The Mean One Blu-ray Review
The Grinch horror movie hits home video.
Much like “Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey,” “The Mean One” puts a horror spin on a beloved children’s book (in this case the Dr. Seuss classic “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!”). In this horror tale, a young Cindy witnesses her mom accidentally murdered by The Mean One (they can’t say Grinch for legal reasons). 20 years later, Cindy returns to the small town of Newville with her dad to face her fears. The two discover the town no longer celebrates Christmas and the Mayor seems to be covering up a dark secret. Cindy’s worst fears are realized when The Mean One returns and murders her father. Aside from the town drunk Doc and a Deputy that has a crush on Cindy, no one believes her that The Mean One is creating more havoc so Cindy decides to take matters into her own hands by confronting the beast herself.
Halloween is over, but now is the season for Christmas horror with the low-budget “The Mean One.” Directed by Steven LaMorte and written by Flip and Finn Kobler, this Grinch horror tale is a pretty straight forward slasher with plenty of gore and mutilated bodies. The Grinch in this film (AKA The Mean One) is more of a growling beast that feeds on humans. Why the writers decided to go that route and not have The Mean One speak is a bit odd. In fact, it feels like the writers left a lot on the table here in terms of translating the story into a horror film. Perhaps the budgetary constraints prevented them from doing more?
Speaking of the budget, it looks and feels very much like an indie. The direction is clunky, the editing is very choppy, and the cinematography is less than stellar. With all of that said, the movie still has its moments. Not only are there some amusing references to the original story, the animated special (ala the narration) and to other Dr. Seuss stories, but David Howard Thornton (best known as Art The Clown from the Terrifier films) does a fine job as The Mean One. The actor even pays homage to both the animated version and Jim Carrey’s version with his performance and movements. Actor and stunt performer Krystyle Martin also deserves credit for her performance as Cindy. She does a credible job of leading the movie.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 16×9 1080p. Grade: B-
Audio Track: 5.1 Surround Sound. Grade: B
The only extras are 3 deleted scenes.
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