There’s just over a month left until Christmas and the Grinch is getting ready to go slashing through the snow in the unofficial slasher parody The Mean One. Atlas Film Distribution revealed that the absurd horror flick featuring Art the Clown himself, David Howard Thornton (Terrifier), as the classic Dr. Seuss character will arrive with plenty of time to rack up some kills before the big day. Along with the release of a chilling new poster, the film is now set to reach theaters on December 9.
The Mean One marks the fourth adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss holiday tale, though this iteration of the Grinch is the meanest and greenest he’s ever been. Directed by Bury Me Twice helmer Steven LaMorte, the film takes place in the little town of Newville where a green monster lurks menacingly in his home in the mountains above. Every holiday season, the beast dons a red Santa suit and pays a visit to the village to wreak havoc among its citizens. Young Cindy You-Know-Who lost both of her parents to the monster twenty years ago and has now returned to Newville in search of vengeance. With the grumpy, green-skinned menace ready to kill once again, Cindy has to figure out a way to defeat him before he can ruin Christmas.
The official poster turns the holiday icon into a twisted mockery of what everyone knows. Brandishing a butcher knife with his screaming victim’s reflection shining in it, he has his traditional red suit and hat on for the holidays. His trademark wide, sinister grin is still barely visible from behind the knife. Despite being an unauthorized adaptation, it looks like Lamorte and Thornton are going to have plenty of fun turning the Grinch into a murderous psychopath, using all the traits associated with him to make him all the creepier.
Everything We Know About The Mean One
Flip and Finn Kobler penned the script for The Mean One with Flip also set to appear on-screen in the film. Joining him in rounding out the cast is producer Amy Schumacher alongside Chase Mullins, John Bigham, and Erik Baker. The film is a joint production between A Sleight of Hand Productions, Amy Rose Productions, and Kali Pictures with Schumacher, LaMorte, and Martine Melloul on board as individual producers. Executive producers include Jordan Rosner, Gato Scatena, and Zach Stampone.
The Mean One is the latest in a line of children’s-media-gone-horror that’s been cropping up repeatedly in recent years. Previously, The Banana Splits came back with The Banana Splits Movie which had the cuddly band of animal rock stars becoming a gang of animatronic killers for a horror comedy. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has also made waves ahead of its release next year for the sheer absurdity of transforming Pooh, the adorably innocent bear from E. H. Shepherd and A. A. Milne, into a monster. With the Grinch now making the leap to horror, it’ll give the genre of horror based on childhood icons a holiday flavor just in time for Christmas.
We’re still waiting on a trailer for The Mean One. With only a couple of weeks left until its December 9 release, a look at the film beyond the newly released poster could be coming very soon.