How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a holiday classic for the ages. Parodied and adapted for the screen countless times, the classic Dr. Seuss book will now be parodied in a horror film: The Mean One.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has been enchanting audiences since 1957. Dr. Seuss' classic tale tells the story of the Grinch, a mean-spirited creature who hates everything, Christmas most of all. Setting out to steal Christmas from the Whos down in Whoville, the Grinch discovers that the spirit of Christmas was inside the Whos all along and his heart grows three sizes from that revelation. The book was adapted as an animated television special in 1966, narrated by Boris Karloff. It was then adapted for the screen in 2000 by Ron Howard, with Jim Carrey starring as a live-action version of the character. A recent animated version starring Benedict Cumberbatch came out in 2018.
According to Deadline, audiences will next be seeing a horror parody of the tale in The Mean One. XYZ Films has picked up the violent slasher parody by director Steven La Morte. The film will be released for free online on December 15, just in time for Christmas. The Mean One will star David Howard Thornton as a "hairy, green-skinned grump" living high above the festive town of Frazier Park.
The character hates the holiday season and seeks to cause havoc during Christmastime while clad in a Santa Claus outfit. The Grinch parody will be joining the ranks of other anti-Christmas movies as the grump goes on a slasher frenzy for Christmas. Unfortunately for Cindy You-Know-Who (Krystle Martin), his holiday horror has coincided with her return to Frazier Park, where her parents were murdered by the inhuman killer 20 years earlier.
The film seems like a promising parody of the classic Christmas tale. What has been shown of the Grinch-like killer looks very close to Carrey's version of The Grinch, which some fans have previously found to be unsettling, including Carrey, who found the costume so uncomfortable, he had to have anti-torture training conducted by a Navy SEAL.
As the season is crowded with Christmas movies, some prefer to take on horror fare as opposed to the more traditional, heartwarming films that crowd the airwaves every year. The Mean One looks to be a fun title for those wanting a little more thrills in their Yuletide season.
The Mean One drops on December 15, 2022, from XYZ Films.
Source: Deadline