The Grinch is getting a bloody horror makeover

The Grinch is one of the Christmas season's more unsavoury characters, and he's now being given a bloody, horror makeover.

While the character's slasher reincarnation won't be hitting screens in time for Halloween, it is set to give horror fans their gore fix over the 2022 holiday season.

Aptly dubbed The Mean One, the Grinch parody will be released on 15 December in the US and not only that, it will be completely free to watch - a gift from the movie gods this Christmas.

XYZ Films

As reported by Yahoo! News, the film's official synopsis reads: "The Mean One 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, whose parents were butchered by The Mean One twenty Christmases earlier, is returning to town to seek closure... but is about to discover that this fiend with a heart two sizes to small is still quite eager to carve the roast beast."

Needless to say, the Grinch has become as a serial killer, and if the first look image is anything to go by, it looks like The Mean One could give other Christmas horrors like Black Christmas and Krampus a run for their money.

And this is not the first time that a children's character has been recently reimagined as a killer, as this year, we will also see the release of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which sees the loveable bear star in a slasher film that's hitting screens on 20 October.

Deadline also reports that the upcoming Christmas slasher film will star David Howard Thornton, Krystle Martin, Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher.

The script was written by Flip and Finn Kobler, and it will be directed by Steven LaMorte.

The manager of Acquisitions and Development at XYZ films, Alex Williams, said of the film: "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.'

"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."

And while it's not yet known where The Mean One will be available to stream, Deadline reports that this information will soon be available.

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