Although the visual style is heavy and oppressive, the content of Capaldi’s script is, more often than not, darkly humorous. For example, Kafka considers then dismisses ‘banana’ and ‘kangaroo’ as options to complete his opening sentence, images which Capaldi uses as an opportunity for some bizarre cutaways.

Throughout the short, Kafka’s attempts to complete his story are frustrated in a similar fashion to Luis Buñuel’s surrealist classic The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie. In that film, a group of friends’ attempts to dine together are interrupted by a succession of odd events, but here Kafka is plagued by the interruptions of his neighbours. First is Ken Stott as the sinister Woland the Knifeman, who has lost “his little friend”, then Elaine Collins (the real-life Mrs Capaldi) and Phyllis Logan, who distract him with party noise and fancy-dress insect costumes respectively.

The surreal humor is a perfect tribute to Kafka’s writing style and it’s also the ideal way to handle a mash-up as strange as that between The Metamorphosis and It’s A Wonderful Life. There are nods and references for fans of Franz – like the fact Kafka often abbreviates his characters surnames to things like Josef K. – but the plot works equally well without any prior knowledge of either work.

read more: The Weird Places It’s A Wonderful Life Has Turned Up

The influence of It’s A Wonderful Life, that most heart-warming of Christmas classics, arrives only at the finale, as the tone shifts from unrelenting misery to redemption and hope. With Kafka fearing he’s about to be killed, his life and his happiness are salvaged by his neighbours, who arrive to bring him gifts and encouragement. They sing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” just like at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life, before Capaldi masterfully switches the tone again to an unusual rendition of “Sweet Mystery Of Life,” which is somehow even more moving than the previous song.