The Ice Cream Truck (4/5)

The Ice Cream Truck is a wonderfully off-beat classic slasher movie. It’s got that 1980’s vibe but with a satirical retro touch that offers moments of pure horror-comedy.

Deanna Russo is the star of The Ice Cream Truck

Mary is played by Deanna Russo. You may recognize her from the TV shows Two and a Half Men or Powerless.

For me, The Ice Cream Truck is what I’ll remember her for now. She is absolutely perfect in it!

And yes, the character is written perfectly, to begin with as well. It’s all just so damn suburban pastel perfect. But in the most entertaining horror slasher way, so don’t worry.

From the moment a creepy delivery guy starts asking her if she’s home alone. Or if she wants to see where he placed the bed, she is just handling everything like a boss.

The delivery guy is actually extremely creepy. Most women will probably recognize the type. Though hopefully, they’ve encountered him somewhere public and not alone in a new home.

Speaking of the delivery man, I obviously have to give him credit as well. He’s played by Jeff Daniel Phillips and he is one creepy dude! I mean, he certainly portrays one perfectly. In fact, it’s sort of his thing.

He was in the HBO show Westworld as the character Tenderloin and also played “Whitey” in The Lords of Salem. Yeah, he’s got the look (and attitude) for those roles. Big time!

A whole slew of fascinating characters

And actually, he is far from the only creepy guy in The Ice Cream Truck. The other really creepy guy is obviously the Ice Cream Man.

He’s portrayed by Emil Johnsen from Norway. Yay, more Viking power for our little Scandinavian-based horror website!

Emil Johnsen’s Ice Cream Man is creepy in a very different way from the delivery guy. Where the latter looks like a burly biker looking for trouble, the ice cream man is impeccably dressed and very polite.

Of course, he’s also batshit crazy, which his calm and reserved demeanor only make even creepier.

Finally, there’s John Redlinger (Banshee) as the hot “boy next door”. While both Lisa Ann Walter (Bruce Almighty) and Hilary Barraford (United States of Tara) work perfectly as comic relief in the form of noisy suburban wives.

Megan Freels Johnston is a force to be reckoned with

The Ice Cream Truck was written, produced, and directed by Megan Freels Johnston. This is just her second feature film as a writer-director. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen her first. It was called Rebound and came out in 2014, but whether it was on par with The Ice Cream Truck, I have no idea.

I do, however, know that this movie is all kinds of awesome. Sure, it could’ve been a bit tighter a few places, but overall, this is a very strong production that you should absolutely watch!

The Ice Cream Truck premieres in select theaters and on VOD from August 18, 2017.

Make sure you check it out… A perfect retro slasher experience with a twist!

Details

Director: Megan Freels Johnston
Writer: Megan Freels Johnston
Cast: Deanna Russo, Dana Gaier, John Redlinger, Emil Johnsen, Jeff Daniel Phillips

Plot

Mary’s husband gets relocated for work which allows her to move back to her suburban hometown. As her family ties up loose ends back home, Mary moves into their new house all alone and….waits. Yet in this idealistic world, something seems very odd. The Ice Cream Man, a symbol of youth and good times, starts killing some of her neighbors. Mary soon learns that the suburbs are scarier in more ways that she ever remembered.