The trailer forThe Mean Onehas been released and seems familiar enough. We see a mountain, presumably Mount Crumpit, before transitioning to a Young Cindy You-Know-Who (Saphina Chanadet) who comes downstairs to find a fake Santa Clause (David Howard Thornton) with green fur in her house. After asking the intruder, “Why Santa Clause, why,” he pats her on the head but doesn’t give her a drink and send her to bed.
Santa Claus brutally murders her mother right in front of her. Then twenty years later, after a now adult Cindy (Krystle Martin) returns to Newville to receive closure, he kills her father right in front of her as well. After that, the Mean One unleashes a brand new reign of terror that threatens to destroy Christmas. Cindy then decides she will not be a victim anymore and vows to “roast this beast.”
The trailer, which premiered onEntertainment Weekly, contains several more nods to the source material by Dr. Seuss as well as other versions. There’s a character who talks about how while the people in Newville liked Christmas a lot, the Mean One, who lived just north of Newville, did not — before handing Cindy a drawing of the Mean One that looks a lot like theGrinch as played by Jim Carrey.
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How Can Filmmakers CreateThe Mean One?
How were the filmmakers able to do all of this without getting sued? AsFangoriapreviously noted, while copyright laws can be tricky, creators are allowed exceptions regarding satire. The trailer makes that very clear by calling the film “A Christmas Horror Parody,” as does this official summary of the film:
“In the audacious new parody, The Mean One (David Howard 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 (Krystle Martin), whose parents were butchered by The Mean One twenty Christmases earlier, is returning to town to seek closure… but when the Mean One launches a new reign of terror that threatens to destroy Christmas, Cindy finds a bold new purpose – trapping and killing the monster.”
That’s a different approach thanWinnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which also took a beloved children’s characterand turned them into a violent, slasher movie villain. Except there, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield could get away with it by using the original A.A. Milner versions of the character, which have entered the public domain. Filmmakers cannot use the Disney version, which is still under copyright.
The Mean Oneis set for a theatrical release on December 9. The film was directed by Steven LaMorte, while the screenwriters were Finn and Flip Kobler. Besides Thornton and Martin, the film’s cast includes Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher. Besides that, Schumacher, LaMorte, and Martine Melloul are also on board as producers, with Jordan Rosner, Gato Scatena, and Zach Stampone serving as executive producers.
