Ever since the debut of his surreal comedy horror short, “Too Many Cooks,” Casper Kelly has cultivated a reputation for doing the disturbing and unexpected. That’s why, when it came to Adult Swim’s “Yule Log 2: Branching Out,” Kelly decided to turn his very reputation on its head.
“A lot of sequels will go darker and grittier, so I thought maybe I’ll slightly do the opposite,” Kelly told TheWrap.
The first “Yule Log” premiered as a surprise on Adult Swim in December of 2022. That movie started as a video of a crackling fireplace. But the longer the camera focused on the comforting pops of the cozy fire, the more it descended into madness, as it told the story of a winter vacation gone horribly wrong, complete with an incestuous serial killer family, aliens, and a vengeful and sentient yule log. By its end, the movie becomes a surrealist deep dive into the guilt held by generational trauma. All of this from a weird Adult Swim special about a log.
In comparison, its sequel is much brighter and sillier, partially because its creation started as a bit of joke. Around the time he wrote it, Kelly had just seen his first Hallmark movie. “I was both laughing at it, but I did get emotionally invested, which I thought was interesting,” he said.
Filmed over roughly four weeks in Cartersville, Ga., “Yule Log 2” stands as a critique of that duality, a movie that both cheekily mocks the holiday Hallmark formula and embraces it in Kelly’s own distinct way. Set after the events of the original, the movie once again follows Zoe (Andrea Laing), who now has a reconstructed face, an axe that accompanies her everywhere, and a whole lot of trauma. Despite her hardened and weary attitude, she finds herself stuck in a small town obsessed with Christmas, cozy shops, and sweet, soulful men. But as she’s falling for one of these hunks, she’s also being pursued by a vengeful flying piece of wood. This time around, the yule log in question has the ability to open trunks and turn into a monster that wouldn’t feel out of place in “Evil Dead.”
“We had a thing we called log cam. We had this first movie, but I got to use it more now,” Kelly said. The “log cam” is one of many practical effects the movie uses, a POV device that literally involves a log duct taped “right in front of the camera.”
Nearly every Hallmark trope makes an appearance before it’s turned on its head. This time around, Zoe has an aggressively gay best friend who is almost completely disposable when he’s not thirsting after hotties. Speaking of which, there’s an endless stream of hunks that inhabit this small town, many of whom wander around shirtless as they lament their sad single statues. Some of the town hunks were even portrayed by actors who have appeared in actual Hallmark movies.
Another trope “Yule Log” pokes fun at involves a lost family recipe that ultimately bonds Zoe to her sweet single dad love interest. Only this time around, the recipe in question is a truly revolting invention called shrimp fudge. “That’s what I’m trying to do — one degree more ridiculous,” Kelly said.
But the funniest and most intriguing part of the movie has to do with its filming. When tense Zoe is in charge, the movie has a blue palette and letter box effect that’s intentionally reminiscent of horror movies. These scenes also feature a letter box effect, an idea that came from director of photography Alex Allgood. But when Zoe is forced into this cheery world, the cinematography becomes brighter and the letter box disappears.
“It’s totally designed to be watched on your TV at home,” Kelly said.
This effect is stretched to its absolute limits during this small town’s annual Yule Log Festival. Systematically, the movie shows multiple residents celebrating the occasion under the bright lens of a Hallmark movie. Yet when each of them realize they’re being hunted by a killer log, the cinematography changes mid-scene as they’re pummeled to death. Even the music changes. Kelly brought in “Room 237” director Rodney Asher to construct a score that mirrored the scene’s sharp jumps from abject horror to holiday cheer.
By the massacre’s end, it’s impossible to tell which narrative is in charge — horror or happiness. That chaos is ultimately the point of “Branching Out.”
“It’s continuing the idea of how do you perceive the world and how do you live? Do you live your life optimistically, or in fear?” Kelly said. “That’s sort of the question in both movies, or one of the questions.”
Much like with the first movie, the ended of “Yule Log 2” is open for interpretation. Is the nightmare Zoe experienced a dream she imagined while recovering in the hospital from the events of the first movie? Or was it real? Now that this sequel has been completed, Kelly is more open to the true ending being the former.
“I kind of want to do a third one. It probably will just be real. But I liked playing with that ambiguity a little bit,” Kelly said. “I’ve got some ideas.”
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