Today is April Fools’ Day, otherwise known as the worst day to be a fan of anything. Luckily, instead of pranking the already sore Smiling Friends fandom—still reeling from the news that the series would end—with a cruel joke about its finale being just an elaborate ruse, Adult Swim aired a full-length horror claymation special that was briefly shown as a bit in the season three horror episode, “Curse of the Green Halloween Witch,” and blew Mr. Boss’ mind.
To further put readers on a hot streak of not having the joke be on them in their news feed today, we sat down with Lee Hardcastle, the artist and frequent Adult Swim collaborator behind the 11-minute short, which you can view below, to ask him how he made the magic happen.
Isaiah Colbert, io9: Adult Swim airing Ghosts ’n Chainsaws as a surprise April Fools’ event feels perfect. How did that release plan come together? Was it always intended to become a full 11-minute film back in season three, or did the idea snowball once you and creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel started playing with the idea?
Lee Hardcastle: The original ask was just for a short sting—something that felt like the ending of a film that didn’t exist. That was the joke. At the time, I did ask if I could have the option to expand it into a full short for festivals, but the answer was no—they wanted to retain the rights—so I left it at that. When the episode aired, I joked on Instagram that they’d just shown the final 15 seconds of my two-hour epic Ghosts ’n Chainsaws. There was no two-hour film—I’d just made up the most ridiculous title I could think of, something in the spirit of Cowboys & Aliens.
That joke must have stuck, because not long after, someone at Adult Swim asked if I’d actually be interested in turning it into a short. I laughed… and then ended up doing exactly that. So I basically reverse-engineered the rest of it—built a full film that leads into that original ending. I didn’t really develop it directly with Michael Cusack or Zach Hadel—this one was more of a side project that fed into the world rather than something we all sat down and mapped out together.
io9: Claymation is notoriously labor‑intensive, so it feels apt to ask the question Mr. Boss asked Pim and Charlie. How did you pull off making Ghosts ’n Chainsaws feel so tactile and visceral?
Hardcastle: A lot of it is just leaning into what clay does naturally rather than fighting it. Fingerprints, slight warping, things not being perfectly smooth—that all helps sell the physicality. I kept everything very hands-on: real materials, practical lighting, minimal cleanup. Lighting does a lot of the heavy lifting—hard shadows, very directional light, letting things fall into darkness. That’s where the horror really comes from. There are little tricks—swapping parts, shooting on twos where you can, reusing rigs—but mostly it’s just patience. You’re building it frame by frame, so every tiny decision adds up.
io9: How long did the short take from concept to final frame, and what part of the process consumed the most time or energy?
Hardcastle: I had a tight three-month deadline to come up with a story and make it. I gave myself one month to write the script and build the sets and characters, leaving two months for the animation. The animation is always the biggest drain—just the sheer number of frames you have to physically move and shoot. It’s relentless.
But honestly, it’s the consistency that really takes it out of you. Keeping the lighting, the characters, and the tone completely locked in for that long without drifting—it’s like trying to hold a very specific mood in your head for months on end. I ended up living in that headspace a bit too much—sleeping in the studio most nights, barely switching off. By the end of it, I felt like I’d been through the same grind as the character.
io9: Ghosts ’n Chainsaws carries this uncanny, industrial, almost Lynchian energy. Were there specific films or directors—maybe even Eraserhead—that shaped your animation’s tone?
Hardcastle: Yeah, there’s definitely a bit of Eraserhead DNA in there—that oppressive, industrial atmosphere. I saw it way too young, around 10, because it was advertised as a “horror film.” I thought it might be something like Night of the Living Dead, which I already loved—but it wasn’t that at all.
It was a completely different kind of horror. It stirred something in me I didn’t understand at the time—it made me feel angry, depressed… I hated it for years. But as I got older, it sort of flipped. Now it’s a comfort film in a strange way. I think it’s beautiful.
Silent Hill on the original PlayStation has also stuck with me—it’s one of my favorite games. That idea of shifting between realities, slipping into something darker without fully understanding it. Over time I’ve become really interested in Carl Jung and the unconscious mind. Looking back, a lot of those films and games feel like they’re tapping into that same space—what I think of as the “shadow realm.”
io9: Smiling Friends has always been a multimedia playground. How did you first get involved with the team?
Hardcastle: It came through Adult Swim originally. I’d done IDs for them years ago, and that relationship just sort of carried on. When Smiling Friends came along, I went away and watched it properly and realized they were pulling together all these great internet animators—people behind things like Salad Fingers and the “Burger King Foot Lettuce” video. It felt like my kind of crowd.
So I messaged Zach Hadel, half-jokingly trying to wedge my way in, and he basically said, “Don’t worry, we’re already trying to float your name.” About a year later, I got asked to make some claymation for the show. It was nice to finally be part of it—and to get that bit of validation.
io9: When you heard season three would be the final one, how did that news land for you?
Hardcastle: Confusing… haha. It felt like they’d thrown a cat among the pigeons. Fair play to them, though—good showmanship.
io9: What do you hope Ghosts ’n Chainsaws adds to that legacy?
Hardcastle: Because of what happened with Spook Train, this all feels like a bit of poetic justice. “Room 3” ended up getting made—but through the world of Smiling Friends, which somehow feels right. It fits that whole ecosystem of internet animation.
People had been asking me about Spook Train for years—since the Kickstarter fell through and my attempts to self-fund more episodes didn’t quite work out. So for it to come back in this form, and actually reach an audience, feels a bit surreal.
It feels like something that wasn’t supposed to happen—but did anyway.
Check out the official promo for the final two episodes of Smiling Friends airing on April 12th at 11:00 PM! pic.twitter.com/dcVUgTw9ba
— Swimpedia (@swimpedia) April 1, 2026
Smiling Friends fans can look forward to the show’s two-episode series finale on Adult Swim on April 12.
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