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[REVIEW] ‘The Ice Cream Truck’ – Familiarity Can Be Sweet, But Deadly!

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This summer Writer and Director Megan Freels Johnston tugs at our inner psyche as she takes us on a chilling journey through a real suburban nightmare. Middle town suburbia has posed as a backdrop for many horror films over the years and continues successfully today. Films such as Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Carrie, Poltergeist, and The Stepfather have painted a blood splattered image of how eerie and desolate suburbia can be. This year’s summer treat, The Ice Cream Truck, reiterates the divine feelings of terror and serves up a reminder that you’re never safe. Familiarity can be sweet, but deadly.

Deanna Russo & Jeff Daniel Phillips in The Ice Cream Truck. Photo Courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment.

 

Jeff Daniel Phillips in The Ice Cream Truck. Photo Courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment.

Our story begins as the camera pulls through a tour of a neighborhood. A neighborhood that could be yours or mine; a neighborhood that is quiet and normal…at least for now. Setting the tone is the sinister score resembling beats from our fantastic John Carpenter films. It was love at first sound, thanks to composer Michael Boateng. Suddenly I was tranquil, willingly taken back in time, now methodically transcending through the neighborhood that I once grew up in as this cryptic melody pulsates my eardrums. The score gives life to this motion picture, flooding our heads with instant dread and uncertainty. Johnstons’ tale focuses on Mary (Deanna Russo) moving back to her hometown due to her husband’s job relocation. Allowing her family to stay behind and finish school, unsure of herself and the situation, Mary is all by herself. Lonely and desperate for human interaction, Mary encounters, Jessica (Hilary Barraford), the snoopy neighbor that every street possesses.     

LaTeace Towns-Cuellar, Lisa Ann Walter, and Hilary Barraford in The Ice Cream Truck. Photo Courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment.

Mary is alone and by herself allowing her family to stay back until school is complete in just a few more days. Soon Mary is met by an odd delivery man (Jeff Daniel Phillips) who appears to have a hidden agenda. Her focus is stolen as a vintage ice cream truck continually parades up and down the street. One of the neighbors invites Mary over to her son Max’s (John Redlinger), a high school graduation party. As time progresses, Mary finds herself spending more and more time with young Max. Mary knows she shouldn’t be spending time alone with this vibrant young man, or let alone have thoughts of attraction. Mary’s yearning for her lost youth is clouding her senses as a deranged ice cream man stalks the streets of her neighborhood. Or does a more elusive fear lurk closer than she can ever imagine? Find out on August 18th when The Ice Cream Truck releases to VOD platforms and theaters. 

Emil Johnsen in The Ice Cream Truck. Photo Courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment.

Setting an ominous haze over suburbia, The Ice Cream Truck captures the mood and beauty of an era that I adore and yearn after. Johnston and her team pulled it off, successfully re creating a ploy from my childhood. The film does an impeccable job at executing its multi-genre feel allowing the black comedy to spue out as it works around the confinement and the reality of how encompassing suburban life can be. The acting is nothing to ignore, with Deanna Russo & Emil Johnson’s portrayal of Mary and The Ice Cream Man, is nothing short of remarkable. Russo brings a certain life to her character, Mary, something that I am sure will appeal to many women. Mary is the girl that any guy would want to bring home to mom; sweet, sensible, and still has the eye for adventure. Emil Johnsen conveys a vicious character to life with his stylish-retro uniform and creepy vintage truck, patrolling the neighborhood with a crazed and unremorseful look in his eyes.
The design of the film will empower viewers to use their imagination and interpretation throughout, making it a genuinely frightening reality for some causing a downpour of emotion including laughter and fear. A comedy horror film one minute to a psychological thriller the next, The Ice Cream Truck will not disappoint.

Behind The Scenes of Uncork’d Entertainment’s The Ice Cream Truck. Megan Freels Johnston Directing Emil Johnsen. Photo Courtesy of Heather Cusick.

 

Behind The Scenes of Uncork’d Entertainment’s The Ice Cream Truck. The cast and crew prepping for the 1st Death Scene! Photo Courtesy of Heather Cusick.

 

The Ice Cream Truck – Trailer 

 

 

-About The Author-

Ryan T. Cusick is a writer for ihorror.com and very much enjoys conversation and writing about anything within the horror genre. Horror first sparked his interest after watching the original, The Amityville Horror when he was the tender age of three. Ryan lives in California with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter, who is also expressing interest in the horror genre. Ryan recently received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and has aspirations to write a novel. Ryan can be followed on Twitter @Nytmare112

 

 

 

Emil Johnsen in The Ice Cream Truck. Photo Courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment.

 

 

 

 

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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