Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man slammed in early reviews over AI and gore

moviesAug 4, 202623320

Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, released August 7, 2026, is an 86-minute horror slasher that early reviews describe as a tedious, repetitive gorefest that never feels scary. The film follows tween Jared (Charlie Zeltzer), his classmates Mia (Kiori Mirza Waldman) and Tommy (Shiloh O’Reilly), and an ominous ice cream vendor (Ari Millen) whose treats turn children into murderous zombies; Eli Roth appears as the boys’ father Marty and Karen Cliche plays their mother Alison. Loud and Clear Reviews criticizes the movie for weak adult performances, a paper-thin narrative and reliance on escalating shock kills that desensitize viewers and make the film feel stale rather than tense. The review says the premise, likened to Weapons and the Pied Piper, had potential that the movie never develops beyond gratuitous bloodletting. Separately, social posts and early reactions allege the film contains AI-generated imagery, with one post saying the credits list an "AI VFX company" called "Dark Half"; several posts urged audiences to skip the film on that basis. Those posts, combined with the critical consensus on the film’s lack of suspense, have fueled calls on social media for people to avoid Ice Cream Man rather than see it in theaters.

Justin LaLiberty

@jlalibs.bsky.social

I really hope that all of the people in my feeds who rail against gen-AI flyer art (and rightfully so) and are also horror fans, don’t fall prey to Ice Cream Man now that the reviews are pointing to its abundance of AI effects. Don’t be a contradiction, speak with your wallets here.

713h ago

Clord TC, illustration creaturo7

eli roth? already don't need to put money anywhere near it

jimmiexxx.bsky.social1

Movie looked awful to begin with,

BlueHighwind Ver.BlueSky1

Any excuse to not see an Eli Roth movie is a good one.

Mike X. Nichols

@mikexnichols.bsky.social

Heads-up: the movie Ice Cream Man (2026) appears to have used AI. The film lists an “AI VFX company” in its credits called “Dark Half.”

633h ago

Sander Antoniades6

You had me at not watching Eli Roth.

The Cunning Potato2

I am shocked, shocked! etc. etc.

daryl "crap mode aesthetic" b 🏳️‍⚧️2

have seen discussion of at least two major sequences, along with the movie just being ass

Matt Donato

@donatobomb.bsky.social

ICE CREAM MAN is hot (er, frozen) garbage; a pitiful gore-first midnighter with amateurish execution. Go watch Cooties or The Children instead if you want your "kids murdering adults" fix, two movies Eli Roth so desperately wants to be in conversation with.

3213h ago

Matt Donato18

Also, there are animated bits thrown in that I cannot 100% confirm are created by AI ... but ... I'd go to Vegas and throw $1k down on them being AI.

Humanist Son of a Preacher Man3

I don’t spend money on that person. I don’t know if I’d even spend my time (which is far from precious) on this. You take the arrows for us.

Bisho2

You can tell I think even from the trailer that it isn't hitting anything it's shooting for.

humanityplague.bsky.social2

Was "The Children" the late 2000's movie that was British, had evil kids, and the main girl was 17, running around in a short skirt in winter? Or was it another "the kids turn evil" thing, that I don't know about?

Untitled Colonel Sanders Biopic2

Me hearing that Eli Roth has made an amateurish film

Richard Whittaker1

I got a lot of traces of Who Could Kill a Child?, The Birds, and The Fog, none of which he came close to matching.

Diversity in Horror (they/them)

@diversityhorror.bsky.social

Well I already didn’t want to see it because it’s Eli Roth, but now I DEFINITELY don’t want to see it. Fuck that noise.

163h ago

William Bibbiani

@williambibbiani.bsky.social

“Roth? Roth? Roth?” “Um, he’s sick. My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who saw Eli Roth pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess ICE CREAM MAN is pretty crappy.” “Thank you, William.” "No problem whatsoever."

1313h ago

Mathew Buck

@filmbrainbmb.bsky.social

For that reason, I'm really hoping it is Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which doesn't contain AI as far as I know, and I've heard universally positive things. Unfortunately, it's highly likely to be Eli Roth's The Ice Cream Man, which has at least two AI sequences.

224h ago

Ana Montana6

My Eli Roth hate is vindicated yet again.

The Human Arkle 🇵🇸 🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️4

The only two good things Eli Roth ever did was the fake trailer in Grindhouse and shooting Hitler, and that last one only happened in a Tarantino movie.

David A. Scott1

From a review I just saw on Instagram, I can safely say it's Ice Cream Man. I'm so sorry.

filmfreak1994.bsky.social1

That fucking guy. Everything I learn about him makes me despise him more.

katsian andor

@dogunderwater.bsky.social

regretting not putting money down on 'eli roth gets into AI' on kalshi

172h ago

katsian andor4

actually kind of wild considering the review i just read is all about how the kills are practical effects...maybe he blew too much money on adrien morot (oscar winner for the whale) and fake blood.

