Ice Cream Man (2026) Review
It’s been a couple of years since I watched and reviewed all the films in Eli Roth’s filmography. A director I loved in High School as I was just beginning my love affair with movies.
As I went through a phase where I tried to taste my gut by seeing the vilest movies I could. The more fucked up, the better.
I found Eli’s films to have merit and satiate my thirst for gore. I thought I had just grown out of his stuff, because I have found his later films to be lacking the same punch.
Yet in rewatching his early work, I still found something worth watching. A message behind the macabre.
His later stuff like Knock Knock and Death Wish felt like cheap remakes that didn’t provide any substance or justice for their existence. I liked Thanksgiving as a pure slasher and thought maybe Eli has found his mojo again.
Well, I’m rethinking that notion after seeing Ice Cream Man Monday night at ACM’s Screen Unseen.
Another reimaging/remake of a B-horror/exploitation film. However, instead of the original being from the 1970s, it’s from 1995. The original is truly abhorrent, noted by my rare ½ star rating on Letterboxd.
So, I’ll give Eli one thing: this was ripe for a remake. The story is very different. In the original, the titular Ice Cream Man, played by Clint Howard, used body parts and other things for the ice cream.
Here, the ice cream man uses the ice cream to poison and control the neighborhood children to murder their parents. Of course, through the runtime we find out the motives behind the Ice Cream Man’s actions.
Probably the weakest part of the movie. The ending is rushed, and it just kind of ends. At least he didn’t try to set up a sequel. Though, unfortunately, there is room for more. Really, the script in general is the weakest part.
It’s as if Eli had the idea of an Ince Cream Man controlling kids through ice cream but not a structural story around that concept. Then, when he realized this oversight jammed everything in the final five minutes, didn’t know where to go and just ended the movie.
If there is one reason to go see this movie, mainly for Roth fans, it’s the gore. Some of the kills are wild and do have an undercurrent of Humor. When Roth is at his best, it’s finding the dark comedy inside the nasty kills.
Even though those are lacking, I appreciate the practical effects, but they look very cheap. If you’re going to use practical effects, they need to look better. There’s a reason the Terrifier movies are hits. Those kills look incredible on a small budget.
What’s so disappointing is I know Roth is capable of more; he can do better. Everything that is wrong with this movie he got right with Thanksgiving.
For non-horror fans, I’d steer clear, but if you like Roth or are a Roth completist, he’s definitely made worse movies, or at least a worse movie. See Death Wish.
2.5/5 Stars
