The Mean One (2022) User Reviews

This is bad, but an absolute must watch for those who enjoy bad horror films

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 15 December 2022]

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.

Average depending on your tastes

[johnfanning-53228 · 5/10 · 18 December 2022]

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.

Liked and Disliked it

[demonblade-37792 · 5/10 · 14 December 2022]

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.

A Missed Opportunity for a Bloody Riff on a Classic Story

[FilmFanatic2023 · 2/10 · 10 December 2022]

"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.

Bump in the Night

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 19 December 2022]

The film is a combination of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Silent Night Deadly Night." In one scene you see them paying homage to the film when they remove the antlers above the fireplace where Linnea Quigley was impaled. It also has a decapitation scene not similar to the 1984 Christmas classic. The film takes place in Newville, California which rhymes with Whoville. Cindy (Krystle Martin) like Cindy Lou Who meets the Grinch as a child, who then kills her mother when attacked. Twenty years later she returns to town with her dad (Flip Kobler) only to discover the town does not celebrate Christmas. They decide to hang some decorations which starts the terror all over.

There is some narration which is similar to the poetry performed in the Grinch film. Designed as a spoof, I think most people are missing the point. That said, it wasn't that great either.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

Time to Roast This Beast

[bigbadbassface · 4/10 · 12 December 2022]

Man i love bad B Horror movies but holy crap how did this end up at Regal? Every character was laughable and the cartoon blood, my god the cartoon blood. If the release of this movie was a joke on the movie going public then Bravo, well done.

To its credit everybody in the theater had a blast talking during the whole thing. Just laughing at all the bad CGI and all the cheesy one-liners it was a very good time in spite of or maybe due to the fact that it was a horrible movie. More words for new character limit since $1billion show tanked and now reviews have to be longer for no legitimate reason whatsoever.

Really Stupid, Yet Really Fun

[cfd-47311 · 6/10 · 11 December 2022]

So, this movie is a trip to say the least. Lots of cheap blood effects, many deaths, awkward acting, and some weird comedy mixed in with the horror aspect. The makeup is actually pretty good for such a small studio. The character of The Mean One is actually pretty good, and they don't add too much backstory, unlike some of the previous adaptations of the story. It's just "stealing lives, just like their Christmas" and not much more. This movie definitely doesn't fail at being entertaining for it's runtime (93 minutes). It might be pretty cheesy and poorly acted, but it is for sure a wild ride. Is it funny? Not really. Has it ruined my childhood? Probably. Despite all the negatives I've mentioned, it's actually fun to watch and I do recommend it to fans of the original story.

Dr. Seuss is Rolling in his Grave Right Now!

[sandlot1992 · 11 December 2022]

When I first read online that they were making a Christmas Horror Movie based on Dr. Suess' timeless classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", It really flipped my mind and was like "seriously?!", one thing's for sure is that ever since the failure of the live-action movie adaptation of "the Cat in the Hat"; Audrey Giesel told every movie executive not to adapt any of his classic stories into live-action films and almost 2 decades later, they never listen! The story is just bland and awkward and so are the characters that are literally just stereotypical characters even this movie has a lot of awkward acting, and cheap blood effects and the makeup design of the Mean One looks just plain cheesy and awkward at the same time. Whatever you do fans of this Dr. Suess story, do not see this since he and his wife are rolling in their graves by now and stick with the Original story as well as the Animated Special animated by the legendary Chuck Jones and even the 2000 film version starring Jim Carrey as the Title Character, plus the 2018 animated movie made by the studio that brought us Despicable Me films; it's okay and decent enough for anyone who enjoyed one of Dr. Suess' best-beloved stories both young and old.

Mean-Spirited

[chasealley · 1/10 · 29 January 2023]

This filmed is nothing but Mean-Spirited, Disturbing, and Traumatizing at the same time along with The Banana Splits Movie, it's also ruined everyone's childhood of The Grinch. Which The Grinch is better than The Mean One that gives everyone nightmares. (Although I like Horror films)

I would just stick to the better R Rated Christmas films like Die Hard (although Live Free or Die Hard is Rated PG-13), Lethal Weapon, Harold And Kumar, Vacation (although European Vacation and Christmas Vacation are Rated PG-13 and Vegas Vacation is Rated PG), and Trading Places are better than this pile of cow pie.

