Mary moves back to her suburban hometown, to find that the suburbs are scarier in more ways than she ever remembered.
Genre : Horror Country : USA
Cast :
Deanna Russo : Mary
Emil Johnsen : The ice cream man
John Redlinger : Max
Director :
Megan Freels Johnston
My opinion
“Welcome to the neighborhood”
What’s more applicable with this sultry weather than a horror about a murderous ice cream man? Let me assure you though. Next time you see an ice cream truck, you won’t be running away in full panic and loudly screaming. Not after watching this movie at least, because this low-budget movie isn’t really scary or frightening. To be honest, I found the ice cream man (Emil Johnsen) a kind of a dork. Even during his killings, he looked rather like a sissy. I’m sure that one well-aimed smack with a scoop, would be enough to hit him unconsciously. And for the most sensitive viewers: don’t expect bloody slaughterings as you could see in “Friday the 13th”.
Nice Ice Cream Truck.
There’s one thing I was enthusiastic about. And that’s the ice cream truck itself. A beautifully maintained pastel tinted oldtimer. Even the noise of the engine was a pleasure to hear. So this item also isn’t something to be afraid of (not like these models). Only Mary (Deanna Russo) had her doubts about it, the very first moment the ice cream truck drove by. The only peculiar thing to me was the ridiculous times this truck drove through the neighborhood while playing his childish tune.
Some weird folks in this neighborhood.
The whole story focuses on Mary, a so-called freelance writer who apparently has problems with writing some new stuff. So she moved back to a suburb where she once grew up. However, she has to wait a few days before her husband and two children arrive. And during that time she gets to know some of the local people. Like a couple of curious neighbor women and Max (John Redlinger), the son of one of them who just graduated. And also someone from the moving company. A scary, rough looking guy with a huge walrus mustache who acted quite intimidating. They had better promoted him to be the Ice Cream man because he looked like a real terrifying psychopath.
Lets not forget about the killing?
You can hardly call this a horror. It’s more a story about Mary in her midlife crisis who starts realizing that she isn’t a young teen-girl anymore. What you get is a trivial story about a woman whose hormones go bezerk again after seeing a young muscular guy whose sixpack reminds her of her student time. To be honest, I didn’t think Mary was so bad looking. And in my opinion she’s is in real life much younger than the age she has in the movie. Max, on the other hand, looks older. Let’s say that Max’s acting like a stud and Mary’s behavior as a teenybopper take most of the time of this somewhat faint horror. Oh yes, it’s a horror. Thus, in addition, some innocent adolescents are being killed as well in between. Almost forgot about that.
Don’t watch the teaser.
“The ice cream truck” isn’t really a very good movie. It’s not terribly bad either. It’s a dull would-be slasher. Actually, the film left me cold (how applicable). Fortunately, the acting of the main characters was adequate. The denouement was quite abrupt (and the place Mary decided to hide herself, was absolutely laughable). The makers tried to give it a bit of a horror feeling by thinking of a surprising end. But to be honest there was only one thing the film did to me. I felt like having a huge icecream with a lot of whipped cream and red fruit on it. As a reward.
“The ice cream truck” from Uncork’d Entertainment is available on VOD August 18th.
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Kat Conner Sterling, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson and Matthew Lillard
Directed by: Emma Tammi
Written by: Scott Cawthon, Emma Tammi and Seth Cuddeback
Based on the video game series by: Scott Cawthon
Produced by: Jason Blum and Scott Cawthon
Executive Producers: Bea Sequeira, Russell Binder, Marc Mostman and Christopher H. Warner
Chica and Mr Cupcake from Five Nights at Freddy’s (Universal Pictures)
Plot
Recently fired and desperate for work so that he can keep custody of Abby, Mike agrees to take a position as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But Mike soon discovers that nothing at Freddy’s is what it seems. With the aid of Vanessa, a local police officer, Mike’s nights at Freddy’s will lead him into unexplainable encounters with the supernatural and drag him into the black heart of an unspeakable nightmare.
