IGN's review of Eli Roth's new horror film Ice Cream Man, released in cinemas from 7 August, finds the film falls well short of its clear inspirations, Terrifier and Weapons. Critic Chase Hutchinson argues the film borrows heavily from both — combining a mysterious silent killer with a group of possessed, murderous children — without matching either's chaotic energy or unsettling patience, resulting in a derivative effort that typifies a recurring problem in Roth's career of leaning on past horror films rather than offering anything original.

The story follows young, lactose-intolerant Jared (Charlie Zeltzer), who is targeted by the titular Ice Cream Man (Ari Millen) after a curse is unleashed on the small town of Bayleen Bay. The review criticises the film's cheap, overlit visuals, stiff dialogue and thin sense of place, arguing that even graphic gore sequences fail to land, leaving a film that is more tedious than terrifying despite its gruesome premise.