Another (film)

Lore & Background

The film follows Koichi Sakakibara, a transfer student who enters Yomiyama North Middle School's Class 3-3 in 1998. He encounters an eyepatch-wearing girl, Mei Misaki, whom other students ignore. Koichi learns that a student named Misaki died 26 years ago, and the class's pretense that he was still alive created a curse: each year, an extra dead person becomes part of the class, and nature kills students one by one unless one student is excluded for the year.

Koichi and Mei investigate the curse with their teacher Tatsuji Chibiki. They discover a tape from 1983 suggesting the curse can be temporarily ended by killing the extra person during the August school trip. During the trip, Mei realizes that Koichi's aunt and homeroom teacher Reiko Mikami is the extra person. Chaos erupts as students learn of the tape, leading to multiple deaths, including Chibiki. Reiko sacrifices herself to stop the curse.

After the curse ends, everyone forgets Reiko. Koichi and Mei record a new tape for future classes. Koichi leaves Yomiyama, but returns 14 years later to hand the tape to a student, finding that Chibiki is now the classroom teacher.

Reader's Guide

Another is significant as a film adaptation of Yukito Ayatsuji's popular horror novel, bringing the story of a supernatural curse affecting a middle school class to a wider audience. The film explores themes of memory, exclusion, and the consequences of denying death. Its release by Toho on 4 August 2012 contributed to the Japanese horror genre, grossing US$5.6 million domestically. The film's plot, involving a class forced to ignore one member to prevent deadly accidents, has been noted for its atmospheric tension and mystery. The cast, including Kento Yamazaki and Ai Hashimoto, helped popularize the story among younger viewers. The film's legacy includes its connection to the novel and its influence on subsequent horror media, though it remains one of several adaptations of Ayatsuji's work.

Did You Know?

• The film is based on a novel of the same name by Yukito Ayatsuji.
• The film grossed US$5.6 million at the Japanese box office.
• The plot involves a curse connected to a student named Misaki Yomiyama who died 26 years before the main events.

Production & Creative Vision

Casper Kelly made his feature directorial debut with Buddy, a 2026 American film that blends postmodernist sensibilities with supernatural comedy horror. Co-writing the screenplay with Jamie King, Kelly crafted a narrative that operates on multiple narrative layers simultaneously, weaving together a children's television program, a real-world family drama, and a meta-commentary on media consumption. The project assembled a notably eclectic ensemble: Cristin Milioti and Delaney Quinn anchor the human drama, while Patton Oswalt, Clint Howard, Topher Grace, and Michael Shannon bring gravitas and comedic timing to supporting and voice roles. Keegan-Michael Key lends his voice to Buddy, the anthropomorphic orange unicorn at the center of the fictional show-within-the-film. The genre positioning—supernatural horror filtered through the lens of a 1990s kids' program—gives the project a distinctly postmodern flavor, treating the conventions of children's television as both a setting and a thematic target. Kelly's debut thus reads as a bold, genre-defying statement that marries horror's tension with satirical commentary on media and childhood.

Narrative Architecture & Plot

The story of Buddy unfolds across several interlocking narrative planes. At its core, a group of children—Freddy, Wade, Josh, and Oliver—are trapped inside It's Buddy!, a surreal 1990s-style children's television series hosted by a malevolent anthropomorphic unicorn. When Josh refuses to join a dance party, Buddy kills him and replaces him with Hannah, setting the children on a desperate quest to escape. The plot deepens when Grace, a real-world woman, is pulled through her television screen into the show after a failed séance, assuming the role of Nurse Nancy. The narrative further complicates itself through the discovery of George and Willie, survivors of a previous Western-themed iteration of the program who have hidden from Buddy for years. Psychedelic flower petals, a miniature Diamond City, and a gymnasium of televisions showing real children being absorbed into the show all reinforce the film's layered, recursive structure. Buddy periodically resets the program with new child actors, suggesting an endless cycle of consumption that the children must break.

Festival Debut & Commercial Performance

Buddy first screened in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2026, a slot traditionally reserved for genre films that push boundaries and defy mainstream expectations. The placement signaled the project's identity as a daring, genre-bending work rather than a conventional studio product. Following its festival run, the film received a wide theatrical release in the United States on August 28, 2026, distributed by the pairing of Roadside Attractions and Saban Films—a combination that suggests a strategy targeting both arthouse audiences and broader genre fans. Critics responded favorably, with the film earning positive reviews across the board. Commercially, Buddy proved remarkably efficient: it grossed approximately $17.3 million against a modest $3 million production budget, a return ratio that underscores the project's lean, creative approach. For a feature directorial debut, these numbers represent a strong validation of Kelly and King's vision, demonstrating that a tightly scoped, genre-hybrid narrative can find both critical acclaim and audience appetite without requiring blockbuster-scale investment.

Ensemble Cast & Voice Work

The casting of Buddy reflects a deliberate layering of live-action and voice performance. Keegan-Michael Key provides the voice of the titular unicorn, while two separate in-suit performers—Sergey Zhuravsky for the standard Buddy and Jonathan Yurco, credited as Dark Buddy, for the monstrous mutated form—bring physicality to the character. Patton Oswalt voices Strappy, the talking backpack, and Michael Shannon lends his distinctive delivery to Willie, a foulmouthed marionette from a prior iteration of the show. Jimmica Collins appears both as Betty Bunny and as a scared flower, while Eric Bauza voices an array of sentient objects including Mr. Mailbox, Couchy, Trashy, and the Worry Well. Cedwan Hooks performs the in-suit work for Betty Bunny. The live-action cast spans Cristin Milioti as Grace, Delaney Quinn as Freddy, Topher Grace as Ben, and Clint Howard as George, with a rotating group of child actors playing the trapped children and their replacements. This interplay of voice talent and on-screen performers creates a rich, textured world where every character feels both animated and deeply human.

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