I've glimpsed tidbits of articles where writer David J. Schow has vented his frustration over the final form of 'We All Scream for Ice Cream,' Tom Holland ("Child's Play"; "Fright Night")'s contribution to the "Masters of Horror" anthology. While the film itself is mostly surface and little subtext, and pushing the allotted 60-minute run time, it's not really clear what could have been done to salvage it. That's not to say "Scream" isn't worth a look--sure, part of its effect rests on our ability to take a silly premise seriously ('slow' clown-faced ice-cream man Buster--played by William Forsythe--is killed during a vicious childhood prank; years later, his ghost comes back for revenge, using the grown kids' kids as vessels of evil), but some moments are particularly well-done: the soft-focus, colorful flashbacks that show childhood cruelty in all its sadistic glory; and images of zombied kids with quarters in their hands. Parallels to Grimm's Fairy Tales is apt, and the story has a clever, well-done hook, but the acting is questionable (nobody really seems to know how the material should be played, especially in the more absurd moments), and the resolution ultimately unfulfilling (relying on a random coincidence that doesn't make narrative sense). Holland, however, does a fine job of moving the story along (even if it is never really scary), and gets a surprising performance out of Forsythe, playing the polar opposite of his "Devil's Rejects" persona.
Review of We All Scream for Ice Cream