Hallmark + Horror = Oh, The Places You'll Go

[rikpo · 10/10 · 15 December 2022]

This is the story of an amazing little micro budget film that could. It began as a spoof trailer that viewers petitioned to be made into a real/reel movie. It delivers on the promise of a goofy night watching the titular character land himself on the permanent naughty list via meat cleavers & sharp ornaments. As a NYC resident, I couldn't help cheering for the decimation of a van of drunk Santa Con'ers. It was a dream fulfilled. Amidst this is a cute Hallmark romance sparked by the chemistry & excellent performances delivered by Krystle Martin & Chase Mullins. Oh, the places you'll go. Come on out to see it.

David Howard Thorton as The Green One is the best aspect, he's perfect as monsters!

[UniqueParticle · 7/10 · 11 December 2022]

I'm baffled this got a theater release cause it was mostly cheesy I praise for the horror and fun mindless entertainment. The Mean One is solid for a Christmas screwball horror, I enjoy the story, the narrator, and stylish violence. The acting is the worst aspect! I'm glad I have the regal subscription that helps I got my moneys worth despite complaints I had fun. Nice to see a full audience except for the kid that sat next to me that was obnoxious numerous times kinda funny when drop most of his candy and farted; the better person was a couple seats to the right of me named Josh he was cool. Might be a hit to some others will hate The Mean One, I liked more than you'd think.

Awful, but still fun to watch.

[snygyycjzf · 2/10 · 17 December 2022]

Awful acting. Looks like the budget was $100. However, was unintentionally hilarious and the whole theater was roaring (not when we were meant to, though) at the comical 'blood' and cheesy killer scenes. Concept was there but not executed well. Main character has a one day training sequence and is then suddenly a military tactics master and fighting expert. Overall cheesy and stupid, wanted a good scare... didn't get that. Makes for a good comedy if that's what you want. The actors are awkward, the cameraman certainly had "creative" angles and the storyline was garbo. Not sure how this got to a big theater like Regal. Felt like a waste of $15 and gas.

Not really worth watching

[royalclassvideo · 3/10 · 25 December 2022]

I usually do my best a film like this with an open mind because i know it probably took an army to even get it made, and i know that the acting is not going to be an Oscar winning performance but the acting was so god awful in this film that it was scarier than the grinch, the mean ones costume and acting was the only good thing really about this film. The kill scene were too speedy and didn't have a lot of unique kills because of the fact that with the speed cuts jumping all over the place the viewer couldn't really make out what was going on.

Hats off to costume and make-up though because they didnt fall short like the rest of the film did.

legendary

[michaeldworboys · 1/10 · 12 September 2023]

This movie is legendary. I love every bit and i love you and i love the grinch. And i love how there is no swearing so me and my 6 year old son watched it and he cried tears of joy. I love the bit where the grinch dies its goated! I loved the vibe and even though it was low budget i had the greatest time ever. Seeing this movie was better than getting married and the silliest neck under the table. I was singing the grinch the whole way and i was chuckling at the great, amazing, gorey acting. The end was absolutely bonkers and i NEED a squel immedietly! If there isn't i will riot the streets of new york.

I ordered bell peppers not jingle bells

[QueenoftheGoons · 1/10 · 22 January 2024]

So not sure what i expected. I like the new Pooh blood & Honey. It was low budget but not noticeably. This was made in someone's backyard, very cheeply. Acting was atrocious. Wonder if i'll get stopped in a town where its illegal to have antlers on your car? The gore was way way over the top. The ending was stupid and i did not like it. I did have the same necklace that the Grinch wore. Should have been a rape scene. That would have been interesting. I won't get rid of the blu ray because its stream only over here but i'll not watch it again. The blood & honey pooh one was 10x better than this if that says anything.

