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Ice Cream Man (1995) - Norman Apstein


Ice Cream Man may look like another throw away, straight-to-video schlock piece. And it just might be. However, it actually has a kind of interesting story to go along with it. The movie stars b-movie icon, Clint Howard in his first leading role since Evilspeak and is the first and only foray into mainstream media by porn director Paul Norman. Another interesting fact is that this movie was sponsored by Converse shoes. 

Gregory is released from the Wishing Well Sanatorium after spending years there. He was originally locked up after going insane from seeing his favorite Ice Cream Man murdered in front of him. Now a free man, Gregory wants nothing more than to make children happy. So he opens the old ice cream factory and becomes an Ice Cream Man. He loves seeing the smiles on the children faces. However, he also wants to chop the kids up and use them in his special flavors. A small group of kids witnesses the ice cream man abduct their friend and they vow to get him back.

The effects are actually pretty good. They are provided by Mark Garbarino's Funhouse. They definitely wanted to make sure that the blood and guts were still firmly in place. I had watched the MonsterVision version on YouTube and didn't feel shorted. Also, Joe Bob Briggs has Clint Howard on as a guest and they get into some really cool discussions. Howard comments on how he would drive home from these shoots covered in blood. He loved seeing the reactions on people on the freeway. 

This is a pretty decent b-movie. Definitely better than most of the crap that had come out during this time. You get a good deal of blood and guts. On top of a good deal of black comedy. It's just too campy and cheap to make it any further than it did. I liked the Goonies/Stand By Me-esq group of kids. They made it far more interesting. But they couldn't save it. 

Director: Paul Norman
Producer: Paul Norman
Writer: Sven Davison and David Dobkin
Starring: Clint Howard, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Evans and E.E. Bell
Studio: A-Pix Entertainment Inc. and Ardustry Home Entertainment LLC
Country: United States
Did ya Know: The first draft of the script was written in three days.











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