![\"Ari](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785856157_268_0x0.jpg\")
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Ari Millen in “Ice Cream Man.”<\/p>\n
The Horror Section\/Valerie Flores<\/p>\n
Ice Cream Man, the latest horror thriller from director Eli Roth, has many Rotten Tomatoes critics screaming bloody murder.<\/p>\n
Roth, of course, is the filmmaker behind such splatter horror hits as Cabin Fever, Hostel and its sequel, The Green Inferno and Thanksgiving<\/a>. He also turns up on camera as well, in films like Quentin Tarantino\u2019s<\/a> Inglorious Basterds, Rock of Ages and now, in Ice Cream Man.<\/p>\n Forbes\u2018Evil Dead Burn\u2019 Streaming Release This Week Will Attempt To Spark New Flame After Cooler Box Office ReceptionBy Tim Lammers<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ice Cream Man, which is unrated, also stars Roth, Benjamin Byron Davis, Karen Cliche, Dylan Hawco, Sarah Abbott, Shiloh O\u2019Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Charlie Zeltzer and Charlie Storey.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s latest horror film in early reviews.<\/p>\n Forbes\u2018Spider-Man: Brand New Day\u2019 Amazes With $360 Million Domestic Opening, $932 Million WorldwideBy Tim Lammers<\/a><\/p>\n As of the publication of this article, Ice Cream Man has earned a 27% \u201crotten\u201d critics\u2019 score on RT\u2019s Tomatometer<\/a> based on 26 reviews. RT\u2019s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are still pending.<\/p>\n Note: This article will be updated with more reviews as soon as they become available.<\/p>\n What Are Individual Critics Saying About \u2018Ice Cream Man\u2019?<\/p>\n Owen Gleiberman of Variety is among the top critics on RT <\/a>who gives Ice Cream Man a \u201crotten\u201d score, writing, \u201cThat the film knows it\u2019s preposterous is supposed to be redeeming. But Roth\u2019s it\u2019s-all-a-big-joke attitude here is a cop-out that\u2019s beneath him, a way to avoid making a horror movie that truly engages us.\u201d<\/p>\n Also giving Ice Cream Man a \u201crotten\u201d score on RT is William Bibbiani of The Wrap, who writes, \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Forbes\u2018Spider-Man: Brand New Day\u2019 Sets Rotten Tomatoes Audience Record For Holland\u2019s Spidey FilmsBy Tim Lammers<\/a><\/p>\n Kyle Turner of Slant Magazine isn\u2019t a fan of Ice Cream Man, either, writing in his \u201crotten\u201d RT review summary, \u201cEli Roth aims for social commentary in the homestretch, but if the moment doesn\u2019t feel satisfyingly nihilistic, that\u2019s because his stab at building out the story has all the consistency of soft serve.\u201d<\/p>\n Also serving Ice Cream Man a \u201crotten\u201d score is Jarrod Jones of AV Club, who writes in his RT review summary, \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter is among the top critics on RT who gives Ice Cream Man a \u201cfresh\u201d score. Scheck writes in his RT review summary, \u201cThere have been plenty of horror movies involving murderous children over the years … But Roth doesn\u2019t hide his desire to outdo them all with this effort that can only be described as sick and twisted. And I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll take that as a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n