M.O.P.Z. (short)

M.O.P.Z. is an 11-minute horror comedy short for Adult Swim's "Infomercial" block. It was first aired on the week of April 4, 2016.

Ostensibly, M.O.P.Z. is a VCR recording of an 80s B-movie about a lazy janitor building a robot to do his dirty work. Except that said recording is perpetually on fast-forward. Blood and weirdness ensues.

The video can be found here on YouTube.


 * Affectionate Parody: The video as a whole is one for B-movies, The Eighties and daytime TV.
 * A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The titular M.O.P.Z., who soon turns on his janitor creator.
 * Brilliant but Lazy: The janitor at points seems very overqualified given how he could create a robot in his spare time. But he's just lazy at his job.
 * Cliche Storm: The whole "movie" is a parody of just about every 80s B-movie ever, and arguably most films in general.
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus: Slowing down the whole video not only reveals that there's actual dialogue, but also a lot of other details that are easily missed during the fast-forwarding.
 * Godwin's Law: At one point early on, the school's faculty put the janitor up for trial for his incompetence. Slowing down the video reveals the principal's lines being a Nazi rally speech on the Final Solution.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Occurs rather frequently. Since the video's constantly fast-forwarding however, it's easy to miss.
 * Kids Are Cruel: Many of the kids are shown to be unruly if not outright sadistic, with the school just barely keeping them in line.
 * Mood Whiplash: The "movie" flip-flops between cheesy school comedy and bloodbath horror very frequently.
 * Or Is It:
 * Retraux: The "film" itself is done in the style of 1980s schlocky B-movies. While the recording also captures in-verse TV commercials that wouldn't be out of place in the 1990s-2000s.
 * Satire: The video is arguably one on how films are becoming so predictable that one could understand a movie's plot while just fast-forwarding through it.
 * Scenery Gorn: A lot of trash and guts abound.
 * Stylistic Suck: In fitting with 80s schlock, the effects are by and large intentionally atrocious.
 * Vancouver Doubling: Played for laughs. The "movie" is clearly Canadian in origin, but tries pitifully to pass itself off as American.
 * What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?: As an Adult Swim short, it's to be expected.