Foxy from Five Nights At Freddy’s (Universal Pictures)Bonnie from Five Nights At Freddy’s (Universal Pictures)Freddy Fazbear from Five Nights At Freddy’s (Universal Pictures)
Movie Review (No Spoilers)
The movie takes its inspiration from the Five Nights At Freddy’s videogame series and the franchise of the same name. The franchise currently consists of a total of 20 video games (10 main games, 6 spin-offs, and 4 troll games), a total of 48 books (3 novel books, 21 anthology books, 8 graphic novels, 5 guidebooks, 3 coloring books, and 8 other books), as well as a horror attraction, Snapchat lenses, this movie, and an ongoing batch of merchandise.
We see Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Lail’s play the part of Mike Schmidt and Officer Vanessa Shelly respectively. They played their parts well and their performance definitely contributes to the dramatic effects within the movie. The story was nicely adapted from the narrative in the video games. Being familiar with the video games I expected Five Nights at Freddy’s to be filled to the brim with jump scares. Sadly, the jump scares were quite infrequent and there is definitely a lack of gory scenes, leaving you with the feeling that the animatronics might not be that scary at all. The animatronics were well designed.
The movie successfully delivers a plot twist at the end. The story ends in such a way that you can expect a sequel and I hope that if we get to experience another night at Freddy’s that we get to experience an even greater scare.
I rate this movie a 3 out of 5 based on expectations. As a fan of the game series you will definitely enjoy this because this movie takes a lot of the Five Nights At Freddy’s lore into account with a few variations.
I personally feel the trailer delivers a bit of a scare, however it reveals a little bit too much information about the story. There is a mid-credits scene and a potential secret audio message at the end of the credits. Feel free to stick around.
Five Nights At Freddy’s Official Trailer (Universal Pictures)
Regan, a young girl, displays bizarre behaviour after playing with an Ouija board. Chris, her mother and an actress, consults two priests who conclude that Regan is possessed by a demonic entity.
The Exorcist Trailer (Warner Bros.)
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
A priest is tasked with probing the death of another priest who died while exorcising a girl four years ago. However, the latter does not remember the incident and is under the care of a psychiatrist.
Exorcist II: The Heretic Trailer (Warner Bros.)
The Exorcist III (1990)
Lieutenant Kinderman sets out to investigate a series of brutal murders with the trademark of a serial killer, The Gemini. However, he uncovers disturbing facts which leave him troubled.
The Exorcist III Trailer (Warner Bros.)
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
While doing missionary work in Africa, Father Lankester Merrin comes across a boy who is behaving strangely. Further investigation reveals that he is possessed by an ancient demon.
Exorcist: The Beginning Trailer (Warner Bros.)
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
Father Lankester Merrin has his first encounter with a demon when a church is excavated from beneath the sand. Soon, he discovers several signs of devil worship inside the church.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist Clip (Warner Bros.)
The Exorcist: Believer
When his daughter, Angela, and her friend Katherine, show signs of demonic possession, it unleashes a chain of events that forces single father Victor Fielding to confront the nadir of evil. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil, the only person alive who’s witnessed anything like it before.
The Exorcist Believer Trailer (Universal Pictures)
Movie Review (No Spoilers)
The movie doesn’t rush too quickly into the dramatic aspects of the film. It really provides a different feel to that of the predecessors. Olivia O’Neil and Lidya Jewett really brought their A-game and I really appreciated their performance. As always, the possessed voices are always done excellently. There is a treat for longstanding fans of the Exorcist movies with the return of Ellen Burstyn who returns as Chris MacNeil, which was teased in the movie trailer as well. The soundtrack along with the use of strategically placed jump scares contributed to the overall scare, however, most of the massive scares are closer to the end of the movie. I recommend watching the other Exorcist-related movies to really have the background. A lot of effort was done in the make-up, special effects and with the religious elements that have been factored into the movie.
Just a word of caution though, this movie is not for the faint-hearted and sensitive viewers.
There is no post-credits scene at the end, so no need to wait till the end. The official trailer I feel gives away a lot of the movie in terms of some of the plots, so watch perhaps the movie before watching the trailer. I rate this movie a 3.5 out of 5. Really looking forward to future projects in the Exorcist film series but I really hope they can deliver a scary surprise in a future sequel.
No running. No diving. No lifeguard on duty. No swimming after dark.
Ray Waller, a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, moves into a new home with his concerned wife Eve, teenage daughter Izzy and young son Elliot. Secretly hoping, against the odds, to return to pro ball, Ray persuades Eve that the new home’s shimmering backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for him. But a dark secret in the home’s past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror.