PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Last week we at PopHorror got to interview a couple of stars from the new Eli Roth horror movie Ice Cream Man. In this interview we talk with Benjamin Byron Davis.
PopHorror: So Ice Cream Man, how did you become involved in the project with Eli Roth?
Benjamin: Well, I got sent the script by Eli and I read it and I read it thinking I was just reading it to read it and I loved it and I didn’t know how he was going to make it, but I loved it. And he said, “What did I think of the role of the priest?” And I said, “I thought it was a great role.” And he was like, “No, to play.” And I was thrilled to say the very least. And I think it was about a little less than a month later, I was on set in Toronto working with those wonderful kids and-
PopHorror: Right. And the kids were fantastic. So how was it like seeing them on set? Because everyone was so great in their respective roles too.
Benjamin: Well, you don’t know. I mean, you don’t know coming in what you’re going to be walking into. And I knew that production was up and I came in about the halfway point in the shoot and the adages don’t work with animals or children. These young adults are not, well, I guess they are children, but they are also really professional actors. And Kiori, Shiloh, and Charlie, I spent the day working with them and they could not have been more welcoming to me. And I was blown away by how present they were, how engaged they were, how unadorned their work was. Really a very pleasant surprise meeting and working alongside those fine actors.
PopHorror: And working with Eli Roth, you know you’re going to get a good amount of gore too. So did anything kind of surprise you when you were acting in the movie or watching the movie? Did anything take you by surprise?
Benjamin: I’m kind of sequestered in the film into a freezer. So I was spared most of this really, really fine work from Adrien Morot and the rest of the practical effects in the film, which are just spectacular. But I didn’t get to see too many of them until I finally got to see the film. And then I had read about all of it in the script, but it’s one thing to read about this mural of teachers and it’s quite another thing to see it.
PopHorror: Right. And acting in a horror movie, like you alluded to, it’s one thing to read it on script, but it’s another thing to see it. So how did that translate from Eli Roth’s vision as well?
Benjamin: Well, it’s all Eli’s vision. I mean, he sees the whole thing. On the day, it’s not particularly frightening. It’s not particularly upsetting, but you know who you’re dealing with and you know Eli’s track record and the films that he’s made. And so that’s the one thing, AJ, that I’m most excited about. I’ve now seen the film a couple of times, but I’ve seen it just on a screener at home.
PopHorror: Right.
Benjamin: I’m so excited to see it with an audience because I think that’s when we’re really going to see what Eli knows how to do to really knock a crowd off of its feet. And I’m very excited to see how it plays. So I can’t wait for that.
PopHorror: And when I was watching it, it almost felt like a gateway horror film for a younger audience to kind of digest because it didn’t seem like over the top, even though there was some brutal kills in the movie, it felt like a gateway film to introduce a new generation to horror movies. So how was it like being a part of a project that could introduce a new generation to horror movies as well?
Benjamin: It’s interesting that you say that. I hadn’t considered that, and I think you might be onto something. Eli is a real custodian of the history of horror and a real devote of the genre. I was lucky enough to work for him a few years ago on a cartoon that he did for DreamWorks called Fright Krewe. Excellent, excellent cartoon.
PopHorror: I remember that. Yeah.
Benjamin: And that was quite specifically intended as a gateway for introducing younger audiences to horror. This is the kind of film that when I was 12 years old and there was going to be a sleepover, this is the sort of film that I wish we had on a VHS tape and we-
PopHorror: Right.
Benjamin: Could sneak down into the basement and sort of get away with something. I mean, there is something subversive.
PopHorror: It’s almost that taboo feeling of watching something you shouldn’t be watching, right?
Benjamin: I think you said it just right. It is that we’re not allowed to be watching this is exactly the feeling that it has. And that’s exactly what you’re looking for after pizza and too much candy at 12 down in the basement, which I remember well and fondly watching the horror movies of my day. And if this becomes that for a new generation, and if it introduces them to the history of horror, all the better.
PopHorror: Well, Benjamin, thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been fun and congratulations on Ice Cream Man.
Benjamin: AJ, thank you so much for having me. It’s been a real pleasure talking to you, sir.
