MOVIE REVIEW | Ice Cream Man – There are some films you watch, enjoy, process and move on from.
In this Ice Cream Man review, we look at Eli Roth’s brutal R-rated horror film, its extreme gore, and whether it is worth seeing in cinemas.
Then there are films like Ice Cream Man.
When the credits rolled and the words “The End” appeared, the only possible reaction from the audience was laughter. Not because it was light or charming. Not because anyone had just had a relaxing night at the movies.
It was the kind of laughter that comes from pure disbelief. The kind where everyone in the cinema seems to be silently asking the same question: what exactly did we just watch?
A Sweet Setup With A Brutal Payoff
Directed by Eli Roth, Ice Cream Man begins with a premise that sounds almost playful in a twisted horror-comedy sort of way.
An idyllic summer town descends into madness when an ice cream man begins serving children frozen treats with horrifying consequences. Once the kids eat them, their innocence disappears. Something far more violent takes over, sending them on a gruesome rampage against the adults around them.
That setup might sound like a cheeky, over-the-top midnight movie. In some ways, it is. However, make no mistake: Ice Cream Man earns its R-rated reputation very quickly.
This Is Not Gentle Horror
This is not spooky fun with a few splashes of blood. It is full-throttle, high-impact, body-horror chaos.
Limbs, brains, torn flesh and all manner of disgusting imagery are thrown at the screen with almost gleeful excess. At times, I found myself sitting there wondering how I had reached this particular point in my life.
There I was, in a cinema chair, watching children turned into butchers while bodies were being ripped apart in ways that were both surreal and stomach-churning.
And yet, that is also the strange thing about Ice Cream Man. For the audience it is made for, it may actually be doing its job extremely well.
Extreme Splatter Fans Will Know What They Are Getting
Eli Roth has built much of his horror career on pushing discomfort, gore and bad taste right to the edge. This film very much sits in that tradition.
If you are a fan of extreme splatter films, and if something like Terrifier is your idea of a wild night at the movies, then Ice Cream Man will probably deliver exactly what you are hoping for.
It is nasty, relentless and very aware of the kind of horror crowd it is trying to satisfy.
The Ice Cream Man Himself
The film also has more going on than just the central gimmick of murderous children and cursed ice cream.
There is a backstory to the Ice Cream Man himself. As hideous as the events around him become, the film somehow manages to create a strange flicker of sympathy for him.
I was not expecting that. I certainly was not expecting to feel anything close to sadness for the person at the centre of all this carnage.
However, the film gives him just enough history to make his place in the story more complicated than a simple monster-of-the-week villain.
Cast And Ending
Ari Millen makes the Ice Cream Man an unnerving presence. Meanwhile, the wider cast, including Benjamin Byron Davis, Karen Cliche, Dylan Hawco and Sarah Abbott, are thrown into a town that rapidly loses any sense of normality.
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The children are the real nightmare fuel here. The film leans heavily into the disturbing contrast between sweet summer nostalgia and shocking violence.
The ending was also not what I expected. At all.
Without giving it away, Ice Cream Man does not simply coast to the obvious conclusion. Instead, it takes a turn that adds to the overall feeling of madness.
It leaves the audience in that strange space between horror, shock and nervous laughter.
The Warning
This is where reviewing the film becomes difficult.
On one hand, if we are judging Ice Cream Man purely as an extreme gore film, it is effective. It commits to the bit. It goes further than many mainstream horror films would dare.
It knows exactly what kind of reaction it wants. In my screening, it absolutely got one.
On the other hand, recommending it comes with a very serious warning.
If gore, extreme violence, children committing brutal acts, body parts being torn apart, and images designed to make you recoil are not your thing, do not see this movie. Truly.
This is not a film to casually stumble into because the title sounds fun or because the trailer looks outrageous. It is a hard, nasty and disgusting horror film that will be far too much for many viewers.
For hardened horror fans, Ice Cream Man may be a wickedly effective piece of splatter entertainment. For everyone else, it may feel like a nightmare you paid to have.
Either way, it is not a film you are likely to forget quickly.
Ice Cream Man is in cinemas August 6, 2026.
For more information on Ice Cream Man, visit STUDIOCANAL Australia. You can also check out more TV Central Movie Reviews and TV Central Movie Previews.
For more horror and cinema coverage, visit TV Central’s Movie Reviews section.
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The TV Central Verdict
Aaron: 8 / 10
“If extreme gore is your thing, Ice Cream Man delivers. If it isn’t, stay far, far away.”
Zak: 8.5 / 10
“As an extreme splatter movie, Ice Cream Man absolutely does its job – brutal, outrageous and impossible to forget.”
Official Trailer
Official Synopsis
The story of an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.
As the frozen treats unleash an insatiable hunger in the children who eat them, each sweet scoop transforms once-innocent kids into gruesome butchers with their sights set on adults.
Release Date: In cinemas August 6, 2026
Cast: Ari Millen, Benjamin Byron Davis, Karen Cliche, Dylan Hawco, Sarah Abbott
Directed By: Eli Roth
Written By: Eli Roth, Noah Belson
Produced By: Eli Roth, Christopher Woodrow, Raj Singh, Kate Harrison
Cinema Experience
A trip to the movies should be more than just watching a film. Event Cinemas Innaloo once again delivered a very enjoyable night out.
Before the screening, we had dinner at Varsity within the Innaloo complex. It made for an easy and relaxed start to the evening.
One of the things that works so well about Innaloo is that everything is close by. You can grab a meal, head across to the cinema, and settle in without the night feeling rushed.
Inside the cinema, the open candy bar area gave the arrival a good sense of space and energy. And yes, given this was Ice Cream Man, the special treat for guests was exactly what you would expect: free ice cream for everyone attending the premiere.
It was a fun little touch and very much in keeping with the theme of the night. The film itself, of course, made eating ice cream feel slightly more dangerous than usual.
The screening looked and sounded great. The picture was clear, the sound had real punch, and the room handled the film’s louder, more chaotic moments well.
Given the intensity of the movie, it would have been even better to experience it in one of the bigger cinemas with reclining seats. Still, that is a small note rather than a complaint.
Overall, Event Cinemas Innaloo remains a strong venue for a preview screening or a regular night at the movies.
With easy dining nearby, a large candy bar, good presentation and a comfortable complex, it continues to be one of Perth’s most reliable cinema spots.
