As The Mean One slunk into theaters and invaded social media feeds, it was the realization of a Grinch horror movie set up almost 50 years ago. Although he appeared in a previous work of Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Suess), in 1957, the Grinch became popularized by the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! A clever critique of Christmas commercialization, the Grinch ironically became a beloved holiday icon, with several adaptations chronicling the adventures of the grouchy green anti-hero.
Intended as a parody of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, The Mean One reimagined the classic children's book as a slasher film. While The Mean One’s absurdity and morbid novelty may evoke laughter, the Grinch surprisingly had a history of holiday horror. Adapting the Grinch as a slasher movie villain wasn’t a stretch, acknowledging a monster that visionaries like Dr. Seuss, Friz Freleng, and Chuck Jones created almost half a century previously with Halloween is Grinch Night.
How The Grinch’s Halloween Past Makes The Mean One More Interesting
While many fondly ed the original Chuck Jones adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, a decade after its debut, the Grinch received a little-known Freleng-produced prequel entitled Halloween is Grinch Night. Penned by Dr. Suess himself, it was an original story written for television that followed a young boy named Euchariah who attempted to stall the Grinch on his way to terrorize a panicking Whoville with a wagon full of Halloween monsters. After braving a nightmarish “spook’s tour” of unsettling Dr. Suess creatures, Euchariah ended the special by outsmarting the Grinch, who ominously promises, “I’ll be coming back someday.”
Despite being mainly forgotten, Halloween is Grinch Night set the stage for harrowing horror movie remakes of Dr. Seuss as the Grinch’s first full excursion into horror. Geisel’s Halloween special may seem tame and confusing by today’s standards, but it changed the Grinch from a sympathetic Christmas curmudgeon to a true master of terrors. Between a more sadistic Grinch and a fearful Whoville, it’s a bit extreme to imagine him as a murderer motivated by a hatred of the Whos or a “sweet-and-sour wind,” but not too hard to do so after Halloween is Grinch Night.
The Grinch’s Other Horror Connections Explained
The Grinch’s horror movie roots go even further, back to his original 1966 special. Before the Benedict Cumberbatch or Jim Carrey Grinch movie, famed horror movie icon Boris Karloff took on the role. Known for The Mummy and Frankenstein, Karloff played the Grinch in a Grammy award-winning performance oddly ideal for the aging actor. Although portraying monsters on the silver screen, Karloff resonated with children, citing many written letters reflecting sympathy for Frankenstein’s monster in the movies and his past performances in classic fairy tales like Peter Pan.
Although The Terrifier’s David Howard Thornton may seem like a far cry from Karloff, casting another horror movie veteran wasn’t unusual for the Grinch. Additionally, after Thornton played Grandpa Who in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical, it just added another level of self-awareness to The Mean One. Thornton’s brutality and energy as Art the Clown made for an inspired choice for a cartoony killer, and like Karloff, Carrey, and Cumberbatch, brought something unique to his role in The Mean One.
The Mean One movie may be a parody of Dr. Suess, but it’s very much in keeping with some unusual holiday traditions and modern slasher film trends. A killer Grinch is probably the last thing Geisel and Jones imagined while making a holiday special, but they no doubt opened the doors for one. The Mean One premise came with plenty of laughs, but not unlike Dr. Suess, the holiday horror movie found a story to raise holiday spirits, albeit in some very different ways.
