The Ice Cream Truck (2017) [Women in Horror Month 2021]

Writer/director: Megan Freels Johnston

A woman and her family move back to her old suburban town for the husband’s work. As she goes ahead of the family to get things ready, she meets the neighbors and something is clearly going down around the area that is not entirely right.

Written and directed by Megan Freels Johnston, The Ice Cream Truck feels like there are two movies in there, one of suburban bored housewife looking for excitement and one that is like a low key slasher. This mixes together pretty well for most of the film with a few moments that end up feeling a bit off and more like they belong in a tv movie of the week or something. The film does deliver some scares, low as they may be, and definitely has some blood in good quantities here and there. The titular truck is almost charming and definitely ads to the story. This is a horror film, but one for those who prefer their horror films not too brutal and with a side of romance.

The lead here is played by Deanna Russo who is likable and interesting to watch, so she carries the movie well, even when things are not super interesting (there are some sections around the middle that just lose steam), she keeps the attention on the film. She carries the film here and does well with it. The rest of the cast is good, on par with most higher quality tv movies that this feel does feel like. It’s not a hit at the film as it works here. Oddly enough, Jeff Daniel Phillips shows up as a furniture delivery man and not much is done with his part, making it feel like there was something more planned for him.

The Ice Cream Truck is a decently entertaining film with some horror elements and a feel for scares here and there. Major horror fans will most likely find this underwhelming, but still interesting while more casual horror watchers should like this one quite a bit. It has some scares, some blood, some complicated romance, and a few more things making it worth a watch.