“Adult Swim” is an American nighttime television program broadcast by Cartoon Network since 2003 and dedicated to the broadcast of experimental and surrealist content definitely aimed at an adult audience (obscene language, explicit violence, extreme sexuality).

Casper Kelly, American director and screenwriter, began his career on the aforementioned channel by writing various episodes for different series. In 2014 he achieved a certain notoriety with the short “Too many cooks” which obtained millions of views on Youtube.

In 2022 he decided to direct his second feature film entitled “Adult Swim Yule Log ” (also known as “The Fireplace”) where, obviously, “Adult Swim” refers to the television program while “Yule Log” refers to the log in the fireplace, the real protagonist of the film.

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Starring actors who are not particularly well-known, the film takes place entirely in one night inside a sort of B&B (or holiday home) that is regularly rented through Airbnb.

 The fireplace, especially the log in the foreground, will be the true protagonist of a decidedly surreal and strongly horror-tinged story.

The The story begins with the owner entering the apartment to do a final cleaning before the new tenants arrive and everything seems to be going well.

Basically in the first seven minutes Kelly always focuses on the fireplace and in fact we realize what the landlady is doing only because she bends down to clean the carpet.

After a few minutes knocking on the door and despite not seeing the entrance of the house the viewer realizes that there are two people, a mother with her son, who would like to make a phone call because their car has broken down.

The woman doesn't even have time to reflect on the what can be done that she is attacked by her son who turns out to be a deformed and masked man…

The attack lasts very little and the end is explicit…

The mother, in the meantime, cleans up all the blood splatters and together with her son hide the body.

Just a few minutes later the tenants arrive, namely Alex and Zoe, an engaged couple who want to spend the weekend in peace and relaxation.

In reality, Alex has a plan: to propose marriage to Zoe who, obviously , remains surprised but, at the same time, is afraid of saying the fateful "yes" as she has lived a life always full of disappointments and troubles and does not want to drag Alex into her existence.

As the viewer knows, the couple is not alone as they think but in another room the son and mother are waiting for the right moment to get rid of them too.

Suddenly there is a knock on the door and the local sheriff shows up together with an officer who asks the couple if they have seen anyone or anything strange as a murder was committed the same day and the murderer seems to be wandering around the area...

The sheriff also warns the two because they used a log that should not have been lit and in fact he throws away the water, turns off the fireplace completely and orders the couple not to relight the fireplace fire.

The couple thanks and reassures the sheriff that if they come across something strange or suspicious they will immediately call the police station.

As soon as the sheriff leaves, four boys show up who show that they too have booked the apartment with Airbnb (exactly like Alex and Zoe) and therefore do not intend to leave, in fact they propose to spend the weekend all together, much to Zoe's disappointment.< 1>

In the meantime, however, various temporal planes overlap and the narrative begins to become more tortuous but also more fascinating: what has the fireplace witnessed in the previous decades?< 1>

After the pleasantries are over, one of the boys goes upstairs to take a shower but strangely something happens...

Did the hidden son attack the boy to kill him?

What is really happening in that apartment?

A decidedly unusual and surreal film which, almost explicitly, does not take itself seriously but which still manages, up until the last second, to keep the spectator holds his breath.

Unusual, bizarre, surreal, "weird" the Americans would define it and in any case however you decide to classify it, you will enjoy this experimental exercise which deserves respect.< 1>

There are no trailers and maybe it's for the best.