For movie junkies of a certain age, there’s nothing quite like the smell of VHS plastic on Christmas morning. Yes, Virginia, it smells like victory. Now, we get to relive those magical childhood moments with an all new VHS release, as Buddy makes his way to the physical format in time for the holiday season.
If you know someone who also gets excited about the smell of a VHS tape being unwrapped and pulled out of its case, Buddy has found the perfect stocking stuffer for you to hand out. This mascot horror has finally gotten a home video release date (is that really how we’re still saying that), and it comes with the fun news that you’ll be able to slide this up against your thrift store copies of Phantasm V and Good Burger.
Your VHS player has never felt so swell.
This mascot horror comedy about every kid’s favorite killer unicorn is getting a rare VHS release this December, giving Buddy the kind of physical presence that feels almost too perfect for a movie deliberately steeped in the look and feel of vintage home video.
Set in 1999, Buddy follows a group of amnesiac children trapped inside the bizarrely cheerful world of a 1990s children’s television show called It’s Buddy! Their host is Buddy, a bright orange humanoid unicorn with a purple heart on his chest who seems determined to keep his little world happy at all costs. But when one of the children mysteriously disappears and the others start breaking Buddy’s rules, that sunny personality begins to crack. Soon, Buddy sends the kids on a terrifying journey toward the mythical Diamond City, where the cheerful fantasy of It’s Buddy! takes a much darker turn.
Directed by Casper Kelly, Buddy is one of those truly unique experiences that deserves repeat viewings, spinning on that merry-go-round inside your mind. Buddy stars Keegan-Michael Key as the voice of this unicorn host alongside Cristin Milioti, Clint Howard, Topher Grace and a whole stable of exciting stars.
While Buddy is arriving on modern digital platforms first, the VHS release is arguably the home-video version that makes the most sense for true analog horror fans. Preorders are happening on November 24, and the shipping dates will be timed to Christmas, so you don’t really even need to worry about what to get your friends and family this year.
If you just can’t wait to get that physical copy in your sweaty little hands, the digital release is hitting October 13, perfectly timed for Halloween. Then, if you’re more of a 2006 kind of pony girl, you’ll be able to get the Blu-ray and DVD on December 8.
Seriously, they’re still making DVDs? That’s almost as funky as locking down on a VHS copy. This isn’t simply a case of slapping the movie onto an old tape format for the novelty of it all. Buddy was made with the aesthetics of vintage VHS horror in mind, making the physical cassette a particularly fitting way to own the movie.
Specific details about the number of copies have not been widely announced, so anyone hoping to give one as a Christmas present may want to keep an eye out when the release arrives. It’s coming from Witter Entertainment. Set an alert reminder for November 24, cause the likely hood of this selling out is quite high.
The digital release will give audiences the easiest way to watch Buddy, while the Blu-ray and DVD versions offer the more traditional physical-media experience. But the VHS edition is clearly the oddball prize of the bunch. And honestly, that’s exactly what a killer unicorn movie deserves.
There is something wonderfully backward about a brand-new horror movie getting a VHS release in 2026. The format has been gone from mainstream home entertainment for decades, yet boutique labels and filmmakers have turned VHS into a collectible format for horror fans who love the physical artifacts as much as the movies themselves. Buddy seems especially well suited to that world.
For an R-rated indie horror movie, Buddy has been doing killer box office, raking in almost $27 million dollars. That’s a lot of Twinkies for the camper. The movie has even lured in unexpecting parents hoping to take their kids to a Barney movie, and at one point, there was a sing-along version in theaters. That’s usually reserved for Aunt Joyce movies like Mamma Mia! and K-Pop Demon Hunters. Not your weird nephew’s mascot slaughter comedy.
So, if you’re looking for a stocking stuffer for the person in your life who thinks streaming isn’t enough, November 24 might be worth circling on that old school wall calendar. Just don’t expect that VHS to play without a little help from the old VCR sitting in your closet. You can’t unspool it and hold it up to the sun (I always remember when a kid did that on Pryor’s Place, which made me so mad. You can’t do that you dingaling.).
Pryor’s Place kind of reminds me of Buddy. Anyway, make sure to check your tape for unicorn blood before you put it in. That’s worse than VHS mold.
