By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Winnie the Pooh turned slasher this year, and now another favorite kids’ character is going very bad.
XYZ Films will release THE MEAN ONE for free as a gift to horror fans across the U.S. on December 15. Steven LaMorte directed from a script by Flip and Finn Kobler, with David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown in TERRIFIER and TERRIFIER 2; see our review of the latter here) in the Grinch-inspired title role. Krystle Martin, Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher also star; the synopsis: “In the audacious new parody, The Mean One [Thornton] is a hairy, green-skinned grump in a Santa suit, living on a mountain high above the town of Newville, despising the holiday season. Young Cindy You-Know-Who [Martin], whose parents were butchered by The Mean One 20 Christmases earlier, is returning to town to seek closure…but is about to discover that this fiend with a heart two sizes too small is still quite eager to carve the roast beast.”
“As a passionate fan of seasonal horror, and the TERRIFIER franchise, THE MEAN ONE is exactly the kind of film that lands on my personal ‘nice list,’” says XYZ’s Alex Williams. “This movie is a stunningly great time with a ferociously subversive turn from David Howard Thornton–and XYZ Films is so proud to be bringing this soon-to-be iconic Christmas slasher to audiences this holiday season.”
