegan-Michael Key is the voice of "Buddy," the filmed-in-Cleveland horror comedy directed by Casper Kelly. (Photo courtesy Roadside Attractions and Saban Films)Roadside Attractions and Saban Films.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Filmmaker Casper Kelly spent the summer of 2025 falling in love with Cleveland. He did all the usual things: toured the Rock Hall, saw a Guardians game, ate pierogies.

There isn’t anything usual about “Buddy,” the film that brought him here and which opens nationwide Aug. 28. In fact, it might be the most demented, wildly absurd movie you’ll see this year. 

Shot almost entirely at TRG MultiMedia in the former American Greetings headquarters in Brooklyn, the film centers on a Barney-like mascot from a children’s television show who goes on a killing spree. Think of it as a spiritual sequel to “Too Many Cooks,” Kelly’s 2014 short that turned the opening credits of a ’90s sitcom into a surreal nightmare and put his warped imagination on full display.

“What I love about him is that he’s able to take that aspect of himself and translate it into a real creative vision,” said Tyler Davidson, a producer on “Buddy” and a Cleveland native. “‘Too Many Cooks’ was not a fluke. It’s very much a product of his deranged sensibility that he really doesn’t compromise on.”

But where does that come from?

“My parents are asking the same question, so I don’t know,” Kelly said. “I feel like I’m a nice guy.”

Perhaps the answer lies in the hours of television he consumed as a kid.