The Mean One
Directed by Steven LaMorte
Written by Finn Kobler, Flip Kobler
Starring: David Howard Thornton, Krystle Martin, Amy Schumacher
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
In theaters December 9

by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

It seems that the announcement of a Winnie the Pooh horror film earlier this year has spurred on a new era of childhood storybook horror parodies. Some of this stems from the fact that these properties are becoming part of the public domain but some filmmakers are not waiting and are eager to put their horrific spins on these family classics. There was the recently announced Bambi horror movie (currently entitled Bambi: The Reckoning) and just in time for the holiday season folks can enjoy the parody The Mean One, based on everyone's favorite green grumpy Santa impersonator. This unauthorized adaptation puts us into a Christmas world in which this unauthorized Grinch hates Christmas so much that instead of simply stealing everyone’s decorations and presents, he needs to murder all those who celebrate. It is exactly what you would expect out of this brand of horror but it does a surprisingly great job at paying homage to the previous adaptations while having fun with the source material.

In order to make the Christmas tale fit into traditional horror tropes, you need a final girl. Cindy (Krystle Martin) makes perfect sense in this context. She sees the mean one kill her mother as a child and is traumatized through adulthood. Much like legacy sequels have brought back characters like Laurie Strode in Halloween, or Sally Hardesty in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cindy gets to come back to fight the literal demon of her past. At the same time, the movie embeds a Hallmark Christmas tone by giving her a very typical love story amidst all of the bloodshed with the town cop. She gets to live in a strange space between kids' movies, TV horror, and TV Christmas romance and it all makes it feel very Christmassy, in its own strange way. It also embeds dark town secrets, local elections, and small town politics into what could have been a straightforward slasher.

David Howard Thornton was the perfect casting in the role of the title character. Since becoming horror's new favorite clown as Art in the Terrifier franchise, he has proven to be a great physical actor in these mostly non speaking roles. It is clear that the performance is based on Jim Carrey’s Grinch from the 2000 adaptation. From the mannerisms, to the way he carries himself and the way he torments his victims all have a comedic childlike charm that is a throwback to the Carrey performance. One particular scene in a diner with a crew of drunk Santas made me realize how easy it would have been to make the live action Grinch a horror movie. Thornton blends his mime-like charm in ways that are both terrifying and hilarious. There are a few scenes that, if they had not relied on the fakest looking CGI blood, could have rivaled some of the most bloody and fun kill scenes in horror this year (like the party bus scene in the new Texas Chainsaw).

The Mean One is not a great horror movie, but it is much more fun and interesting than it could be. While it has the look and tone of a Syfy original movie, and oftentimes the dialogue that goes along with it, there is genuine love for the different types of Christmas movies we get around this time of year as well as the Dr. Seuss story on which this is loosely based. The narrator of the movie tells the tale in the same way that the original story is written, harking back to the comforting charm of the Grinch adaptations we grew up with. It also plays with the different story elements and limitations in various ways. The film makes it obvious it cannot actually say “Grinch” so they find many over the top comedic ways to remind you of this, in particular a scene at a bar where the bartender continuously calls for a Mr. Finch in the middle of a conversation. It also takes mythology like his heart growing and his troubled backstory into account, as well as the way that the local politicians use this terrifying tale to their benefit.

If you are someone that enjoys campy C-movie shlock this is certainly a fun one to watch. And horror fans will be glad to have yet another Christmas horror movie they can add to their holiday rotation. While there are questionable pieces of dialogue, like an unfortunate Jewish joke made by the local cop, it does seem to have a love of December holidays and “the true meaning of Christmas”. If you are looking for something fun that you can laugh at with a group of friends while enjoying festive drinks by a fire, The Mean One is a great group watch.