Adult Swim surprised everyone this year with a special holiday occasion: their own branded yule log. The practice isn’t unfamiliar to the network, as they ran a special Rick and Morty-themed yule log in 2021.
For those who tuned into the network this December, they were treated to something a little more engaging than wood gently crackling over open flames. The yule log turned out to be the latest project from frequent Adult Swim collaborator Casper Kelly, turning what was supposed to be a festive night into a horrifying, grisly hour and a half.
Of course, those familiar with other live-action productions by the network would’ve immediately seen through the innocent ruse. Adult Swim’s horror shorts like Unedited Footage of a Bear and This House Has People In It take full advantage of late night’s unassuming peacefulness to present nightmarish scenarios that would never otherwise see the light of day.
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This Christmas, throw another log onto the fire in preparation for the Adult Swim Yule Log, the perfect holiday horror to bring in the new year.
Who is Casper Kelly?
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Fans of Adult Swim’s live-action programming will no doubt recognize the name Casper Kelly. Originally the creator of programs like Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell and Final Deployment 4: Queen Battle Walkthrough, Kelly would be most closely associated with the viral horror-comedy short Too Many Cooks.
The short, being an eleven-minute-long parody of cheesy sitcom introductions, slowly morphs and shifts into a self-aware, sadistic horror short that revels in its own absurdity. It surprised television viewers before exploding in popularity on the internet, infecting the eardrums of anyone who listened with endless repetitions of “too many cooks.” It’s something you truly have to experience yourself to understand, a sentiment doubly shared with the Adult Swim Yule Log.
The yule log marks Casper Kelly’s first feature-length outing, moving beyond the budgetary and time constraints associated with a typical eleven-minute production. He spoke more in-depth about the process of creating the special in an interview with Indiewire, highlighting the difficulties of starting the special’s production prior to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. However, the project ultimately came together in a pleasing way, with Kelly speaking positively about the film as a whole:
What is the Adult Swim Yule Log?
The Adult Swim Yule Log, otherwise known as The Fireplace, is a feature-length special that aired shortly after the conclusion of Rick and Morty’s sixth season. After just a few minutes of warm flames to set a cozy atmosphere, the audience becomes witness to a home invasion played out off-screen, with a violent murder thudding through the house. As the murder plays out, the flames brighten as images of horrors to come meld and cross-fade into the warming fire. The assailants hide as someone else returns to the cabin, setting the stage for the rest of the special.
“It was exciting that they were willing to do something that was a little outside of what they normally do. It’s not as comedic as would probably be expected for them. I’m just excited I broke the seal and finally crossed over into the filmmaker thing."
But this is more than just a home-invasion thriller. Avoiding major spoilers for the special, let’s just say that, like Kelly’s previous work, the initial premise is nothing more than a suggestion. From time travel to parallel universes, the Adult Swim Yule Log goes just about everywhere you can think, as long as it can take place in front of the fireplace.
It’s a bizarre foray into straightforward horror, something that Adult Swim is slowly inching towards with recent changes to their Toonami block. It’s also one of the very few feature-length products the network has put out, sticking out when compared to Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem and a pair of Aqua Teen Hunger Force movies released so far.
Why Adult Swim’s Yule Log Is Worth Watching
Much like Kelly’s Too Many Cooks, the Adult Swim Yule Log is a hellish, unconventional examination of existentialism and surrealistic horror under the guise of something familiar. It tells a decidedly serious story about intergenerational trauma while touching on issues of race and societal progress. It also just so happens to have a yule log that may or may not be killing people.
It’s a film that pays homage to the works of David Lynch, both through references to his work and emulating a similar kind of storytelling that stoked the ashes of terror in many a household. It’s equal parts hysterical and horrifying as you wait to witness what kind of new, wretched turn the story will throw at you. It’s a movie that unashamedly does whatever it wants, however it wants. What could be a better gift for the holidays?
Should the Adult Swim Yule Log perform well, it’ll likely give Casper Kelly more clout in the horror world, hopefully opening more doors for future creations. As for the casual viewer, if you’re short on interesting horror movies to watch this holiday season, look no further than this yuletide experiment.
The Adult Swim Yule Log is now streaming on HBO Max.
