The Mean One

The Mean One (2022) is a movie that I caught in theatres this evening (Regal Theatres picked it up). The storyline focuses on a town where eleven years ago a gruesome murder occurred leaving an entire household dead and one survivor, Cindy. As Cindy is finally learning to live with the nightmares from that night, similar occurrences start happening again around the town. Has the killer returned?

This movie is directed by Steven LaMorte (Nightwatch series) and stars David Howard Thornton (The Terrifier 1 & 2), Krystle Martin (They Live in the Grey), Chase Mullins (Driven), Amy Schumacher (Nightwatch series), John Bigham (Angel's Dance) and Erik Baker (One Stop Away).

The narration is good, has some nice comedy and reminded me of Malcolm McDowell. The storyline isn't good and neither is the acting outside of David Howard Thornton. The Grinch was fun for the most part. The writing for The Grinch's backstory wasn't good but the mannerisms and facial expressions were solid. His movements were cool too. The kills were okay, there was some solid gore and a plethora of nail and neck kills. I will warn viewers there's some bad CGI fire and blood splatter. The ending is absolutely atrocious. I didn't like the ending at all...but it fit.

Overall, this is bad, but an absolute must watch for those who enjoy bad horror films. I would score this a 3.5-4/10 and strongly recommend it.

The Mean One is a Grinch-Horror parody film filled with alright and pretty bad acting, kills, and the story. The story with it being that the Grinch, but in the film referred to as "The Mean One", that it does its Christmas yearly kills to whoever puts up Christmas decorations or is in the Christmas spirit for the holidays. The origin story of Cindy (main protagonist) witnessing her mom die, while she was a kid, because of the Grinch right in front of her and seeks retribution to end this nightmare once and for all as she is older. Overall, I tried to like it because it is a Grinch Horror parody, the story, and my favorite scene being with the douche Christmas party people entering the bar, then getting killed off. Disliked it because of the cringe and awkward sheriff and half the deaths were off screen, then we see the aftermath of their dead bodies afterwards. In my opinion, it is a mid-level film of entertainment because it is bad and good at the same time.

"The Mean One" is a lackluster parody of Dr. Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with a higher body count. Despite the presence of David Howard Thornton, known for his role as Art the Clown in "Terrifier 2," the movie fails to deliver on its central joke. The use of shaky camera scenes and dark lighting hides Thornton, and the movie's commitment to CGI blood splatters zaps the basic thrills of its scenes. The supporting characters are walking tropes, and the movie's emotional investment in Cindy You-know-Who is weak. Overall, the movie is a missed opportunity for a fun, bloody riff on a classic story.

I went into this movie with high expectations. Knowing the Grinch was going to be played by the Terrifier and seeing the trailer had me thinking this movie would be hysterically bloody.

Ironically, it was nowhere near as gory as I anticipated, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. All of the Dr. Suess easter eggs were cute.

This film had a lot of potential to really be a wonderful com-horror parody, but I felt they dropped the ball by not letting the Grinch speak. Given that the Grinch has always spoken and drove the story, to have him non-verbal appeared to be a missed opportunity, especially given how violent he was supposed to be in this movie.

Second thing was the acting was lack-luster and the dialogue not particularly well-written. Obviously this film did not have the budget equivalent of a Marvel film, but the acting just left a lot to be desired. That said, the actor playing the deputy did a serviceable job and of course Mr. Thornton did an outstanding job as the Grinch considering he was limited to body language to convey the character.

All in all not terrible. I have seen better< but also seen much worse.

Jim Carrey's Grinch meets Terrifier's Art w/o a budget.... this movie on paper had so much potential and had a studio backed it financially, maybe it would have had a chance! Hardly any on-screen kills worthwhile and that's probably because the budget wasn't there for impressive special effects. No money also means no actors. And above all else, there's no licensing deal on the character or all that comes with it. It just feels like a High School film project. I love Art the Clown and the Terrifier movies are terrific gorefest slasher flicks. The Mean One falls flat on almost every level. The coolest thing is the design of The Grin... "The Mean One." Even that isn't original as it's a blatant ripoff of Jim Carrey's classic interpretation.