Next year, we're going to be seeing Winnie the Pooh as we've never seen him before in a much-talked-about horror movie. Slashing into cinemas ahead of that movie though is another take on a beloved family favourite: the Grinch.
Well, The Mean One is technically a horror parody of that grouchy creature, but you won't hear the name anywhere. The creature in the new movie certainly has a lot of Grinch features – namely the green design and, of course, the hatred of Christmas – but this is a totally unauthorised take on the character.
As such, The Mean One goes to hilarious lengths to ensure its characters never utter the word "grinch" and even though there's a rhyming, Dr Seuss-esque voiceover, none of the words or phrases from the book are used. The movie pushes it as far as it can though, such as the main character Cindy Lou Who now being called Cindy You-Know-Who.
There's no doubt that The Mean One is in on the joke too which is lucky because, objectively speaking, the movie is bad. Its kills feature digital blood (often coming out of nowhere due to most kills taking place off-screen), there's a blue sheen to proceedings to make things look cold and the characters are one-note.
However, some aspects of this – particularly the characters and the schmaltzy script and setting – are also kind of the point. As well as being a horror parody of The Grinch, the movie sends up classic Hallmark and Lifetime festive movies, so of course there's a cheesy romance.
The cast all commit to this parody and your tolerance of such an approach will define whether The Mean One is a twisted festive treat – or a cinematic lump of coal. But one thing's for sure, you won't find another Christmas movie where the Grinch slaughters a bar full of drunk Santas on their way back from SantaCon.
As mentioned, there are absolutely ropey aspects to The Mean One that you could tear apart quicker than opening your favourite presents. One aspect that deserves zero criticism though is David Howard Thornton's excellent performance as the central creature.
Following on from his unforgettable turn as Art in the Terrifier series, Thornton delivers another largely wordless turn made memorable by his sharp physical comedy and expressive reactions. Without him, it's hard to see how the movie would have been as enjoyable.
When "the mean one" and Cindy (Krystle Martin) go head-to-head in a duel to the death in the final act, complete with candy-striped weapons (naturally), even the Scrooges in the audience will be swept up by the sincere ridiculousness of it all.
It might not be a total Christmas cracker, but it'd be easy to see The Mean One having a long run as dark festive counter-programming, best enjoyed with large glugs of mulled wine and with friends. Just don't go mentioning The Grinch.
The Mean One is out now in Regal Cinemas in the US. A UK release date has yet to be confirmed.
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