Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Over-the-top gory, gooey Eli Roth horror doesn't satisfy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Ice Cream Man
What's the Story?
In ICE CREAM MAN, Jared (Charlie Zeltzer) is playing outfield on his Little League team but blows the winning catch. A parent still offers to buy everyone ice cream from a nearby truck, but Jared, who's lactose intolerant, can't partake. The children eat greedily, leaving gooey messes on their faces. That night, the Ice Cream Man (Ari Millen) drives through the streets of town, playing his song, and the children who ate the treats climb out of bed and proceed to murder their parents in gruesome ways. The next morning, only Jared, his older sister, Lizzie (Sarah Abbott), and two other kids from school—Mia (Kiori Mirza Waldman) and Tommy (Shiloh O'Reilly)—are unaffected. They realize that, while the ice cream kids are continuing to murder grown-ups, they're also trying to convert the few holdouts. The heroes manage to track down the Ice Cream Man's source, which is hidden in the basement of the local church. The imprisoned priest tells them the secret way to stop the Ice Cream Man, but it won't be easy.
Is It Any Good?
Eli Roth's gore-fest lays on the bloody effects, but it's not much fun; it has a comedic bent to it, but it fails to strike the right tone between violence and humor. Ice Cream Man is also too familiar, pulling elements from A Nightmare on Elm Street—an origin story that paints the killer as an innocent who's seeking revenge against a ruthless and uncaring community—and Larry Cohen's bizarre killer-ice-cream movie The Stuff (1985). It also lacks a sense of nostalgic adventure, that Stephen King-ish dynamic involving a group of kids thrown together by an extraordinary situation they must get out of. The kids here don't have a real sense of connection; they're just pushed along by the plot.
Really, the main event here is the gore. The filmmakers try their hardest to come up with stuff viewers have never seen before. (Kids jumping rope with intestines? A child making "blood angels" rather than snow angels?) But it's only in service of itself. The movie is too aware that it's trying to get a rise out of viewers, and with nothing else attached, the strings are showing. Above all, it's not scary. Roth got it just right with his gory Thanksgiving, but Ice Cream Man is hardly a satisfying dessert.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Ice Cream Man's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like being scared?
How is bullying depicted here? What are some effective ways of handling that kind of situation?
What is the nature of revenge? Can it be satisfying? Why? Can it ever truly solve a problem?
Movie Details
- In theaters : August 7, 2026
- Cast : Charlie Zeltzer , Sarah Abbott , Kiori Mirza Waldman , Ari Millen
- Director : Eli Roth
- Studio : Iconic Events Releasing
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy ( Monsters ) , School ( Middle School )
- Run time : 86 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 20, 2026
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