The Ice Cream Truck (2017) Reviews

• The result? I fancied an ice cream. That's it.

  peterp-450-2987162017-08-21

  "Welcome to the neighborhood" What's more applicable with this sultry weather than a horror about a murderous ice cream man? Let me assure you though. Next time you see an ice cream truck, you won't be running away in full panic and loudly screaming. Not after watching this movie at least, because this low-budget movie isn't really scary or frightening. To be honest, I found the ice cream man (Emil Johnsen) a kind of a dork. Even during his killings, he looked rather like a sissy. I'm sure that one well-aimed smack with a scoop, would be enough to hit him unconsciously. And for the most sensitive viewers: don't expect a bloody slaughtering as you could see in "Friday the 13th". There's one thing I was enthusiastic about. And that's the ice cream truck itself. A beautifully maintained pastel tinted old-timer. Even the noise of the engine was a pleasure to hear. So this item also isn't something to be afraid of. Only Mary (Deanna Russo) had her doubts about it, the very first moment the ice cream truck drove by. The only peculiar thing to me was the ridiculous times this truck drove through the neighborhood while playing his childish tune. The whole story focuses on Mary, a so-called freelance writer who apparently has problems with writing some new stuff. So she moved back to a suburb where she once grew up. However, she has to wait a few days before her husband and two children arrive. And during that time she gets to know some of the local people. Like a couple of curious neighbor women and Max (John Redlinger), the son of one of them who just graduated. And also someone from the moving company. A scary, rough looking guy with a huge walrus mustache who acted quite intimidating. They had better promoted him to be the Ice Cream man because he looked like a real terrifying psychopath. You can hardly call this a horror. It's more a story about Mary in her midlife crisis who starts realizing that she isn't a young teen-girl anymore. What you get is a trivial story about a woman whose hormones go berserk again after seeing a young muscular guy whose six-pack reminds her of her student time. To be honest, I didn't think Mary was so bad looking. And in my opinion she's is in real life much younger than the age she has in the movie. Max, on the other hand, looks older. Let's say that Max's acting like a stud and Mary's behavior as a teenybopper take most of the time of this somewhat faint horror. Oh yes, it's a horror. Thus, in addition, some innocent adolescents are being killed as well in between. Almost forgot about that. "The ice cream truck" isn't really a very good movie. It's not terribly bad either. It's a dull would-be slasher. Actually, the film left me cold (how applicable). Fortunately, the acting of the main characters was adequate. The denouement was quite abrupt (and the place Mary decided to hide herself, was absolutely laughable). The makers tried to give it a bit of a horror feeling by thinking of a surprising end. But to be honest there was only one thing the film did to me. I felt like having a huge ice cream with a lot of whipped cream and red fruit on it. As a reward. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/2qtGQoc

• No Idea what the point is!

  stephenw-301802017-08-18

  To say this movie is bad is a gross understatement! I love the Horror genre and am always willing to watch anything new and indie. That said, I do try to always give a movie a chance and never write a review without viewing the entire film. Horror/Mystery fans abound, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME on this pile of dung. First, the acting is terrible. The plot makes no sense, as you will discover at the very end of the film. I think I know what the film maker/s were trying to suggest but won't divulge that and let the potential viewers decide. The character of the "teenage" boy who just graduated and lives next door looks like he's 35! Hello casting agent, you could not find an actual teenager to play this role?? The film meanders throughout in a slow and uninteresting pace. There is not one scare or surprise or shock scene in this mess. I think the only reason the film is called "ice cream Truck" is probably because it's the biggest set subject in the film. Other then, of course, the home the protagonist moves into and you see very little of. I won't give away what I think the story is supposed to amount to.....although I should and prevent anyone from wasting their time on this low budget exercise in boredom. Stray way clear.....!!

• Not a great movie, but strangely enjoyable

  mark-179-3607432017-08-19

  OK, brass tacks. It isn't a horror. Its got the innuendo of a horror laid against a backdrop of an illicit romance, and I think was actually a kind of inept black comedy, whether intentionally or otherwise. The main character is moderately fleshed out, the others are empty and underused. The pacing is not good, the story equally isn't very good. The lighting and cinematography, for what it is, is actually decent. The lead was well cast, and the sub plot, almost hit the mark, almost a good effort at a black comedy, which is its main problem. It could have been a decent film about an illicit love affair if it ditched the largely pointless Icecream Truck part, and focused on the neighbors and relationships. The actual slasher bits just weren't shot well enough and really rather got in the way. The ending, we are suddenly forced to accept she made the whole thing up to pass the time daydreaming - which turns a below average movie with a few redeeming features in to a crock of ****. And yet, like I said, I strangely enjoyed it - better edited, better paced and slightly fleshed out and it would have been reasonable. As it stands, its not that its not worth your time, its almost a perfect education in how to almost make a good movie, and you can use your imagination to see what bits you need to change to make it work well in a number of different genres. The nice final touch, the delivery guy, showing that maybe the spit-storm is coming for real is nice, but this really isn't something to seek out. Even though I strangely enjoyed it. Go figure.

• Missing Key Elements

  lsmithlarry2017-08-20

  From the beginning, I thought this movie had potential to be a decent Horror flick. Woman returning to her hometown, nosy neighbors, crazy ice cream truck driver. Then it feel apart. The slasher ice cream truck driver didn't have a back story or reason for for his killings other than stating he was a "traditional guy." A flashback or two could've given the audience a motive for his deadly obsession. Again, it sounds cliché but if the main character had a disturbing childhood experience with an ice cream truck driver it would've added tension to the plot and made sense to the viewer. Without it, the villain could've been a dog catcher, paper boy, etc.

• My eyes are still sizzling

  eucristian2017-08-19

  It's surprising how more than 10 people actually filmed and edited this thing and not even one of them thought 'Hey, those 5 second breaks between dialog lines are a bit off'. It's a total mess, literally worst movie I've ever seen. Bad acting, bad set, worst fake blood, 10 y.o. kids could've written a better script. TL;DR don't watch it, it's a waste of time..