GOOD BUT NOT GREAT

[broski256 · 5/10 · 8 April 2024]

I watched this in theaters when it came out. For the most part, it was good. The actor who plays the mean one does a great job at replicating Jim Carrey. I enjoyed how they got around the legal rights, such as when they are about to say grinch and the old lady comes in and says "Order for Mike Finch," and when the character Dr. Zuess. The few things that held me back from this movie being great were 1:The lighting. The movie was filmed in summer and it is blatantly obvious. The film makers use a blue tit to emphasize that it takes place In the winter and that it is cold. They also add in some cgi snow, which actually leads into my second reason. 2:The cgi. The cgi snow looks awful along with the blood. It looks straight out of a ps2 game. 3: The mean one is hardly in it. The Mean One is truly wasted in this movie, especially with how good and talented the actor playing him is. Overall, I think it's not a great movie, but if you want a movie to put on during Christmas time that's fun, this is an option.

Good fun

[lokisbabydoll · 6/10 · 14 January 2023]

Don't watch if your looking for an Oscar worthy movie. This movie is just a fun to watch B-rated horror movie.

Acting is bad but that's the fun of it! B-movies aren't suppose to have great acting.

It looked like everyone had a fun time making this.

David Howard Thorton as always kills his role as the Mean One. Pun intended.

A fun movie to drink to and to show a first time watcher to horror.

You wi feel bad for The Mean One by the end of the movie. And hope there's a a second movie just to have him come back to life and help fight another evil against Christmas.

Also the blood splatters are very fake but that's what brings in the humor of this movie.

Love this movie!

Just the conception is abominably despicable.

[nuggetboy-98466 · 1/10 · 11 December 2023]

I mean, why would ANYONE want to make a HORROR SLASHER version of a beloved childhood classic? Think about this for a second. In what point back when the 60s animated special was released did you ever see anyone ever think or say, "Boy I wish there was a Trashy Child's Play-wanna be horror film of this amazing special to completely ruin it."? It's just so incredibly dumb! I've only read some of the wikipedia article on the plot and no: I'm not going to watch the film. I have moral standards. Also, the ending. Goodness gracious what the HECK were they thinking. First of all, Cindy kissing the Grinch.(oh I'm sorry I mean UGLY DEMONIC ABOMINATION) Why on EARTH would you want to kiss something like this?! I've looked at images and this thing is just, eugh, a monstrous freak of nightmares. And his heart growing 3 times and it exploding and KILLING HIM. No I'm not kidding it really is that mundane and underwhelming. For ANYONE who thinks that making a knockoff Child's Play version of Childhood classics like with Winnie the Pooh, the Grinch, etc is a good idea; I honestly don't know at that point.

Ok hear me out

[asiabutler-59420 · 10/10 · 9 December 2023]

So first things first. I feel like the people who are leaving lower reviews went in with different expectations on what kind of movie this is. I would hold it up there with classics like Killer Klowns from Outer Space. I'm telling you this is the best Christmas movie I've ever seen. I get that it isn't a style that everyone enjoys, but I implore you, this movie is a great watch. I have recommended this to my friends who are hesitant to watch horror and they enjoyed it which in the end is all that matters. People are allowed to enjoy things.

Also, David Howard Thornton is amazing in everything he does and I will die on this hill.

A nice holiday horror

[LetsReviewThat26 · 6/10 · 16 December 2023]

David Howard Thornton plays the mean one. I enjoyed his work as art the clown in terrifier, so it's nice to see him take his talents to another cha. He looked the part and though did not speak his expressions were enough. In this movie a young woman called Cindy, I assume her last name is probably boo or something returns to her home town of newville. After the Christmas massacre that took her mother twenty years prior she now wants to bury the hatchet and sort things out. Of course the CGI and the kills were not overally great. But very much appreciated. The acting in certain areas was lackluster but overall it was a nice holiday horror.

