Eli Roth reveals how he made the bloodiest thriller of the year: “It was a really joyous experience”
Horror director Eli Roth has released his latest film, 'Ice Cream Man,' which follows an evil ice cream man who supernaturally compels children to commit violent acts against adults in their town. The project continues Roth's established aesthetic of graphic body horror and creative deaths, released through his independent studio The Horror Section.
The concept originated in 2003 when Roth observed an ice cream truck driver and reflected on the trust placed in strangers around children, imagining the ice cream music as a controlling mechanism similar to the Pied Piper. After co-writing a script with Noah Belson, studios rejected the project as too extreme given its child actors performing violent sequences. Roth shelved the idea for years until parenthood prompted him to reconsider the film as an exploration of parental anxiety about protecting children from inevitable external dangers.
- Horror director Eli Roth has released 'Ice Cream Man,' a film depicting children under a supernatural spell committing graphic violence against adults
- The concept was conceived in 2003 but rejected by studios as too extreme; Roth revisited and produced it years later after becoming a parent
- The film features Roth's characteristic extreme gore and body horror, released through his independent studio The Horror Section