User reviews

Many years ago, the children of a small town accidentally killed the local ice cream man (a clown named Buster). Now all grown up, the same "kids" are being killed off and it seems that the ghost of Buster is to blame.

Many good things can be said about this film, and the nicest thing I can say is that William Forsythe (Buster the Clown) is a great actor who is not well-known. But he should be, especially with performances like this. The best parts of this episode were the children's interactions with the clown.

The visuals were also nice, with the death scenes being some of the messier ones you'll find. (Not necessarily "gory" but definitely messy.) It was like the scene in "Robocop" after the guy gets the toxic waste all over himself... yeah, you know the scene.

The biggest problem with the film, and it is all over this one, is what seems to be a lack of new ideas. Now, director "Tom Holland" has done some great films. But he's made some stinkers ("Langoliers"). So, I'll blame him even though he's working with someone else's short story. But we have the concept of a childhood accident coming back to haunt/kill the kids as adults. Not new. Some people have said it's like "Nightmare on Elm Street" because the man they killed is now talking to their kids. I can see that. I think the more obvious connection is "It" -- a clown who returns after about 20 years (although I think it was 30 in "It"). Either way, nothing really new. I did like the idea of "voodoo ice cream"... that ranks at least as cool as "The Stuff".

Clowns, ice cream, voodoo. The reason for the return is left unexplained, which makes me a bit disappointed. (Sure, I can say "The spirit wanted revenge" but that's a cop-out explanation). I've enjoyed other films less than this, but at the same time this wouldn't make my "Top 100 Horror Films", so unless you have a lot of desire to see it, just keep walking.

A bunch of children accidentally kill a mentally retarded man who's selling ice cream. Years later these kids are all grown and have children. The vengeful ghost of the ice cream man returns to wreak his vengeance on the men through their children.

As you can see the story itself is pretty silly. More than once I found myself smirking at the TV while watching this. There's also some VERY clumsy exposition and pretty poor dialogue. Still I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this.

In a way it's kind of fun. The ice cream man is dressed as a clown and clowns ARE scary. There were a few shots of him that were mildly spooky. It's well-directed by Tom Holland, moves quickly (a good idea with such a silly premise) and is very well-acted by everybody. I never believed it for one second and I wasn't really scared but, in a silly way, I had fun with this. However I wouldn't let kids watch it. The clown might scare the little ones silly. I give it a 7.

Securing director Tom Holland for the second season of "Masters of Horror" seemed like a horror fan's dream-come-true. This underrated director brought us such horror favorites as "Fright Night" and "child's Play" and yet I feel he's never been given due credit. The premise here is interesting and clowns are always creepy but "We All Scream For Ice Cream" falls flat.

The mood is properly set. Dim, atmospheric lighting and William Forsythe looking insanely creepy as a murderous clown. But the story is garbage, the flick is badly acted with a very boring central character and it's virtually suspenseless. The back story looks like a bad rehash of "It" and those kids are really bad actors as well.

A total disappointment, it even lacks solid gore apart from one scene with a guy in a bathtub. When a ferociously bad looking naked guy in a bathtub provides the only good scene you know you're in trouble.

Going to be interesting to see the reaction to this one. It's about supernatural revenge involving an ice cream truck vendor aptly portrayed by William Forsythe, who is accidentally killed by a prank many years earlier. Now he has returned and with the aid of the children of the pranksters, revenge is the name of the game. I liked this episode, it's silly, but still, it held my interest completely and some of the effects, especially the melting of a man in a hot tub, is some more extremely good effects work by KNB. And an episode without nudity, that's something new. This is like a fairy tale kind of horror film, where the ice cream man will take care of your parents if they are mean to you. Very nice direction by Tom Holland.

Were season one delivered what horror buffs want season two is coming to an end and so far only a few were good but most of the entries missed out what it should be. But this episode luckily delivers what I expected from Masters Of Horrors. A good story with some creepy atmosphere's and here and there some nice effects done by Berger and Nicotero.

But this episode really stands on the performance of Buster the clown by William Forsythe. The story itself is as simple as it can get. Youngsters having a prank with an ice cream delivery man dressed as a clown. But the prank is disastrous by the fact that Buster is being killed. Now all adults and having kids they are remembered by the prank due an ice cream car coming back in their lives with a revengeful spirit.

