When he was a young boy, Gregory Tudor was traumatized when he witnessed the gangland-style execution of the neighborhood ice cream man.  He was retraumatized when he was sent to an insane asylum.  Now, Gregory (Clint Howard) has grown up and he’s the ice cream man!  Everyone in the neighborhood loves his ice cream but the local kids suspect that he’s using human body parts to get the flavor just right.  It turns out that the kids know what they’re talking about.

Ice Cream Man almost feels like a zero-budget precursor to Stranger Things, with the kids knowing what’s happening in their town while the majority of the adults are too self-absorbed to notice.  One of the kids is a Macauley Culkin look-alike known as Small Paul (Mikey LeBeau).  He comes to admire Gregory and his murderous devotion to ice cream.  The movie’s really stupid but it’s clearly not meant to be taken seriously and Clint Howard really throws himself into his role.  One thing that makes Ice Cream Man enjoyable is that you know Ron Howard had to sit through it because his brother’s in it.

The most interesting thing about Ice Cream Man is the number of recognizable actors who appear in tiny roles.  David Warner is the town’s reverend.  David Naughton is a clueless father who is married to Sandahl Bergman.  Jan-Michael Vincent is a detective.  Olivia Hussey is Gregory’s former nurse.  Former baseball player and future senatorial candidate Steve Garvey plays another parent.  With the exception of Vincent, it’s hard not to believe that the members of the cast didn’t have anything better to do.  Never underestimate the appeal of a quick paycheck.

Clint Howard has said that a sequel is in pre-production.  The Ice Cream Man will return.