Ice Cream Man: Eli Roth's gory killer-kids horror savaged by critics ahead of August release
Eli Roth's new slasher about children turned homicidal by an ice cream vendor's treats has been savaged by critics, drawn a reported row over generative AI, and arrives in cinemas unrated on August 7.
Ice Cream Man is an American slasher film directed, co-written and produced by Eli Roth. It follows a suburban town whose children turn homicidal after eating an ice cream vendor's treats. The film is scheduled for theatrical release on August 7 and has received strongly negative reviews from critics.
Eli Roth's new horror film Ice Cream Man has been savaged by critics ahead of its theatrical release on August 7, with a Guardian review ranking it among the year's worst horror films and reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes responding harshly. Multiple reviews describe the film as heavily gory and violent; one characterised it as a one-joke kiddie zombie splatter film. Roth co-wrote, produced and directed the American slasher, in which a suburban town's children turn homicidal after eating an ice cream vendor's sweet treats. The cast includes Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O'Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Sarah Abbott and Benjamin Byron Davis. The film shares its title with an unrelated 1995 direct-to-video black comedy slasher directed by Paul Norman and starring Clint Howard. The release arrives with baggage. Roth has said generative AI was used during the making of the film, according to reports, though he later said "I misspoke" about his earlier remarks. The film is set to open unrated, and its reception is already being read as a verdict on Roth's return to low-budget splatter.
Killer kids and a cursed ice cream van: what Roth's new film is about
Ice Cream Man is an American slasher film that Eli Roth co-wrote, produced and directed. Its premise is simple and nasty: in a quiet suburban town, children who eat an ice cream vendor's sweet treats turn violent toward the adults around them. Reports describe the youngsters as homicidal zombies, driven to kill after consuming the vendor's products, and the ice cream man himself as a demonic figure. The result, according to multiple reviews, is a film heavy on gore and violence.
Roth has built his career on this kind of material, and Ice Cream Man leans into it. One reviewer characterised the film as a one-joke kiddie zombie splatter picture, and another wrote that Roth comes across as a special kind of disturbed while watching it. The Daily Star reported that squeamish viewers reacted strongly to the film's gruesome content.
The cast mixes adult and child performers. Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O'Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Sarah Abbott and Benjamin Byron Davis all appear in the film. Ahead of release, Roth, Abbott and Davis took part in an interview discussing the film's child characters, according to reports.
The concept places Ice Cream Man within a long tradition of horror films about children turning on their elders. One review compared it unfavourably to Village of the Damned, Weapons and Halloween, suggesting Roth's take on the killer-kids formula falls short of its predecessors.
'Among the year's worst horror films': how critics responded
Critics have not been kind. Reviews of Ice Cream Man have been strongly negative across the board, with the response from critics on Rotten Tomatoes described as harsh. Multiple reviews dwell on the film's gore, characterising it as heavily violent even by the standards of a director who built his reputation on splatter.
The Guardian's review was among the most cutting. It dismissed the film as a cheaply made piece of retro horror and placed it among the year's worst horror films. Other reviewers reached for comparisons, and none of them flattered Roth. According to one review, the film suffers by comparison with Village of the Damned, Weapons and Halloween — films that found genuine menace in the idea of children turning on the adults around them.
The tone of much of the coverage has been weary rather than shocked. One review characterised Ice Cream Man as a one-joke kiddie zombie splatter film, suggesting the premise exhausts itself early and the film has little to offer beyond the initial transgression. Another reviewer wrote that watching the film left them convinced Roth is a special kind of disturbed — a line that reads as both criticism and, arguably, the reaction the director was chasing.
Not all the reaction came from critics. The Daily Star reported that squeamish viewers responded strongly to the film's gruesome content, suggesting the gore at least landed with its intended audience even as reviewers recoiled.
Taken together, the notices position Ice Cream Man as one of the more divisive horror releases of the year: a film whose violence is its entire selling point, and whose critics found that bargain wanting. Whether the hostile reviews dent its prospects, or simply function as marketing for an unrated splatter picture, remains to be seen.
The generative AI row and Roth's 'I misspoke' retraction
The film's publicity run was complicated by a separate dispute over how it was made. According to reports, Roth confirmed that generative AI had been used during the production of Ice Cream Man. He subsequently walked that back, saying "I misspoke" in connection with his earlier remarks about the technology's role in the film.
The sequence of events remains murky. It is not known when Roth made his original comments about generative AI, in what forum, or precisely what he claimed the technology had been used for. Nor is it clear when the retraction came, or whether it amounted to a full denial of AI involvement or a narrower correction of his own wording. What is established is only that the director made remarks acknowledging AI use, and later disavowed them with the "I misspoke" formulation.
The episode lands at a sensitive moment for the industry, where the use of generative tools in filmmaking has become a flashpoint with audiences, critics and craft workers alike. For a low-budget horror picture already facing hostile reviews, the suggestion — and then the retraction — of AI involvement added an unwelcome layer of controversy ahead of the film's theatrical opening.
From a $120 million Borderlands to unrated splatter: Roth's road here
Ice Cream Man arrives at an unusual point in Eli Roth's career. His previous film was Borderlands, an adaptation of a video game reportedly made on a budget of $120 million, according to reports. The contrast is stark: from a big-budget studio production to a low-fi slasher about murderous children, reviewed by the Guardian as a cheaply made retro horror.
Roth, 54, has also been vocal about the state of the industry he works in. According to reports, he criticised the impact of streaming platforms such as Netflix on the movie business ahead of the film's release — a notable position for a director whose new project is heading to cinemas rather than a streaming service.
