It seems kid’s stories are ripe fodder for horror movies these days. First, we got a Winnie the Pooh slasher, then Santa is a deranged and armed sentinel in the recently announced home invasion thriller Violent Night.
Now it’s Grinch who is getting bloodthirsty. XYZ films’ The Mean One is a horror comedy directed by Steven LaMorte. Although the film probably can’t explicitly say the killer is the green curmudgeon from the Dr. Suess story lest they face an ornery lawsuit from the estate, you can tell by the first image above, that there are some liberties taken from the intellectual property.
As for the plot, it does seem familiar.
David Howard Thornton, who portrays Art the Clown in the Terrifier films, plays a crotchety furry creature living high on a hill above the little town of Frazier Park. Enter the final girl, Cindy You-Know-Who (Krystle Martin), who has returned to Frazer Park in order to finally give her parent’s Christmas murder twenty years prior some closure.
“As a passionate fan of seasonal horror, The Mean One is exactly the kind of film that lands on my personal ‘nice list,’” says Alex Williams, XYZ Films’ Manager of Acquisitions and Development. “This movie is a stunningly great time with a ferociously subversive turn from David Howard Thornton – and XYZ Films is so proud to be bringing this soon-to-be iconic Christmas slasher to audiences this holiday season.”
Although the filmmakers have yet to reveal how this film will be brought to audiences, it is slated to be a free online release which will drop somewhere on streaming December 15, 2022. Stay tuned.