The Mean One is a 2022 American Christmas horror film directed by Steven LaMorte and the cast includes David Howard Thornton. Krystle Martin and Chase Mullins.
My Thoughts On The Mean One
The Mean One is a movie that puts a holiday horror spin on the classic Grinch story, where a quiet mountain town becomes the target of a Christmas-hating monster. Years after witnessing the brutal murder of her parents by this green creature, Cindy returns to the same town, haunted by her past and determined to stop him once and for all.
It’s a premise that sounds like it could be fun, taking a beloved children’s story and twisting it into something dark and violent. And there are moments where the film seems like it might lean into that potential, too.
Cindy, now grown, steps into the role of an unlikely holiday avenger. The story tries to build tension between her personal trauma and the town’s fear of the Grinch-like figure lurking in the snowy hills. But whatever interesting ideas might have been buried in the concept are quickly lost in the film’s execution.
From the opening scene, it’s clear that this is going to be a rough ride. The movie immediately struggles with tone, unsure whether it wants to be campy fun, a dark psychological horror, or something else Instead of leaning into one and picking a lane, it sort of awkwardly attempts all three, and the result is a mess that never finds its footing.
The acting across the board is pretty weak, with performances that feel either too flat or completely over the top. Cindy, our main character, is written with a single emotion and not much else, and even in moments meant to be emotional or intense, the performances don’t sell it. Everything feels stiff and undercooked.
Then there’s the CGI, which becomes a recurring issue. The film relies heavily on digital effects, especially for blood, gore, and even small background elements. The problem is, these effects are so obviously fake that they pull you out of the story every time they appear.
One particular scene features CGI fish so poorly rendered they might as well be clip art. And while low-budget horror can absolutely get away with creative or even cheesy visuals when done with purpose, here the digital work just feels lazy.
Scene transitions are also abrupt, with the pacing being all over the place, and the story itself just meanders without building much tension or momentum. In fact, the film feels like it’s constantly restarting, and adding new side character or subplot randomly that goes nowhere.
The Grinch character, or “The Mean One,” since the filmmakers didn’t have the rights to use the original name, is played straight for scares, but not in a way that’s especially creative or threatening. We get a few brief glimpses of menace, but never enough to make him feel like a real force of fear. And again, the reliance on CGI gore doesn’t help. blood splatters look cartoonish, kills are uninspired, and the horror scenes lack tension or style.
What’s most frustrating is that the idea behind The Mean One isn’t a bad one. The bones of an idea the film is attempting are there, but they’re buried under bad dialogue, poor pacing, and clumsy filmmaking choices.
The Mean One had the potential to be a weird, bloody holiday cult hit. Instead, it’s an uneven, sloppy film that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Even trying to enjoy it ironically is a challenge when the production feels this so rushed with poor execution.
What could’ve been a fun holiday horror romp ends up just being a tedious, frustrating watch.
[The Mean One on IMDB] [Where to watch The Mean One]
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