After thirty years in a mental institution, Gregory (Clint Howard) becomes the neighborhood ice cream man but he is anything but cured and his ice cream truck becomes a machine for murder.
Much like The Monster Squad, The Ice Cream Man focuses on a group of young teens who witness their friend get murdered by the Ice Cream Man. When the police prove to be anything but useful, they set out on their own to destroy the murderous man once and for all.
The Ice Cream Man is the epitome of bad movies. The acting is awful, the budget is low and the story line is more goofy than scary, but it is one of the most fun movies to watch.
Clint Howard is excellent as the Ice Cream Man. It isn’t often that you get to see him in a titular role, which is sad because he really is entertaining. His character kills for ingredients for his ice cream, which is absolutely absurd but, when you look at Clint Howard and hear his voice, it actually sort of makes sense. His appearance is goofy but psychotic, making it almost plausible that he would do something as ridiculous as murder people to make ice cream.
My favorite aspect of the film is Tuna Cassera (JoJo Adams), the token fat kid of the group. What makes Tuna so entertaining is that he isn’t actually a fat kid. I don’t know if they couldn’t find a kid that was actually fat or if they did it to add to the absurdity of the film, but Tuna is only fat because they obviously have a pillow crammed under his shirt to make him appear so. There is no attempt to make it look real at all.
There are some really great moments in the film including a Killer Klown from Outer Space moment where two heads are used like puppets. It is mildly disturbing but incredibly hilarious. The head in the ice cream cone may be the most iconic scene from the film but my favorite might be when the cops are searching for evidence to link Gregory to the murders and can’t seem to find any, despite there being eyeballs and body parts in the ice cream. One cop even eats an eyeball in his ice cream and doesn’t seem to notice.
The film ends with an obvious opening for a sequel that we never got. Thankfully, Clint Howard has started a Kickstarter to raise money for one. There are some great perks including a copy of the script, autographs, copies of the film and more! Click here to donate.
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Ann Hale is the horror editor for Pop-Break.com and a senior contributing writer, reviewing horror movies and television shows. She is also the American Correspondent for Lovehorror.co.uk. Ann attended East Carolina University, majoring in English Literature. She is a collector of Halloween (the film) memorabilia and is a self-admitted opinionated horror nerd. You can follow her, her collection and her cat, Edward Kittyhands on Twitter and Instagram @Scarletjupiter
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