From shot one I could tell that this was right. The ice cream van coming out of the mist in slow motion with a creepy add already set the tone for this episode. It takes a bit before it really starts because you have to go into the characters of the youngsters and we do need the flashback to see what went wrong but after that it's a pure delight.

It takes you back to flicks like Body Melt (1993) or The Stuff (1985). We do actually see body melt like ice cream all done in-camera and it looked very nice. One of the better episodes together with Pelts. Kids and clowns are working it out in an icy atmosphere.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

On paper, "We All Scream for Ice Cream" looks like a fantastic & ideal addition to the "Masters of Horror" concept. It's directed by Tom Holland, who deserves a listing among the master horror directors based on his "Fright Night" and "Child's Play", the premise offers possibilities for scares (a lot of people are petrified of clowns) as well as for laughs (death by gooey melting) and it stars no other than William Forsythe ("The Devil's Rejects") in the unconventional role of mentally disabled clown. Unfortunately Holland's installment isn't as great as it could – and should – have been, but still it's a more than entertaining enough way to spend an hour of your time. Layne Baxter returns to his hometown and learns that all members of his childhood posse are dying off in mysterious circumstances. Only their clothes are found, lying in a puddle of gooey substance, and this shortly after their offspring devoured figure-shaped ice cream coins handed out by an eerie clown. When his own children wait hypnotized on the sidewalk at midnight, Layne has no choice but to reveal his hideous childhood secret. He and his clique accidentally killed the friendly but mentally retarded ice cream clown Buster when a harmless prank ran out of hand, and it seems like he reincarnated as a purely evil avenger. The main shortcomings of "We All Scream for Ice Cream" are – surprisingly enough – the lack of humor and a painfully monotonous execution. The first couple of times you see the uncanny ice cream truck and hear the titular rhyme off screen, it's definitely creepy, but the same ritual is repeated so many times it loses all of its scary impact near the end. Buster's method of killing, albeit quite nasty to behold, rapidly gets repetitive as well. Instead of showing the same stuff over and over again, perhaps the screenplay could have focused on explaining how Buster returned from the dead and how come a retarded clown knows so much about the art of voodoo, but I guess that was too complex. Enough with the criticism now, as the scene with the guy melting in his improvised bathtub is quite awesome and the dialogs during that sequence even hint at pedophilia. William Forsyth is very impressive as Buster and even his most devoted fans will have to look twice before recognizing him underneath all that clown's make up.

This movie was not scary. Instead of doing something truly creative with the idea of a killer clown they dropped the ball. The end of the movie was unbelievably lame. I was vaguely entertained by the gore but overall this movie's idea was the fault. The execution was very good and that's what stops it from being a one. The actors were very good in my opinion but the scenarios were completely unrealistic. I know that clowns coming back to life aren't real but i couldn't suspend disbelief. I really wanted to like this one but couldn't. I even bought this movie for 5 dollars and thought it was a waste of money. I'll never get that money back. Never. I think that's what the really scary thing is.

So as I suffer from insomnia and was perfectly willing to be subjected to the normal Sunday night/Monday morning line up B-rated porn on my local movie channel, imagine my surprise to a bunch zombie-ish children standing outside waiting an ice cream man, who couldn't be just some normal evil character, no, heaven forbid we do normal, it had to be a FROGGIN STUPID SCARY PSYCHO FLIPPIN CLOWN! Which then prompted and almost asleep insomniac to be awake for the next 4 hrs. F a bunch of this bull crap little episode. Stupid clowns need to rot in hell! It's not as if things such as IT aren't scary enough but you have make the ice cream a clown, seriously can we not think of something more standard, no we have strike fear into the heart of kids, by making something that should be nice and sweet into this psychopathic thing that eats kids! UNACCEPTABLE! Frickin Hate Clowns!

I loved this episode. Spoiler: It's supposed to be silly and a little goofy. You have a clown back from the dead turning people into ice cream. Seriously what are people expecting to happen with a plot like that? This is clearly a throwback to the cheesy horror movies from the 80s like Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Learn to have fun and enjoy things for what they are.

Yes this episode is silly, but honestly the gore is well done watching people slowly melt into ice cream. The acting is great, although the mom's lines are little off. She isn't a bad actress, but the dialogue comes off a little too forced as the "ever supportive wife." The story works for what it is, as you slowly learn through flashbacks why the clown is seeking vengence on the adults. I have to say, this is the first time I actually felt bad for a clown which goes to show how well William Forsythe did as Buster the Clown. I also think it's unqiue to see the Clown never directly confront the adults, but rather use their own kids to kill off his targets. It adds a different level of horror for the characters as they cant trust their own children.

