Roadside Attractions and Saban Films have acquired the North American rights to Buddy for a theatrical release on September 4.

Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks, V/H/S/Halloween) directs from a script he co-wrote with Jamie King (“Jessica Jones”).

Buddy centers on the titular unicorn mascot — a beloved children’s TV host with a squeaky-clean persona that belies his true nature as a dark and violent force of nature.

Cristin Miloti stars as Grace, a suburban mother inadvertently drawn into Buddy’s nightmare world, with Delaney Quinn as Freddy, a brave girl who begins to fight back against Buddy when he shows his true self.

Keegan-Michael Key voices Buddy. The cast also includes Topher Grace, Michael Shannon, and Patton Oswalt.

BoulderLight Pictures and Low Spark Films produce, in association with Sipur Studios and Substance.

“It’s an honor to be partnering with Roadside Attractions and Saban Films, two companies that have built reputations for championing bold films,” commented Kelly. “The theatrical experience means so much to me personally, and I made Buddy to be experienced in a theater. I’m thrilled that audiences will get the chance to see the movie in theaters everywhere.”

“Casper Kelly is one of the most wildly inventive and audacious filmmakers working today, and Buddy is a testament to his singular genius,” said Saban co-presidents Jonathan Saba and Shanan Becker. “He possesses a rare aptitude for taking the wholesome nostalgia of our childhoods and flipping it into a brilliantly unhinged, laugh-out-loud nightmare.”

“Buddy was everyone’s favorite movie at Sundance because we watched in horror as the familiar became the deranged and comfort food turned to poison,” added Roadside Attractions co-presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. “Theatrical audiences are in for a major treat.”

Buddy premiered in the Midnight section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at SXSW and the Overlook Film Festival.

Deadline first reported on the acquisition.