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Friday, January 20, 2012

Day 20: Masters of Horror: We All Scream For Ice Cream

Masters of Horror: We All Scream For Ice Cream

Who ordered the Clown Ripple cone?

A horror movie about ice cream? Sweet! Yeah, I went there. Deal with it. A horror movie starring William Forsythe? Extra sweet. Some people are scared what ice cream will do to their figure. But what if that ice cream did something far worse? What if that ice cream was meant to kill you?

We All Scream For Ice Cream stars Lee Tergesen (Oz, Wayne's World) as Layne Banixter and William Forsythe (Raising Arizona, Boardwalk Empire) as Buster the Clown. Layne has recently returned to his old home town to settle down with his family. When he was younger, Layne was part of a local group of kids called The West End Bunch. Members of the group are now slowly starting to disappear under mysterious circumstances. At the same time, Layne's children are walking out of the house late at night, under some sort of spell. We learn that when Layne was younger, there used to be an ice cream man/clown named Buster, who would perform tricks and sell ice cream. Egged on by group bully, Verne, the bunch pull a trick on Buster that accidentally kills him. Now Buster is back, picking off each member one by one, using their children to eat voodoo-style ice cream bars to kill them. It's up to Layne to stop him before he becomes a puddle of ice-cream goo.

Yeah, he's standing right behind you

A fun story, good atmosphere and solid acting really make WASFIC a great watch. William Forsythe is absolutely fantastic in what is essentially two roles. You love him as the friendly ice cream selling clown and fear him as the revenge seeking monster. Basically a supernatural revenge movie, you want Layne to survive but also want Buster to gain his revenge for being killed. That can be attributed all to Forsythe. Atmosphere is also a big factor in making the movie work. The slow-motion ice cream truck rolling through the fog while a creepy version of the ice cream song plays sets the right tone. Anything else would just come off as silly.

WASFIC is one of those sneaky horror movies that, on the surface, doesn't scare you, but deep down it unnerves you. If you are scared of clowns, you are going to be terrified of this movie. Luckily, I don't have a problem with face-painted merrymakers (excluding Insane Clown Posse). WASFIC's creepy moments also come from the emotionless children that want ice cream. Nothing quite as scary as a child standing silently by themselves. Effects are sparse, but when they're used, they have a serious impact and can get downright gruesome.

 This is what happens when you see Newt Gingrich naked

We All Scream For Ice Cream is a solid movie all around. The pacing worked and never dragged or felt rushed. The hour-long format for Masters of Horror worked to the movie's advantage. A fun story, good effects, and great acting made this a really enjoyable watch. As long as you're not scared of clowns (or ice cream), this movie is definitely worth viewing.

9/10

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