{"id":46980,"date":"2026-08-15T16:58:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T11:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46980"},"modified":"2026-08-15T16:58:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T11:58:48","slug":"new-barney-meets-five-nights-at-freddys-is-officially-an-r-rated-horror-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46980","title":{"rendered":"New Barney Meets Five Nights At Freddy&#8217;s Is Officially An R-Rated Horror Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>One of the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/poppy-playtimes-huggy-wuggy-scariest-horror-mascots-video-games-movies\/\" target=\"_blank\">mascot horror<\/a> movies is now officially going to be R-rated.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p>Mascot horror has been a growingly popular subgenre over the past few years. Perhaps most notably, this has taken the form of the splatter slasher <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/winnie-the-pooh-blood-and-honey-2-movie-review\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey<\/em> and its sequels.<\/a> Even before then, one of the popular pioneers of the subgenre was the <em>Five Nights at Freddy&#8217;s<\/em> video game series, which has since been adapted into successful horror films.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the latest installment in the mascot horror genre has gotten its MPA rating. This movie is <em>Buddy<\/em>, an upcoming horror flick distributed by Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. According to a new release of film ratings, <em>Buddy<\/em> has been rated R for &#8220;<em>bloody violence, some drug content and language \u2013 all involving children.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><em>Buddy<\/em> cements itself securely in the mascot horror genre by taking on a beloved children&#8217;s show: <em>Barney &amp; Friends<\/em>. In the Casper Kelly-directed film, a girl and her friends must struggle to escape a &#8217;90s children&#8217;s show that stars an orange unicorn, Buddy. The movie features a leading live-action cast including Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, and Topher Grace, and the vocal talents of Patton Oswalt and Keegan-Michael Key.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, <em>Buddy<\/em> does not directly reference <em>Barney &amp; Friends<\/em>. Rather, it is an extremely close spoof, clearly pulling from the purple dinosaur show when crafting its mascot horror.<\/p>\n<p>The movie&#8217;s R rating should be an exciting turn for horror fans. While <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/five-nights-freddys-3-change-best-film-series\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Five Nights at Freddy&#8217;s<\/em> might be its closest proxy<\/a> \u2014 both using giant animal mascots turned sinister as their major plot device \u2014 those movies have already shown how they are clearly distinguished from <em>Buddy<\/em>: they are PG-13.<\/p>\n<p>As such, the <em>Five Nights at Freddy&#8217;s<\/em> duology, while still in the mascot horror genre, is aimed more towards tweens and teens, who can see the movie unaccompanied by a parent. This limits the amount of blood and gore that can be on-screen, as per MPA guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>This leaves room for <em>Buddy<\/em> to be a complete splatter fest, and to overall be much more intense than its PG-13 counterpart would be. Within mascot horror, this thus situates <em>Buddy<\/em> far closer to something like <em>Blood and Honey<\/em> than the relatively tamer <em>Five Nights at Freddy&#8217;s<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>With this rating, it will be interesting to see whether <em>Buddy<\/em> becomes the next breakout horror hit of 2026. R-rated horror has been taking over the box office this year, with both <em>Obsession<\/em> and <em>Backrooms<\/em> becoming massive successes. This MPA rating will allow horror fans to take <strong><em>Buddy<\/em><\/strong> more seriously, potentially paving its path to success.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card type-screen medium\" data-show-streamrentbuy-links=\"true\" data-include-community-rating=\"true\" id=\"4a47-4348-9433c389f545\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content\">\n<div class=\"display-card-content image-column\">\n<p>                        <!--    Rating block community and brand ratings --><br \/>\n                        <!--  Image --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-img \" data-stnl-group-once=\"jIFAqmd4vF\">\n<div class=\"body-img portrait \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  img-article-square\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n                                                                                                                                                            <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"960\" height=\"1422\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"buddy-poster.jpeg\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/buddy-poster.jpeg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                        <!-- User Rating widget --><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"display-card-content info-column\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \">\n    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/db\/movie\/buddy-3589907\/\" title=\"Buddy\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tBuddy<br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h5>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!--  Display card tags widget --><\/p>\n<p>                                                <!--  Display card community and brand rating widget --><br \/>\n                                                                <!--  Display card main info widget --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-info main-info\">\n<dl>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Release Date<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 4, 2026<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Runtime<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t95 minutes<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Director<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCasper Kelly<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Writers<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCasper Kelly, Jamie King<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<\/dl><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card main info widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--  Display card media widget start --><br \/>\n                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            <!--  Display card media widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Cast widget start --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-cast\">\n<p><h3 class=\"info-title\">Cast<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<ul class=\"cast-tab-list\">\n<li class=\"cast-tab full-width\">\n                                                                                <img width=\"100\" height=\"130\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot Of Cristin Milioti In The Los Angeles Premiere Screening For Peacock's Original Series 'The Resort'\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/instar51826001.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/instar51826001.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"cast-tab full-width\">\n                                                                                <img width=\"100\" height=\"130\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot Of Delaney Quinn\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/01\/headshot-of-delaney-quinn.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/01\/headshot-of-delaney-quinn.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"cast-tab full-width\">\n                                                                                <img width=\"100\" height=\"130\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot Of Topher Grace\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/instar53339879.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/instar53339879.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"cast-tab full-width\">\n                                                                                <img width=\"100\" height=\"130\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot Of Keegan-Michael Key\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/instar54144896.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/instar54144896.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-cast-info flex\">\n<p>Keegan-Michael Key<\/p>\n<p>\n                                                    Buddy the Unicorn (voice)\n                                                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- Cast widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Where to watch button preview --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Where to watch preview end --><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <!-- Extra content section, display hidden by default --><br \/>\n            <input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"extra-content-4a47-4348-9433c389f545\" name=\"extra-content-4a47-4348-9433c389f545\" class=\"expand-extra-info-checkbox css-menu-checkbox\"\/> <!-- Checkbox: control the expandable behavior  of the extra info --><\/p>\n<p>            <!-- Display card footer --><\/p>\n<p>            <!-- PROS and CONS section --><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the latest mascot horror movies is now officially going to be R-rated. Mascot horror has been a growingly popular subgenre over the past few years. Perhaps most notably, this has taken the form of the splatter slasher Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequels. Even before then, one of the popular pioneers of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/madison-skyy-polan-s-hannah-looking-scared-at-something-in-buddy.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}