Alll in all, good episode that had me hooked from start to finish.

So far during its second season, "Masters of Horror" has strictly been a hit-and-miss affair. While the first season was full of groundbreaking and daring one hour films, the second season has been a mixed bag. For every truly great episode like John Landis' "Family" and Joe Dante's "The Screwfly Solution", there's been a batch of unwatchable episodes like Tobe Hooper's "The Damned Thing", Daria Argento's "Pelts", and John Carpenter's "Pro-Life." With the exception of Rob Schmidt's "Right to Die", one element all them have had in common is that they haven't been very original. Tom Holland's "We All Scream for Ice Cream", on the other hand, is one of the most original horror tales to come along in quite some time. While shades of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET can be found, "We All Scream for Ice Cream" is fresh and exciting, just like one would expect from the director of such classics as FRIGHT NIGHT and CHILD'S PLAY. This is Holland at his best, expertly directing an emotional and character-driven story with intensity, tight pacing, and style. Credit is also due to writer David J. Schow, who also wrote last season "Pick Me Up", which despite repeated viewing I still am not a fan of. Schow successfully adapted John Farris short story and even managed to improve it. Here's to hoping Holland and Schow team up again for Season Three. Final say: Best episode of Season Two. 10/10

I have three more films left until the end of the "Masters of Horror", but I think it's safe to say that this is the worst episode of the series. I didn't give up watching and I didn't have to struggle to endure, but I didn't enjoy either... not a bit. The story is extremely stupid, uninteresting, undeveloped, full of holes and illogicality, and above all unoriginal. It was not literally stolen from King, but it reminds of "It" so much that coincidence is excluded as an option. The group of kids, led by cruel bully, pulls a practical joke on mentally challenged clown who sells ice cream, and they accidentally kill him. Decades later, he's back from the grave and uses their children to get even. Atmosphere is very King-ish and, if movie wasn't so repetitive, it could have been terrifying, but because the clown kills his victims one by one in exactly the same way the only effect this movie leaves is boredom. I'm terrified of the clowns and I watched this alone, at night, in dark, and it didn't cause me even the slightest goosebumps. "We All Scream for Ice Cream" is too stupid and lousy to be scary and not stupid or bad enough to be "so bad it's good" kind of fun. The most terrifying thing about this movie is the feeling that it will never end.

3/10

Tom Holland's return to the Masters of Horror anthology brings a familiar revenge tale that struggles to live up to its promising premise and the director's established pedigree. While the concept of a vengeful ice cream clown targeting the children of former tormentors carries inherent creepiness, the execution lacks the atmospheric tension and visual innovation that made Holland's earlier works like Child's Play and Fright Night memorable classics.

The episode benefits from committed performances across the board, with William Forsythe delivering a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of Buster the clown that manages to evoke genuine pathos beneath the grotesque makeup. Lee Tergesen anchors the adult cast with a stone-faced intensity that serves the material adequately, though the script doesn't provide him with enough emotional range to truly shine. The child actors demonstrate an unsettling believability that recalls Holland's skill with young performers, creating moments of genuine unease when they interact with Forsythe's supernatural ice cream vendor.

Cinematographically, the episode disappoints by playing things frustratingly safe. Holland opts for conventional straight-on camera angles and standard lighting schemes that rob the supernatural elements of their potential menace. The phantom ice cream truck, which should serve as an iconic horror vehicle, appears pedestrian surrounded by basic dry-ice effects. The technical approach feels uninspired, particularly when compared to the inventive visual storytelling that characterized the director's theatrical successes.

David J. Schow's screenplay contains intriguing elements but suffers from significant structural problems that become increasingly apparent as the narrative progresses. Plot developments feel arbitrary rather than organic, and certain character details seem included without purpose or follow-through. The final act abandons the episode's stronger early moments in favor of genre cliches that feel beneath both the writer's capabilities and the anthology's ambitions.

Despite its shortcomings, the episode succeeds in creating moments of genuine creepiness, particularly in its exploration of childhood guilt and supernatural justice. The premise taps into universal fears about past mistakes returning to exact terrible prices, and Forsythe's performance adds unexpected emotional depth to what could have been a one-dimensional monster. However, these strengths cannot overcome the episode's fundamental lack of visual flair and narrative cohesion.