Adult Swim’s April Fools’ Prank Is a Claymation ‘Smiling Friends’ Spinoff: ‘Ghosts ‘n Chainsaws’
Adult Swim‘s annual April Fools’ prank takes a darker turn this year with a horrifying claymation Smiling Friends spinoff from Lee Hardcastle, seamlessly integrated into the show itself.
The stop-motion short Ghosts ’n Chainsaws is a full 11-minute descent into something far more unsettling, twisting the series’ signature absurdity into grotesque, nightmarish territory.
It follows an ordinary British shopkeeper navigating a divorce who uncovers a haunted pinball machine beneath his property, and unleashes a blood-soaked barrage of relentless creepiness that Adult Swim is known for. The short then transitions directly into Smiling Friends, landing a clean, perfectly timed button to cap it off.
The short features Adam Buxton as The Father, Tim Atkins as The Son, and Hardcastle as The Friend, with sound design by Atkins, music from Nathan Williams and Aaron Rubin, and strata-cut work by David Daniels.
Read an interview with Hardcastle over at Indiewire.
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