The horror genre is going through a weird phase right now where filmmakers are taking established children’s properties and turning them into horror films. THE MEAN ONE is just one of many and I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of filmmakers doing this, but I will admit that the movies have my interest piqued, which I’m sure is the point. 

To avoid any legal ramifications, the names and characters have been changed just enough for the film to consider itself a parody that’s “loosely based” on How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. Thus, we have THE MEAN ONE—a movie that really only has one thing going for it and that’s the fact that the killer is a hairy green Christmas-hating pessimist that we all know as The Gri..SHHHH.. We shan't say the name for fear of reprisal, at least that’s how it seems in the actual movie. 

The film starts out with a little girl named Cindy, who spots someone dressed as Santa one Christmas morn’ and before she can actually converse with the jolly fellow, her mom steps in and pummels the dude (which makes sense since he clearly broke into their home), but also inadvertently dies in the process (D’oh!). This leaves the girl and “Santa” scarred.  

Fast forward “nearly twenty years later” and little Cindy is all grown up and back in her hometown of Newville with her dad. She's looking to get some sort of closure from what happened all those years ago (she still has PTSD from it). Little do they know, the town now restricts anything Christmas-related, but won’t really explain why. Of course, we know why that is and soon Cindy and her pops will too.  

It’s not long before the angry green one starts killing off anyone passing through the town that exhibits any Christmas cheer, but ol’ Grinchy-poo might’ve finally met his match when Cindy decides that enough is enough and is determined to take on the hairy one herself (*insert training montage* and no joke, there is a training montage in the movie). 

While the film has a decent body count, much of the deaths are either off screen or filled with terrible CG, specifically the blood. In fact, the only practical effects in the movie are that of “The Mean One” himself, as it’s actor David Howard Thornton (Terrifier’s Art the Clown) in full costume and makeup. On that note, David does a great job as the titular villain, who coincidentally also doesn’t speak a word (much like Art), so he does all his acting with his hands and facial features. 

It’s hard to say whether the movie considers itself a comedy, because there are moments when it pokes fun at itself, but also other instances where it seems to take itself completely seriously. Either way, I found myself laughing quite a bit and it’s not because of some witty dialogue or humorous scene, but because of unintentionally funny aspects throughout the movie. 

For instance, how all interior scenes have this mysterious smoke in the background, or how they have CG fish in a fish tank (and did a closeup of it) for no apparent reason, or how the town’s jail cell looks like it’s made of wood, or how the color grading’s so bad that it’s hard to tell whether it’s night or day, or how “The Mean One” roars and snarls like some kind of dinosaur. Needless to say, I was amused by the movie, which is probably the only positive thing I really have to say about it.