Failed unfunny attempt to turn the Grinch into Terrifier

[johannes2000-1 · 3/10 · 14 December 2023]

At best, this could be meant to be a (failed) parody of the iconic Grinch-movie; at worst, it's simply a lame and unfunny rip-off. I watched the whole thing with slight embarrassment: can film makers really be so lazy? The story is basically the same as the original: the green Mean One (who's an exact Grinch-clone) abhors everything that has anything to do with Christmas. But while the original Grinch limits himself to sabotage actions, the attacks of the Mean One are lethal in a completely over the top gorey way: it's like the Grinch meets Terrifier, there's a constant flying around of chopped-off body parts in gushes of blood. So it's probably no coincidence that the actor Steven LaMorte is as well the one behind the Mean One make-up, as also Terrifier's Art the Clown.

The result is neither fish nor meat: for a comedy it lacks every inch of humor, for a horror flick the killings and gore flash by way too fast, and there are hardly any serious scares or creepy moments of tension. The acting is just adequate, and the main two characters are uninspiring. Okay, Steven LaMorte repeats his Terrifier moves and mimes, but somehow it isn't as effective here. In short: disappointing, not funny and totally superfluous.

"The Mean One" is one of the worst movies ever made.

[jp_91 · 2/10 · 22 December 2023]

"The Mean One" is a horror parody of the classic story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" from the acclaimed "Dr. Seuss", the result is pathetic on unimaginable levels. The script is stupid and presents the comedy in an even worse way. The cinematography is a total disaster, it looks like a cheap TV movie from the 2000s. The cast is overacted, with the exception of the protagonist who tries to save and add charm to her character of Cindy. The digital special effects are a total fiasco, the gore is fake and ineffective. If anything can be saved from this film it is its decent first five minutes, the rest are torture. "The Mean One" is one of the worst movies ever made.

Could have been a really good movie

[ry-01485 · 3/10 · 9 November 2023]

It seems that there was enough resources, money and locations, to make this a good movie. Poor writing and even poorer directing ruined any chance of that.

The good about this movie is the Mean One's costume. It also had decent attempts at humor. Some worked, some didn't. The actor playing the Mean One did pretty good Jim Curry impersonations but that couldn't save the movie.

The bad about this movie are the cast. Not that their acting was bad, but they were severely miscast. Foe one, going by what the deputy said, the lead actress was supposed to be attractive, she's lucky if she's a 6. He's out of her league but acts like a nerd.

But what really ruins it for me is the setting. Nothing seems like Christmas. They are no decorations, but they do explain this, but there is also no snow. And a majority of the movie happens in broad daylight. That makes everything not scary and they missed out on having some nice lightening with Christmas lights. I think this was due to their knowing that they couldn't light a scene good enough.

What was that!

[stevej-85554 · 2/10 · 22 December 2023]

I mean the acting was ok but then it all goes to crap, story, camera work and the worst of all....the editing.

Peoples appearance changes for no reason, people in one place then a second later thier somewhere else.

A character taking photos gets thrown in a cave, then they are out of cave taking photos, then they see murder, then they are in ambulance.

Then main charecter charges from scared girl to vest wearing sub Ripley in the blink of an eye.

Then we have the deputy, what the actual hell was he.

Then we have the Grinch itself, was it scary...well no! Then the last straw the constant voice over.

If you want green and scary, Puppets Christmas Carol.

A Low-Budget Parody with Entertainingly Bad Charm

[vegawillie · 3/10 · 26 December 2023]

The Mean One was an interesting watch. I found the premise kind of cool, as it offered a twist on a classic story using parody rules. Like many parody films, it was super small-scale, mostly poorly acted, yet oddly entertaining. The standout of the film was David Howard Thornton as 'the mean one,' delivering a fantastic performance through body language and facial expressions. Everything else in the film screamed low budget, with awkwardly charming moments unfolding on screen. It's far from perfect and not even particularly good, but I wouldn't label it as just a bad movie. It's a watchable, entertainingly bad film.