Ice cream trucks are one of the few remaining relics from a time since gone bye, a traveling vehicle of sweets, playing it’s merry tune, bringing children running from their houses, scooping out joy one cone at a time. So of course a horror movie has to come along and make them fucked up.
Enter The Ice Cream Truck, a surprisingly smart film about infidelity, reclaiming lost youth, and yes, a murderous ice cream man who stabs his customers after making them their favorite chocolate shake. Held together by strong acting, smart writing, and one of the creepier vehicles ever put to screen, this one is a real summer treat.
Honestly, if you’re getting your deserts from anything that looks like a (barely) disguised peso van, you deserve to die.
Deanna Russo does an absolutely fantastic job as scream queen Mary, a mom and (sometimes) writer for longs for her carefree youth. And carefree youth is dutifully supplied to her by barely legal neighbor Max, played by an actor who is obviously a few years above 18, but whatever. And while all this drama unfolds, a certain ice cream man with a dead pan voice and a big long knife is busy carving up the neighborhood.
Some tighter editing could have done The Ice Cream Truck wonders, as the runtime does edge into brain freeze territory (there’s only so much housewife drama I can endure). And for all your gore fans out there, this sundae has plenty of the red stuff running through (who knew an ice cream scoop could do so much damage?)
As a complete desert, this was a delicious, independent surprise. Intelligent horror films don’t come around nearly enough; don’t let this one drive off before you order.
7/10
