Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Adult Swim Yule Log Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 11, 2025

Programming on the Adult Swim network is often an acquired taste. The company tends to play to the comedy nerd crowd, investing in absurdity and extremity to reach a cult viewership that enjoys wild visions of silliness and horror. The brand has managed to hit a few mainstream heights during their run (“Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Robot Chicken,” “Rick and Morty”), but nothing perfectly encapsulates the Adult Swim way better than 2014’s “Too Many Cooks.” The short arrived quietly, only to become a secret handshake offering of insanity from writer/director Casper Kelly, who turned the vanilla charms of network sitcoms into a hellish descent, making a fine mess of parody and genre perversion, crafting an 11-minute-long valentine to weirdness. Kelly returns to oddity in 2022’s “Adult Swim Yule Log” (actually titled “The Fireplace” on the movie), which retains the “Too Many Cooks” atmosphere, once again launching sustained strangeness with a large collection of characters, often turning to heavy violence to keep viewers on edge. However, “Adult Swim Yule Log” is not a short, but 92 minutes long, pushing Kelly to maintain oddity for an extended amount of time. The strain of this mission shows, though the core experience of the endeavor remains appreciable, as Kelly is working to make something wholly bizarre, and he’s periodically successful when focusing on a growing log-based nightmare.

Alex (Justin Miles) creates videos for YouTube, focusing on the manufacturing of yule log clips for use during the holidays. He’s booked a cabin for a getaway, making a fireplace video while welcoming his girlfriend, Zoe (Andrea Laing), to the dwelling, preparing to change both of their lives by proposing to his longtime love. Zoe is a troubled woman dealing with heavy trauma in her past, resisting commitment to Alex, but their issues are interrupted by the arrival of podcasters Ben (Sean Hankinson), Holly (Daniella Maximillian), Beth (Hannah Aline), and Henry (Skye Passmore). The foursome have also booked the cabin, preparing to stay the night as Alex scrambles to untangle the situation, making things uncomfortable for the couple. However, all human interests are suddenly shut down by a special burning log, as Alex has taken wood from an old “hanging tree,” awakening a demon intent on killing all the travelers as they learn about the bleak history of the area.

“Adult Swim Yule Log” delivers a traditional holiday viewing experience for about two minutes. Roasting fireplace imagery is interrupted by the arrival of Diane, a landlady desperate to clean the cabin before guests arrive, and she’s confronted by Mother (Tordy Clark) and her hulking son Arvid (Brendan Patrick Connor), who enjoys murdering people. Death arrives quickly in the feature, but Kelly tries to keep “Adult Swim Yule Log” passably human, devoting a substantial amount of time to relationship issues between Max and Zoe, who meet at the cabin, preparing for a romantic evening. Zoe has a lot of pain in her life, and Max isn’t a loving partner, and while this union is tested by arguments, Kelly tries to introduce some creepiness, as Mother and Arvid are still in the house. This tension is broken by the arrival of Ben and the gang, who’ve come to enjoy edibles and research alien abductions.

“Adult Swim Yule Log” touches on existential concerns and some area history, as the cabin was once inhabited by a slave owner who lived to torment his top laborer, Rosa (Jessica Fontaine). Kelly goes semi-“Here” in the picture, tracking the history of the living space with locked-off camera transitions, making for some interesting detours into the past. However, “Adult Swim Yule Log” is mostly concerned with the development of evil, which comes in the form of Little Man (Charles Green), who resides inside the fire, tempting victims into his elevator time machine. And there’s a haunted flaming log, with the demon spirit flying around taking lives, which adds plenty of gore to the offering.

Adult Swim Yule Log Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation supplies a decently textured examination of frame information. Detail is agreeable with skin particulars, clarifying differences in age, and makeup additions are appreciable as the endeavor veers into the gore zone. Costuming is fibrous. "Adult Swim Yule Log" only offers a few exterior sequences, but they remain decently deep. Interiors are dimensional, with a clear view of decoration and visual effects. Color is defined, handling an orange glow for fireplace events. Costuming brings out brighter primaries, and skin tones are natural. Hair color is distinct. Wilder hues on aliens are also secure. Delineation is satisfactory. Compression issues are intermittent, with banding detected.

Adult Swim Yule Log Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix remains active, bringing the cabin to life at times with use of panning and separation effects, helping to sell the human activity inside the living space. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, securing performance choices and dramatic urgency, never losing anything to distortive extremes. Scoring offers decent synth support, but rarely does it reach full musical power, which may be a creative choice as the mix tends to favor dialogue. Surrounds handle atmospherics acceptably, and work out some musical moods. Low-end isn't commanding, with a milder presence.

Adult Swim Yule Log Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (30 pages) offers an essay by Grady Hendrix and an interview with writer/director Casper Kelly.

• Commentary #1 features writer/director Casper Kelly, editor Nick Gibbons, producer Matt Foster, and actress Andrea Laing.

• Commentary #2 features actors Andrea Laing, Justin Miles, Sean Hankinson, and Hannah Alline.

• Eight Select Scene Commentaries feature writer/director Casper Kelly, FX artists Shane Morton and Oliver Kasiske, costume designer Karen Freed, and actors Jessica Fontaine, Tordy Clark, Brendan Patrick Conner, Daniela Maximillian, Michael Reagan, and Charles Green.

• "FX Show and Tell" (11:02, HD) meets up with writer/director Casper Kelly, who visits the "manor" of creature effects artist Shane Morton, exploring the creation of ghoulish visuals for "Adult Swim Yule Log." The men recall their initial meeting, as Morton was hired to generate monsters for the show "Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell." Getting used to the idea of full-time creature creation work after days employed on Rob Zombie's "Halloween II," Morton elected to stay with Morton for additional Adult Swim offerings, including 2014's "Too Many Cooks." The interviewee provides a lengthy explanation of the log in "Adult Swim Yule Log," finding ways to treat it as a character. The men also spend time highlighting gory moments from the feature, sharing how the creations work.

• "Yule Log" (60:11, HD) is an uncut shot of burning wood, without any weirdness (at least for the first 57 minutes).

• Promotional materials have not been included on this release.

Adult Swim Yule Log Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's fun to "Adult Swim Yule Log," but it's hard to ignore all the breaks Kelly puts into the work, moving away from insanity for many scenes that carry on for far too long, ruining the pace of an idea that's perhaps best played as swiftly as possible. Strange asides also reach their expiration date quickly, making for a noisy viewing experience, not always a deliciously bizarre one. Kelly has something of a Big Idea to share about time and trauma, but he's never committed to it, leaving the film a mix of drama and outrageousness that doesn't quite gel. Still, "Adult Swim Yule Log" has its inspired moments, and the cast plays into the oddness, creating a few surges of wonderful weirdness in the uneven picture.