Clint Howard Starred In This Cult Classic Horror Film (And It's Getting A Sequel)

Norman Apstein's 1995 straight-to-video horror cheapie "Ice Cream Man" has a marvelously silly premise. "Star Trek" legend Clint Howard — in full maniac (a la) mode — plays Gregory Tudor, a man who was traumatized back in the 1960s when his local ice cream man was gunned down in a drive-by shooting. Gregory grows up to be an ice cream man himself, although he is now wholly psychotic; in his spare time, he cooks up batches of ice cream extrapolated from cockroaches and human meat. Gregory's trauma, you see, was administered by the Wishing Well Sanitorium, which was about as well-run as that sanitorium from "The Ninth Configuration." He was essentially treated by crazed maniacs. Olivia Hussey, Jan-Michael Vincent, David Warner, Sandahl Bergman, and David Naughton all collected paychecks as well. 

The plot of "Ice Cream Man" actually centers on a group of local kids who suspect that Gregory is kidnapping and killing their friends. The cops don't believe them, of course, so they band together to take down Gregory themselves. "Ice Cream Man" is classic mid-'90s straight-to-video trash, possessed of an enthused, Troma-like cartoony tone. Because it came from the self-aware 1990s, the film definitely comes packaged with a whiff of irony. It also boasts one of Clint Howard's greater "kook" performances, as well as a rare leading role for the man. It's not especially well-remembered except by Gen-X video store rats like myself. 

And "Ice Cream Man 2" may still be in the works. Howard has dreamed of returning to "Ice Cream Man" for decades, something that he was caught reiterating recently. Howard was interviewed on the red carpet for "Terrifier 3" by Dead Meat host James Janisse (as seen on his Instagram account), and he let slip that they're making another "Ice Cream Man."

It should be noted that Howard has been trying to get a second "Ice Cream Man" movie off the ground for decades. Back in 2014 (as reported by Dread Central), he launched a Kickstarter campaign to obtain funding for a film he wanted to call "Ice Cream Man 2: Sundae Bloody Sundae." The pun is certainly brilliant. He noted that, 20 years after its making, he was still recognized on the street for playing the Ice Cream Man, and that meant it was high time to make a legacy sequel. The idea for "Bloody Sundae" was that the kids from the first film were now adults, and that the gore quotient would be increased. 

As we now know, "Bloody Sundae" was never actually made, but Clint Howard never gave up the dream. When asked about "Ice Cream Man" on the red carpet in 2025, Howard proudly announced plainly "We're making another 'Ice Cream Man.'" His interviewers had a brief moment to freak out before he elucidated: 

"I said 'another "Ice cream Man."' I'm another guy. [...] The only similarity is I'm playing an ice cream man. And this 'Ice Cream Man,' it's different. There's not a lot of children in it. And by about page 60, you're going to start to understand why a man would put body parts in his ice cream. We're really excited about it. My wife Kat, and Norman Apstein ... We got a great co-director who's going to step in and work with me to craft this thing. We're in pre-pre-production. We're about ready to take it to the next level." 

This may very well be the same project Howard was trying to fund 11 years ago. 

Of course, fans of "Ice Cream Man" might wonder why Clint Howard would cede the lead role to another actor. Howard was wise, though, to step aside and let "Another Ice Cream Man" step in, as Gregory was killed at the end of the first movie. As we all recall, Gregory was distracted by one of his young victims, Small Paul (Mikey LeBeau), when the kid held up a photo of the deceased ice cream man Gregory remembered from his youth. While distracted, Gregory fell into an ice cream mixer and was torn to shreds. 

Like any great slasher movie, though, there was a sequel tease built in. Small Paul, you see, was secretly a dark soul who was deeply interested in what Gregory was doing with his cannibalistic ice cream making. After the traumatic experience of the film's climax, Small Paul was put into "therapy," where he took to making twisted ice cream concoctions of his own. The child will pick up the mantle of the killer. This kind of twist ending can be found across the genre, from "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" to "Silent Night, Deadly Night." One might have assumed that the makers of "Ice Cream Man" would rush a sequel (or eight) into production immediately, staying on the shelves of Blockbuster video in perpetuity. For whatever reason, "Ice Cream Man" didn't get quite the momentum it needed. Bizarre, since there are two "The Dentist" movies. 

Clint Howard said that one can pay close attention to his own Instagram account, @ClintHowardOfficial, for updates. He signed off by repeating one of the Ice Cream Man's signature lines of dialogue, "Not every day is a happy, happy, happy day."