“Mr. Ice Cream Man or call me Master P

I got that 2 for 3, call me if you need some D

Me and my little brother Silkk, we be ballin’

Got this thang sewed up from Texas to New Orleans”

No, this is not a Master P song.

Nor is it the Clint Howard-starring, Norman Apstein-directed (really Paul Norman, director of adult films like Bi and Beyond before making straight adult and being married to Celete and Tori Welles) direct-to-video film Ice Cream Man.

The film is truly the singular vision of Mack Hail, who didn’t just write, direct and star, but also reportedly handled much of the production legwork in Las Vegas. His performance as the titular killer is less maniacal slasher and more deeply awkward neighbor, which contributes to the film’s uncanny, dreamlike quality. The dialogue often feels improvised or captured in single takes, giving it a raw, voyeuristic energy common in Las Vegas regional filmmaking of that period.

66 minutes of missing children, it feels shot on video and may have a great stalking beginning with an ice cream truck following some little fellers, but then when we get to the movie, you may – if you’re me – wonder if you’ve seen too many slashers as you watch this.

Ice Cream Man was abandoned by his mother outside a liquor store as a child, so that’s why he’s become a child taking and killing machine. There’s also a PG feel to this, despite the stranger-danger elements and off-screen kills. I say boo and hiss to this, as we’re watching slashers because we’re creepy people who need to see murder set pieces.

If you grew up in the 90s, this has the brands, the colors and the rememberberries that you want. Somehow, in the world of this movie, boys and girls can stay at the same slumber party, and obviously, neither Pepsi nor Coke paid to be in this, but as we all know, many slashers have shots of brand soda because, well, to be honest, I don’t get it myself. What if Shashta or RC Cola wanted to escape the soft drink basement and their strategy was to be in off-brand slashers?

This may have been made between 1991 and 1996 and wasn’t released until the 2000s. It’s better directed than it has any right to be and that’s because Hail used actual locations rather than sets. The opening stalking sequence utilizes the wide, sun-bleached Las Vegas suburban streets to create a sense of exposure and isolation that higher-budget films often miss.

You can watch this on YouTube.