The Mean One Blu Ray Review (BMG / Arista)

The Mean One is a 2022 Christmas slasher film produced and directed by Steven LaMorte (Bury Me Twice, Never Leave Alive, Trials of Ember, and One Step Away). It was written by Flip (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King 2, and Pocahontas 2) and Finn Kobler (All Hallows Eve 2, Trophy Wife, M Is For Masochist, and Food For Thought). The film is a horror adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ 1957 children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It grossed $612,260 in theaters during it’s limited theatrical run. In 2000, in the sleepy mountain town of Newville, young Cindy You-Know-Who (played by: Saphina Chanadet from Veep) witnessed her mother (played by: Tina Van Berk) murdered by the Mean One (played by: David Howard Thornton from Terrifier, Terrifier 2, The Dark Offerings, Gotham, and Bupkis) , a bloodthirsty green-skinned creature dressed in a red Santa suit. Twenty years later, Cindy (played by: Krystle Martin from It’s in the Streets, They live in the Grey, and 911: Lone Star) and her father Lou (played by: writer Flip Kobler from Silent and Forgotten, Bury Me Twice, and American Drive-In) return to the town at the suggestion of Cindy’s therapist Doc Zeus (played by: John Bigham from Welcome to the Horror Show). When the brutal monster soon begins to terrorize the town and threatens to ruin the holidays, Cindy finds a new purpose in stopping and killing this Grinch. She has a mayor (played by: Amy Schumacher from Strange Events 1 and 2) trying to cover up everything at any cost plus two questionable sheriffs (played by: Erik Baker from The Verge and Chase Mullins from Driven) in her way. Can she finally put this nightmare to an end? Or Will it forever curse her life with pain and suffering????The Mean One definitely grabbed my attention when it was first announced. You have a slasher version of the iconic Grinch and it’s being played by David Howard Thornton who’s mainly known as Art the Clown from the Terrifier franchise. You really have to go into The Mean One with an open mind. It’s a very very very low budget production which is pretty damn obvious during it’s running time. Sometimes, independent features can look more expensive than it’s actual budget depending on the skill level in it’s departments but that’s not the case here. Everything felt kinda rushed here to be honest. I thought stunt woman Krystle Martin was a decent lead in this but she didn’t have much help when it came to the supporting cast. I noticed a few of them were writers or a producer for the project which explains a lot. David Howard Thornton as The Grinch / The Mean One is the highlight when it comes to this holiday themed slasher. He’s great under fx and creative costumes when it comes to these types of horror movies. It actually has some decent gore and kills in The Mean One. This one kinda reminds me of those late 90’s direct to video flicks. I think if this was released around then, it would have been more appreciated and it definitely would have had a solid cult following. These days, it just kinda blends in with everything out there. Studios are being creative these days using iconic children characters in horror films like Winnie the Pooh, The Grinch, Mary had a little Lamb, and The Banana Splits. I think if The Mean One had a slightly bigger budget and a better cast, it could have been one of the best horror flicks of the year but it fell short when it came to that. I still think it’s a pretty unique spin on the classic character and it’s something I never expected to be made. If you can get past the bad acting and it’s cheap atmosphere then you will probably enjoy it for David Howard Thornton and it’s gory scenes. It has some replay value to it especially when it comes to Christmas horror. I think it at least deserves to be watched once just to experience it. Personally, I’m glad it’s in my collection.Let’s discuss the high definition presentation from BMG and Arista! This 1080p (2.39:1) unrated transfer looks solid in HD considering it’s very low budget for the production. The practical fx really stand out here. It has English 5.1 Surround Sound on the disc. The dialogue is very clean, the killing is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has 3 additional “Deleted Scenes” which includes Santa Gets Stripped (Alternate Opening), Mayor Mcbean Sees The Mean One, and The Mean One Attacks The Waitress that end up being around 4 minutes total. That’s the only extras on the Blu Ray. This is a BD-R home video release so it’s professionally burned but not a pressed disc if you were curious. It’s available everywhere online right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!