In the run-up to release, Roth took part in an interview alongside cast members Sarah Abbott and Benjamin Byron Davis, in which the three discussed the film's child characters, according to reports. Abbott and Davis appear in a cast that also includes Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O'Reilly and Kiori Mirza Waldman, playing out a story in which the children of a suburban town turn homicidal after eating an ice cream vendor's sweet treats.
For Roth, who co-wrote and produced the film as well as directing it, Ice Cream Man represents a return to the splatter-horror territory that made his name — though the critical response suggests the homecoming has not gone to plan.
Retro horror, obsolete tech and the other Ice Cream Man from 1995
Ice Cream Man arrives as part of a broader wave of contemporary horror that looks backwards for its scares. A Guardian feature has identified a trend of recent horror films built around retro settings and obsolete technology, and Roth's film fits squarely within it. The Guardian's own review of Ice Cream Man described it as a cheaply made retro horror, placing it among the year's worst horror films even as it acknowledged the aesthetic it belongs to.
The film also shares its title with an earlier, entirely unrelated picture. In 1995, director Paul Norman released a direct-to-video black comedy slasher, also called Ice Cream Man, starring Clint Howard. That film has no connection to Roth's production, despite the identical name, and viewers searching for information about the new release may encounter references to the older one.
Roth's version is an American slasher film that he co-wrote, produced and directed, with a cast that includes Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O'Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Sarah Abbott and Benjamin Byron Davis. Where the 1995 film leaned on camp, the new entry trades in gore, with multiple reviews describing it as heavily violent. The shared title is a coincidence of branding rather than any remake or sequel relationship between the two productions.
An unrated August release and what happens next
Ice Cream Man is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on August 7, opening on a Friday, according to reports. The film is reportedly being released unrated, a detail that fits with reviews describing its extreme gore and violence, though the precise classification has not been formally confirmed in available reporting. Notably, the year attached to that August 7 date is not stated in the coverage consulted, so readers should treat the release window as provisional until the distributor confirms it.
Even before the theatrical debut, the film's gruesome content has been making an impression. The Daily Star reported that squeamish viewers reacted strongly to footage from the film, with its blood-soaked set pieces proving too much for some early audiences. That response tracks with the critical consensus: multiple reviews have described the picture as heavily gory, and one characterised it as a one-joke kiddie zombie splatter film.
What happens next will be telling. An unrated release limits a film's theatrical reach in the United States, since some cinema chains restrict or refuse unrated titles, and it remains to be seen how wide the opening will be. Audience word of mouth on August 7 will matter more than the reviews, which have been savage. Horror has a long history of films shrugged off by critics and embraced by genre fans, and Roth's earlier work has often followed that pattern. Watch for the confirmed release year, the final screen count, and whether the film's notoriety translates into ticket sales.
An unrelated direct-to-video black comedy slasher also titled Ice Cream Man, directed by Paul Norman and starring Clint Howard, was released.
Eli Roth directed Borderlands, a video game adaptation with a $120 million budget, prior to making Ice Cream Man.
Eli Roth co-wrote, produced and directed the American slasher film Ice Cream Man, about a demonic ice cream vendor whose treats turn suburban children into homicidal zombies.
Generative AI was used during the making of the film, as Roth later confirmed.
Roth said 'I misspoke' regarding his earlier comments about the use of generative AI in the film.
Roth, aged 54, criticised the impact of streaming platforms such as Netflix on the movie business.
Roth, Sarah Abbott and Benjamin Byron Davis took part in an interview discussing the film's child characters.
Ice Cream Man is scheduled for theatrical release, opening in cinemas on a Friday, unrated.
Critics responded harshly, with reviews describing the film as heavily gory and violent, and a Guardian review ranking it among the year's worst horror films.
Frequently asked questions
What is Eli Roth's Ice Cream Man movie about?
Ice Cream Man is an American slasher film directed, co-written and produced by Eli Roth. Its plot centres on a suburban town whose children become violent toward adults after eating an ice cream vendor's sweet treats. The cast includes Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O'Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Sarah Abbott and Benjamin Byron Davis. Multiple reviews describe the film as heavily gory and violent.
When does Ice Cream Man come out?
Ice Cream Man is scheduled for theatrical release on August 7, opening in cinemas on a Friday. The film is reportedly being released unrated. The briefing does not confirm the year of the August 7 date.
What are critics saying about Ice Cream Man?
Reviews have been strongly negative. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes responded harshly, and a Guardian review called it a cheaply made retro horror and ranked it among the year's worst horror films. One reviewer characterised it as a one-joke kiddie zombie splatter film, and another compared it unfavourably to Village of the Damned, Weapons and Halloween. The Daily Star reported that squeamish viewers reacted strongly to its gruesome content.
Did Eli Roth use AI to make Ice Cream Man?
According to reports, Eli Roth confirmed that generative AI was used during the making of Ice Cream Man. He later said 'I misspoke' in connection with those earlier remarks. The briefing does not establish when he made the original comments or when he retracted them.
Is Ice Cream Man a remake of the 1995 film?
No. An earlier, unrelated film also titled Ice Cream Man was released in 1995 as a direct-to-video black comedy slasher directed by Paul Norman and starring Clint Howard. Eli Roth's film is a separate production that he co-wrote, produced and directed, about a suburban town whose children turn homicidal after eating an ice cream vendor's treats.
Compiled from reporting by 11 independent outlets. How we source our reporting.
