Many actors have taken on the iconic role of the Grinch— Boris Karloff, Jim Carrey, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Matthew Morrison, to name a few. However, no one has portrayed the character quite like David Howard Thornton, who is best known for playing the role of Art the Clown in Damien Leone’s Terrifier series.
Thornton, who has recently donned a Santa’s suit in Terrifier 3, took on another iconic Christmas character in Steven LaMorte’s 2022 horror flick, The Mean One. The film, which is a brutal parody of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, follows Cindy You-Know-Who (Krystle Martin) who returns to her hometown of Newville 20 years after witnessing the murder of her mother. Hoping to find closure while spending Christmas with her father, Cindy reunites with the green-skinned creature from her childhood as reality blurs between nightmares and real life. But instead of this Grinch-inspired character just stealing Christmas presents and decorations, the Mean One goes on a murderous rampage, killing several of the town’s residents out of his hate for the holiday season.
David Howard Thornton Gives an Oustanding Performance as the Killer Grinch
Much like his portrayal of Art the Clown, Thornton steals the show in The Mean One despite having no dialogue and limited screen time. Thornton’s performance, which is a perfect blend of dark humor and violence, showcases his serious skills in facial expressions and physical comedy. What makes Thornton’s portrayal so effective is its striking similarity to Jim Carrey’s performance in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which is perhaps the most iconic performance of the green meanie to date. His over-the-top movements are quite similar to Carrey’s goofy, exaggerated mannerisms, capturing that same whimsical energy. In one scene, the Mean One pulls out a life-size candy cane from his belt and cartoonishly twirls it around his head. He then grabs a man by the neck with it, slamming his face into a table. This moment is a callback to Jim Carrey’s Grinch who similarly uses a candy cane to yank a Who away from playing a horn on Mount Crumpit.
However, Thornton takes Carrey’s playful tone and this harmless Christmas story and twists it into a violent, shocking massacre. The Mean One uses candy canes for stabbing, Christmas lights for strangling, and ornaments for impaling. Even though Thornton has no dialogue in the film, he also uses his background in voice acting to create menacing snarls that echo through his rotten teeth.
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But The Mean One was not David Howard Thornton’s first time playing the Grinch. In an interview with Cinefied, Thornton revealed that unbeknownst to those who cast him as the Mean One, he actually toured with the national tour of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas The Musical for five years as the understudy for Stefán Karl’s Grinch. He also played the role of other Whoville characters in the production. The Mean One should have included more scenes with Thornton as his background no doubt helped him perfect the portrayal and make this character come to life.
Is The Mean One Worth the Watch?
Though The Mean One is clearly low-budget and is a bit dry and hard to follow at times, it is still a fun watch, especially with a group of friends. Watching Thornton in The Mean One feels like you are watching a twisted combination of Jim Carrey’s Grinch and Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice, where humor quickly turns to horror. As Thornton describes himself, the movie also feels like the Hallmark channel taking a swing at horror instead of romance, although there is some romantic tension between Cindy and a local police officer.
It is also fun for viewers to search for Dr. Seuss-related Easter eggs, which are planted throughout the entirety of the film. There is a shot that zooms in on a fish tank with one red fish and one blue one, a sign showing a cat with a Christmas hat, and numerous characters with names inspired by How the Grinch Stole Christmas and other Dr. Seuss stories. Although The Mean One does not measure up to other Christmas horror films like Black Christmas or even Krampus, it is a humorous holiday watch fueled by David Howard Thornton’s acting.
In a sleepy mountain town, Cindy’s parents are murdered and her Christmas is stolen by a bloodthirsty green figure in a red Santa suit.
- Release Date
- December 9, 2022
- Director
- Steven LaMorte
- Cast
- David Howard Thornton , Krystle Martin , Chase Mullins , John Bigham , Erik Baker , Flip Kobler , Amy Schumacher
- Runtime
- 93minutes
- Writers
- Flip G. , Finn Kobler
The Mean One is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
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