We All Scream For Ice Cream

What’s creepier than a dead clown pushing ice cream to children? How about ice cream that melts the fathers while the kiddies go to town on their treats? Yes, there’s a chance you’ll never look at a Creamsicle the same way after watching Tom Holland’s (Fright Night, Child’s Play) contribution to the Masters of Horror series, but not a good one. William Forsythe plays Buster, a slow-witted Cheery Tyme clown who was accidentally killed when some troublesome adolescents pulled a prank that resulted in a rolling ice cream truck. Much like A Nightmare On Elm Street, years later Buster comes back from the dead to wreak havoc on those who terrorised him through their children. But unlike Freddy Krueger, who went after the kids, Buster uses the spawn to off the parents via a most ironic way. As I’ve come to expect from the MoH series, the concept is promising but the execution stumbles. The film’s b-movie plot is clever but screenwriter David J. Schow falls into the same traps that spoil these types of over-ambitious schlock-fests: a dreadfully predictable outcome that doesn’t tie up the loose ends. Even worse is the lack of character development, which results in a one-dimensional cast that cannot deliver a line convincingly. The gore, however, is impressive, especially the scene in which bad boy Virgil excruciatingly thaws out in his tub. But that’s what it’s come to with the Masters of Horror — special effects uber alles. Holland doesn’t even make good use of Buster. Unlike Tim Curry’s frightening Pennywise in It, Forsythe is far too silly to keep anyone up at night. What’s creepier than a dead clown pushing lethal ice cream? Just about anything, in this case. Plus: commentary, featurettes.