Adult Swim Yule Log (The Fireplace)

Adult Swim Yule Log throws a curve by introducing a merry band of podcasters. There’s Ben (Sean Hankinson), Beth (Hannah Alline), Holly (Danielia Maximillian), and Henry (Skye Passmore). Both parties used different apps to book the same cabin, but the podcasters refuse to leave as the edibles they took are kicking in. Alex and Ben race to call Diane to straighten this out. They hear her phone ringing where it fell on the floor, all while the murderous hillbillies peek in from another room.

Here, Kelly implements split-screen flashbacks to past cabin residents, like two boys (Paxton Pope, Koleman Adams) from the 1950s playing cowboys or 19th-century Issac (Michael Reagan) being served cornbread by his slave Rosa (Jessica Fontaine). After everyone leaves the living room, the fire starts back up by itself. At this point, we leave the fixed wide shot, and the camera angles start going Bozo McGillicutty, flying around all over the place. Soon we find out murderous hillbillies are the least of the terrors that will gather tonight around the fireplace.

“Clever, clever, clever.”

Clever, clever, clever. The filmmaker already proved his clever chops with his Adult Swim twisted parody of sitcom openings, Too Many Cooks. By making Adult Swim Yule Log feature length, Kelly wisely plays the fireplace close-up for around 7 minutes, and the found footage wide shot for 30 minutes. When we zoom out to conventional angles as well as a soundtrack, the director treats us to a real movie. By finding ingenious ways to work burning logs and fireplaces into the narrative, he stays true to the goal of making a full-fledged feature out of an analog-era ambient static shot.

But Kelly doesn’t stop there! Most horror movies have a single source of dread threatening the protagonist. This has five horrible entities closing in, all for different, ominous reasons. It’s a monster mash! For the record, Kelly also includes themes and character arcs and all that other jazz that goes into real feature movies. The split-screen work and the stories told in the flashbacks are downright brilliant. Once again, the director didn’t need to, but maybe because it’s Christmas, he goes all out. With Adult Swim Yule Log, Kelly delivers a new dimension in seasonal insanity, and won’t the kids just love it? Just slide your arm into the crazy stocking until you hear a click.

Adult Swim Yule Log is a 2023 Award This! WTF Indie like “What the F**k is This Movie Even?