On Sunday, Dec. 11, Adult Swim debuted a surprise feature-length horror movie called Adult Swim Yule Log. It is now available to stream on HBO Max.
From writer and director Casper Kelly — the madman behind viral short “Too Many Cooks” and Mandy’s Cheddar Goblin — comes Adult Swim Yule Log. It is, as presumed, anything but your standard recording of a flickering fire on loop. In “Too Many Cooks” fashion, the traditional holiday video becomes an absurd flavor of Christmas Horror on a shoestring budget. Think along the lines of ThanksKilling, specifically the out-of-bounds ThanksKilling 3, in terms of how Kelly turns a flaming log into a Christmas Horror antagonist. Adult Swim’s first fright flick is in the vein of schlocky ‘80s midnighters, where chaos trumps coherency. Maybe burn this hallucinogenic strain after you already have the munchies?
Kelly developed Adult Swim Yule Log entirely in secret, starting like any other YouTube loop of crackling fireplace ASMR and dancing flames. Kelly continually challenges our expectations by playing into convention then flipping the script, starting with background noises of a scuffle that drown out public-domain versions of Christmas tunes. The horrors of Adult Swim Yule Log toy with Airbnb home invasions (the setup mimics Barbarian), unfathomable creature features (like The Killing Tree), and out-of-this-world science fiction probes. There’s also time travel, portals to fireplace dimensions, gory deaths — it’s the guy behind “Too Many Cooks” answering the prompt, “How can we turn a Yule Log into a horror villain?” Turns out the answer is tied to America’s slave-trading past, as horror-comedy clouds break to tell a story about a cursed log cut from a hanging tree.
You can’t fault Adult Swim Yule Log for its ambition. Kelly confronts America’s disgustingly racist past while smashing faces to bloody pulps with smoking wood and introduces a killer named Pleatherface (Brendan Patrick Connor). Ideas ricochet off walls like 20 racquetball matches played on the same court, with the same level of comprehension. Kelly leans on vacationing couple Zoe (Andrea Laing) and Alex (Justin Miles), the latter whose camera we first start watching — he’s a YouTube celebrity who produces Yule Log videos. They’re our entryway into a night of brutal bashings, crazy storytelling devices, and some of the most off-the-wall Christmas Horror concepts since Santa Jaws.
Kelly can be clever with how he reveals his yuletide massacre, given how it starts like countless Yule Log videos streamed throughout time. There’s a sensation that Kelly’s camera won’t venture away from the fire, and whatever we watch will be criminals and victims walking in and out of frame. That perspective widens as we enter a pulled-back living room setting with the same concept that introduces characters like we’re watching a stage play — which wouldn’t fly for 90 minutes. So, the camera focus leaps off Alex’s tripod and becomes the fly on the wall defined by third-person filmmaking — the next iteration of Adult Swim Yule Log before settling into experiential steadiness. Adult Swimisms are present, yet keen enough not to deter viewers with an hour-and-a-half slaughterfest filmed from the window of a Yule Log’s warm glow.
The problem is Kelly’s “Too Many Cooks” sitcom hellscape runs all of 11 minutes, which keeps gag transformations zippy due to time constraints. Adult Swim Yule Log embellishes subplot after subplot without the substance necessary, throwing diversion after redefinition against the wall — yet the rapid-fire containment of Adult Swim favorites like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is sorely missed. What starts as a Texas Chain Saw riff becomes a ditzy teen slasher, fades and wipes start overlapping previous victims of the Yule Log from bygone eras, and their stories start conflicting with Zoe and Alex. Then the Thankskilling vibes embrace goofiness, yet the historical traumas of enslaved people permeate insanely cheapo digital and practical effects. All this to say, you’re damn sure watching an Adult Swim oddball — but one whose legs become wobblier and Jell-O-y as the marathon continues.
Kelly’s comedic fearlessness is both a superpower and downfall.
It’s a shame because Adult Swim Yule Log is genuinely madcap and worth deranged seasonal laughs in spurts. Kelly’s comedic fearlessness is both a superpower and downfall, leading to exquisite line deliveries that stink of pimento cheese breath or charmingly home-cobbled practical effects. Sometimes, Adult Swim Yule Log feels like a VHS recording of something an older sibling or cousin introduces into your life way too young — the Yule Log horror translation had me cackling fiercely upon introduction. You hate to see jokes drag until their initial shock-hilarity evaporates because Kelly’s approach is unique by Christmas Horror standards, but Adult Swim signatures sink like dead weight at feature length.
About Post Author
