Eli Roth has spent more than two decades building a career on making audiences squirm, and with Ice Cream Man he returns to an idea he says has been sitting in his imagination for nearly twenty years: a mysterious ice cream vendor whose frozen treats transform children into knife-wielding killers. It is the sort of gleefully outrageous premise that sounds absurd until you remember Roth built his reputation with films like Cabin Fever and Hostel. Releasing in theatres on August 7 through his own unrated distribution label, The Horror Section, Ice Cream Man represents Roth’s attempt to return to the scrappy, boundary-pushing horror that first made his name, after The House with a Clock in Its Walls and last year’s underwhelming Borderlands pulled him deeper into studio filmmaking.
Early reviews suggest he has certainly reclaimed his unfiltered instincts. Whether he has made a compelling film, however, is another matter. Critics are sharply divided, with Ice Cream Man holding a Rotten score in the 26–31% range on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. The consensus is remarkably consistent: the practical gore is inventive, outrageous and frequently entertaining, but almost everything surrounding it struggles to leave much of an impression.
The premise is intentionally straightforward. A silent ice cream vendor arrives in a quiet suburban town, handing out demonically possessed cones with names like Locust Lick and Serpent Swirl. The middle-school children who eat them are transformed into remorseless killers, turning on parents, teachers and neighbours in increasingly elaborate fashion.
Several critics compared the concept to a collision between Village of the Damned, Weapons and the opening movements of Halloween, and that lineage appears entirely intentional. Roth clearly hopes his Ice Cream Man will join horror’s gallery of unforgettable villains.
Yet this is also where many reviewers identify the film’s biggest weakness. The Ice Cream Man himself rarely participates directly in the violence, instead largely standing back while the possessed children carry out the carnage. Critics argue that this robs the character of the lingering menace that icons such as Michael Myers or Art the Clown command simply by entering a scene.
Even reviewers who disliked the film almost universally praise its practical effects.
Steve Newburn’s makeup work receives widespread acclaim, with critics describing the kills as imaginative, unapologetically gruesome and refreshingly practical in an era increasingly dominated by digital effects. The extended school massacre sequence emerges as the unanimous standout. Here, possessed children transform power tools into murder weapons, fashion jump ropes from human entrails and reduce an unfortunate principal into one of the film’s grisliest visual punchlines.
One reviewer described Ice Cream Man as a welcome return to Roth’s indie horror roots: high-concept, practical-effects driven and impressively lean. Judged purely as a showcase for inventive kills, critics acknowledge the film succeeds remarkably well. For dedicated gore enthusiasts, that alone may justify the price of admission.
The film also earns praise for embracing an unrated release. Several reviewers argue that Roth’s freedom from studio restrictions allows him to push practical horror effects further than most contemporary mainstream releases would dare, giving the violence an unapologetically transgressive energy that recalls his earliest work.
Unfortunately for many critics, the impressive practical effects are forced to carry almost the entire film.
The screenplay gives its teenage protagonists little more than single defining personality traits, making it difficult to become invested in anyone once the blood begins flowing. One review memorably described the quieter stretches as “dull filler” separating one elaborate kill sequence from the next.
Owen Gleiberman of Variety is particularly dismissive, arguing that Ice Cream Man ultimately becomes little more than a one-joke exercise in shock cinema that never earns comparison with the classic horror films it openly references. William Bibbiani of TheWrap offers perhaps the sharpest criticism, joking that watching a behind-the-scenes documentary about Steve Newburn’s effects team would be more entertaining than watching the finished movie itself.
Critics also point to the film’s third-act mythology as a major misstep. After spending much of its runtime embracing mystery, Ice Cream Man suddenly attempts to explain who its central villain really is and why he exists. Rather than enriching the story, reviewers argue the revelation only weakens it. Slant’s Kyle Turner dismisses Roth’s attempt at deeper social commentary by remarking that it possesses “the consistency of soft serve.”
The disappointing mythology points towards a larger criticism that runs through many of the reviews. Several critics argue that Ice Cream Man mistakes gore for horror, assuming increasingly outrageous violence can compensate for the absence of suspense, character development or emotional investment.
The comparison that surfaces most often is Damien Leone’s Terrifier series. Art the Clown works not simply because his kills are extreme, but because his silence, unpredictability and sadistic personality create an overwhelming sense of dread long before the violence begins. The Ice Cream Man, by contrast, spends much of the film observing from the sidelines while possessed children do the killing. Without a stronger personality or sustained screen presence, critics argue he never develops into the iconic horror villain Roth clearly intends him to become.
That absence of menace ultimately weakens the film’s central concept. Gore, several reviewers suggest, works best when audiences have something worth protecting—or someone worth fearing. Strip away compelling characters and genuine tension, and even the most inventive practical effects begin to resemble an extended highlight reel rather than a complete movie.
Some reviewers also see the film as reflecting a broader shift in Roth’s filmmaking. His early work balanced exploitation with genuine suspense, gradually building discomfort before delivering graphic violence. Ice Cream Man, critics argue, often reverses that formula, relying on shock value first and trusting the spectacle to sustain audience interest. For devoted horror fans, that approach may still provide enough entertainment. For everyone else, it leaves surprisingly little beneath the blood-soaked surface.
Ice Cream Man is far from devoid of pleasures. The practical effects are consistently impressive, the kills display genuine imagination, and there is an undeniable sense of freedom in watching Eli Roth operate without the creative restrictions of a major studio. Fans who simply want inventive splatter, outrageous practical gore and an unapologetically unrated horror experience will likely find plenty to enjoy.
Beyond that, however, the critical consensus becomes much harder to ignore. Review after review points to thin characterisation, underdeveloped storytelling and a mythology that explains more than it enriches. Instead of creating a memorable new horror icon, Roth delivers a villain who remains strangely passive, leaving the possessed children to carry both the violence and much of the film’s energy.
Ultimately, Ice Cream Man feels like a showcase for exceptional makeup effects searching for a stronger screenplay. It demonstrates that Roth still knows how to stage outrageous gore, but many critics question whether he has rediscovered the narrative discipline that once made his most shocking films resonate beyond their bloodshed. As William Bibbiani’s observation for TheWrap suggests, the craftsmanship behind the practical effects may ultimately prove more fascinating than the story itself.
For dedicated gorehounds, Ice Cream Man offers exactly the kind of unrated splatter-fest they have been waiting for. For everyone else, critics suggest it is likely to leave behind little more than a stomachache—and not much to chew on.
Film Details: Ice Cream Man
Director: Eli Roth
Writers: Eli Roth, Noah Belson
Cast: Ari Millen, Benjamin Byron Davis, Karen Cliche, Dylan Hawco, Sarah Abbott, Eli Roth
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 86 minutes
Production Company: The Horror Section
Release Date: 7 August 2026
Country: United States
Language: English
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