Eli Roth's new horror film Ice Cream Man marks a significant step down from his previous effort, Thanksgiving, according to a Guardian review. It is the first release directed by Roth for his newly founded studio, the Horror Section, which aims to produce retro-styled genre content, but the film is criticised as a cheap, poorly made slasher that squanders its premise.

The plot follows a sinister ice-cream vendor (Ari Millen) whose cursed treats turn suburban children into feral killers, with lactose-intolerant 12-year-old Jared (Charlie Zeltzer) among the few unaffected as he tries to stop the chaos with friends Tommy (Shiloh O'Reilly), Mia (Kiori Mirza Waldman) and sister Lizzie (Sarah Abbott). The reviewer praises some inventive gore concepts but says these are undermined by unconvincing CGI blood, flat digital cinematography and lazy dialogue, leaving the violence feeling artificial rather than visceral.