Love ‘Buddy’? 6 Horror Movies That Weaponize Nostalgia To Watch Next

Based on the characters from the iconic '60s animated series, The Banana Splits Movie (2019) follows a family seeing a live taping of the show with its animatronic characters. When the characters learn their show is being canceled, a software update causes them to lose control and kill everyone in the soundstage.

Similar to a Five Nights at Freddy's story, The Banana Splits Movie takes things to the next level and doesn't pull its punches as it gives the classic show a darker coat of paint. Preying on the idea of icons turning evil, there are few movies that lean into it as much as The Banana Splits Movie.

Based on the iconic video game series, Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) appeals to a wider demographic, delivering a fun entry-level horror film that maintains its lore. The film follows a security guard who has to face sentient animatronics in an abandoned pizza restaurant and kids' entertainment venue like Chuck E. Cheese.

While it's light on genuine horror, Five Nights at Freddy's embraces the terror of animatronic animals hunting you down, and its sequel does so even more. It may not be as dark as the games, but the lore and aesthetic are perfect for fans of similar places from childhood.

Fans of Nicolas Cage can't miss the carnage show in Willy's Wonderland (2021), a film about being trapped in a family fun center with murderous mascots. Cage plays the Janitor who helps fend off these withered monsters as they fight to survive.

The film doesn't have the luxury of leaning on established IPs like the last two entries, and that's what makes this movie such a bloody good time. It's as wild as the premise would allude to, and it still leans on the unsettling atmosphere of abandoned family fun centers while characters not unlike Buddy stalk their victims.

An experimental supernatural analog horror film, Skinamarink (2023) follows two young children who awaken to find their father missing and all the windows and doors in their home gone. From then on, the movie uses odd camera angles and tricks of the eye to sell what is a horror film seen through the eyes of small children.

Skinamarink makes us think about our own vivid imaginations when we were younger or the nightmares we had that made no sense but felt dreadful. It leans on that feeling of confusion, dread, and lack of understanding, and uses the dark parts of childhood nostalgia to make something scary.

A slasher classic, Child's Play (1988) features a serial killer putting his soul into a doll with the goal of then putting his soul in the body of a young boy to kill again with a new life. The catch is that the boy in question begins to become a suspect for all the deaths happening around him, as no one believes the truth that Chucky the Good Guy doll is alive.

The film, more than anything, reminds us of that feeling when the adults thought they knew better when we were kids. Not being believed when telling the truth hits hard, and Child's Play explores this better than any show or movie. It may not be a nostalgic feeling, but it's an integral part of growing up.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) marked a new era for classic children's tales being twisted into violent horror films. When Christopher Robin left for university, his friends in the 100 Acre Wood had a tough time and eventually went feral. When he returned to them, he found out his friends wanted nothing more than bloody revenge.

Pooh and his friends have always been kind and thoughtful, and to see the beloved characters of our childhood change into something so violent is one of the most shocking things about the film. It may lean more on the darkly comedic, but it still uses a part of our childhood we try to protect the most.