The Ice Cream Truck:
Written and Directed by Megan Freels Johnston
How I imagine the pitch meeting went with this movie... Megan comes in with an idea for a movie about a woman who comes back to her hometown to live in the suburbs. She finds herself at odds with the weird neighborhood and wants to instead relive her youth. The producer then proceeded to tell her that he can't sell a drama about the suburbs without a big movie star but if she could just add a horror element. She thought what was commonly associated with the suburbs. Well duh ice cream trucks. But everyone else is weird and uncomfortable so naturally the ice cream man needed to be dressed as a 50s style ice cream/soda jerk driving an old ice cream truck at all hours of the day and night.
It seems like an element completely out of place in this story. The ice cream truck must be about maintaining the wholesome aspect of living in the suburbs. The rest of the story doesn't really support this. Everything is just a little off kilter. They talk with unwarranted sarcasm and bile. The lead actress throws pauses in strange places. It felt like a horror movie version of a Wes Anderson movie without all those wacky pastel colors. It's uncomfortable but not in a good way.
The question that ranks foremost in folks' minds is how it works as a horror movie and the answer to that one is it doesn't. Those parts only have some blood to recommend them but they come out of nowhere. There is no attempt to put in tension or suspense of any kind.
None of these story elements work together at all. This is a very short movie but it drags so much in the middle. You know the ice cream truck is sinister but that's not the focus of the movie. You have to be interested and involved in whatever existential crisis the former teen mom turned freelance writer is going through. It's not clear what is happening in the scheme of things. The one thing that is abundantly clear is how utterly loathsome everyone is. They say one thing but mean another. Their tone betrays their choice of words. But it's so obvious you're scratching your head wondering why she tolerates this.
This is one to skip. Stay with the Clint Howard Ice Cream Man rather than this mess. This is just a giant disaster of a horror movie. Ignore the misleading poster or trailer. I give this movie an F.
How I imagine the pitch meeting went with this movie... Megan comes in with an idea for a movie about a woman who comes back to her hometown to live in the suburbs. She finds herself at odds with the weird neighborhood and wants to instead relive her youth. The producer then proceeded to tell her that he can't sell a drama about the suburbs without a big movie star but if she could just add a horror element. She thought what was commonly associated with the suburbs. Well duh ice cream trucks. But everyone else is weird and uncomfortable so naturally the ice cream man needed to be dressed as a 50s style ice cream/soda jerk driving an old ice cream truck at all hours of the day and night.
It seems like an element completely out of place in this story. The ice cream truck must be about maintaining the wholesome aspect of living in the suburbs. The rest of the story doesn't really support this. Everything is just a little off kilter. They talk with unwarranted sarcasm and bile. The lead actress throws pauses in strange places. It felt like a horror movie version of a Wes Anderson movie without all those wacky pastel colors. It's uncomfortable but not in a good way.
The question that ranks foremost in folks' minds is how it works as a horror movie and the answer to that one is it doesn't. Those parts only have some blood to recommend them but they come out of nowhere. There is no attempt to put in tension or suspense of any kind.
None of these story elements work together at all. This is a very short movie but it drags so much in the middle. You know the ice cream truck is sinister but that's not the focus of the movie. You have to be interested and involved in whatever existential crisis the former teen mom turned freelance writer is going through. It's not clear what is happening in the scheme of things. The one thing that is abundantly clear is how utterly loathsome everyone is. They say one thing but mean another. Their tone betrays their choice of words. But it's so obvious you're scratching your head wondering why she tolerates this.
This is one to skip. Stay with the Clint Howard Ice Cream Man rather than this mess. This is just a giant disaster of a horror movie. Ignore the misleading poster or trailer. I give this movie an F.