Molly Muldoon2

Very 'disappointed but not surprised' hours

Henry McConnell

@ghostmoth712.bsky.social

Just discovered that Ice Cream Man uses AI generated imagery a lot. Any movie that does that has a one-way ticket to a place on my skip list. Fuck you, Eli.

913h ago

Max C.

@maxisherealso.bsky.social

If it wasn't apparent enough that Eli Roth's new film is evil and you should cancel your ticket, it also uses generative AI!

The movie 'Ice Cream Man' has bits of rubber-hose animation that I'm very sure is AI, as well as shots in a flashback segment that are also generated.

86h ago

A.J. Wilden🏳️‍⚧️

@wcwit.bsky.social

Wow, Eli Roth can in fact sink to new lows!!

43h ago

Chase 'Hutch' Hutchinson 📽️

@eclectichutch.bsky.social

ICE CREAM MAN: Eli Roth returns to horror with a movie that, while gruesome, is only scary in how derivative it all is. Feels like the TERRIFIER series & WEAPONS have been smashed together though with none of what made either work. A painful slog 📽️ My review @ign.com: www.ign.com/articles/ice...

The titular Ice Cream Man raises his hands up in mock terror while children with smeared ice cream on their faces and a truck loom behind him in a still from ICE CREAM MAN.

713h ago

Sam Inglis

@24fpsuk.bsky.social

Not that I was going to watch the new Eli Roth anyway, but here's a(nother) reason you shouldn't either.

53h ago

Every Film Now

@everyfilmnow.bsky.social

Eli Roth's 'ICE CREAM MAN' features AI-generated sequences. #IceCreamMan #EliRoth

712h ago

Nacho López (Cheve) ナチョ·ロペズ (チェベ)14

I'm sorry for the people working in that movie, but fuck that movie.

Just a Guy Drawing Stuff6

Oh. I thought it was an adaptation of the comic when I first heard about it, but now I know it's Eli Roth AND has GenAI? Yeah, fuck that noise.

dimitarkol.bsky.social6

Ready for horror fans getting brainrotted by AI in this movie

Sonic Gamer 🇻🇪🇵🇸5

And there goes my interest in seeing it.

Rick Desilets | The D-Pad4

Oh, so I don't need to watch this then, cool.

Blaster13604

Eli Roth and GenAI? To quote AVGN: "It's like puking on a pile of shit!"

Quoting this

Out of Context Simpsons Couch Gags38

Like my possible rating for this couldn't get any lower but here we are

[👤] 𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝 [🐈‍⬛️] (commissions open)34

As if we needed another reason to hate this zionist piece of shit. Fuck Eli Roth. Fuck this movie.

Electrichead (The Agony)18

Roth is indistinguishable from AI, how was anyone able to tell?

lemmy 🌻 DAN DAY SOON 💜🎉🎂 ILYSM10

knew this looked awful just seeing it at the theater. its even worse now.

Dottie Doggo7

Saw a special preview. The two ai portions look lousy and sloppy — think the level of graphics from the 90s PUMPKINHEAD video game Aa and my think was “it’s low budget so it’s lousy” but yeah no my review is now: FUCK AI don’t go. Swear allowed cuz AI.

.Heather 🏳️‍⚧️↙️↙️↙️5

Eli Roth is horror's biggest waste of potential. Cabin Fever, Hostel 1 + 2, even Thanksgiving were good! He can make good movies. He has a good eye for splatter, but he's cooked. It's over scratch one vulgar auteur also he's a genocidal monster

one week old organism5

i hate eli roth so much 🫡

thestevekirby.bsky.social5

Más razones para no verla.

Sombracier4

Si il vous fallait une preuve de plus qu'Eli Roth est une merde et qu'il l'a toujours été...

Marianne Martin4

I could have seen this in icon size and still would have known it’s AI. It oozes. And not in a fun way.

Samantha Burns

@cheesecakechik.bsky.social

@/beingjustified.bsky.social Nothing is fucking topping this. Even Avengers Doomsday and some ice cream horror movie tie into this (very disappointed to learn this wasn’t the Clint Howard movie of the same name)

The world cup opener hinted at the eclipse
but which one, this year or next?
I looks like next year is when the corona supernova singularity will occur.
the greatest event until God himself gets involved with his two witnesses and the great tribulation plagues.

713h ago

Samantha Burns6

@/beingjustified.bsky.social Apparently Lindsay Graham ties into this as well (VAXXED??????)

Kvetch & Release 🎣1

What drugs is that dude on?

Winter1

Wtaf did I just read fuck me

Electrichead (The Agony)

@electricheadpt2.cryptoanarchy.network

The only good Eli Roth movie is the first Cabin Fever, and that's only because the entire movie is setup for a really stupid, overly long "better Nate than lever" style joke.

63h ago

1 source

loudandclearreviews.comIce Cream Man (2026) Review: It Won’t Make You Scream

Spider-Man: Brand New Day posts record $360M opening weekendmovies Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man slammed in early reviews over AI and goremovies

Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man slammed in early reviews over AI and gore

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