Ice Cream Man, the latest horror thriller from director Eli Roth, has many Rotten Tomatoes critics screaming bloody murder.
Roth, of course, is the filmmaker behind such splatter horror hits as Cabin Fever, Hostel and its sequel, The Green Inferno and Thanksgiving. He also turns up on camera as well, in films like Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, Rock of Ages and now, in Ice Cream Man.
Playing in preview screenings on Thursday before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday, Ice Cream Man stars Ari Millen (Orphan Black) as an ice cream truck vendor who arrives in an idyllic town in the summertime to serve kids his frozen confections, and in turn the children resort to murderous mayhem.
Ice Cream Man, which is unrated, also stars Roth, Benjamin Byron Davis, Eli Roth, Karen Cliche, Dylan Hawco, Sarah Abbott, Shiloh O’Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Charlie Zeltzer and Charlie Storey.
The review embargo for Ice Cream Man lifted at 5 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on Monday, and several Rotten Tomatoes critics are having meltdowns over Roth’s latest horror film in early reviews.
As of the publication of this article, Ice Cream Man has earned a 29% “rotten” critics’ score on RT’s Tomatometer based on 17 reviews. RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are still pending.
Note: This article will be updated with more reviews as soon as they become available.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Ice Cream Man’?
Owen Gleiberman of Variety is among the top critics on RT who gives Ice Cream Man a “rotten” score, writing, “That the film knows it’s preposterous is supposed to be redeeming. But Roth’s it’s-all-a-big-joke attitude here is a cop-out that’s beneath him, a way to avoid making a horror movie that truly engages us.”
Also giving Ice Cream Man a “rotten” score on RT is William Bibbiani of The Wrap, who writes, “It would be more exciting to watch a documentary about the professionals, weirdos and professional weirdos making the fake guts and disembodied limbs than to watch the film they were actually working on.”
Kyle Turner of Slant Magazine isn’t a fan of Ice Cream Man, either, writing in his “rotten” RT review summary, “Eli Roth aims for social commentary in the homestretch, but if the moment doesn’t feel satisfyingly nihilistic, that’s because his stab at building out the story has all the consistency of soft serve.”
Also serving Ice Cream Man a “rotten” score is Jarrod Jones of AV Club, who writes in his RT review summary, “This creative zeal eventually sputters out. Thanksgiving used inventive variations on its gimmick to build toward its sicko smorgasbord finale, an escalation of gnarly ingenuity that Ice Cream Man lacks.”
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter is among the top critics on RT who gives Ice Cream Man a “fresh” score. Scheck writes in his RT review summary, “There have been plenty of horror movies involving murderous children over the years … But Roth doesn’t hide his desire to outdo them all with this effort that can only be described as sick and twisted. And I’m sure he’ll take that as a compliment.”
Like Scheck, Bob Strauss of the San Francisco Chronicle serves Ice Cream Man a “fresh” score. Strauss writes on RT, “After a while, it becomes clear there are only so many grotesque Roth motifs that the human body lends itself to. But that doesn’t stop him from going on and on, again and again. Thankfully, the director has more than gore on his mind.”
Ice Cream Man plays in Thursday previews before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.