ICE CREAM MAN Red Band Trailer Unleashes a Disturbing Nightmare of Murderous Kids and Melting Minds
A new red-band trailer for Ice Cream Man has arrived, and after watching it, it’s easy to understand why this is the version heading to theaters unrated.
Directed by Eli Roth, the filmmaker behind Hostel, The Green Inferno, and Thanksgiving, the upcoming horror movie looks like exactly the kind of twisted cinematic experience fans have come to expect from him. The film hits theaters on August 7 through The Horror Section, and the latest footage offers a gruesome preview of the bloody chaos that awaits.
The setup sounds deceptively simple. Set in a picturesque summer town, the story follows a community that spirals into insanity when a mysterious ice cream vendor starts serving frozen treats with horrifying consequences. What begins as a nostalgic image of childhood summers quickly transforms into a full-blown nightmare.
The trailer introduces Ari Millen (Orphan Black) as the sinister Ice Cream Man, who rolls into Bayleen Bay handing out treats to local kids. The problem? Those kids don’t just get a sugar rush.
They become violent, deranged killers. The footage is packed with unsettling imagery, shocking violence, and the kind of disturbing material that will likely leave horror fans grinning while everyone else looks away.
Roth directed the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Noah Belson. The project is based on an original concept that Roth has been carrying around for more than two decades, one that apparently proved too extreme for studios to embrace when he first pitched it.
Speaking previously about the project, Roth explained: “I’ve had this idea for a long, long time, and studios were too afraid of my early drafts. Now’s the time to push the envelope farther than I ever have with what I think will be my most terrifying and insane film to date.
“Films like ‘Ice Cream Man’ are what we created The Horror Section for, to make unrated, boundary-pushing theatrical events the horror fans can all scream about for years. I’m very lucky to have such fantastic partners like MCT and, of course, all the investors in The Horror Section.”
The producers are equally confident that the movie could become something much bigger. "Working with Eli is always a privilege, and this film feels fresh and exciting as it’s his first original project in the independent market in nearly a decade,” added MCT Principals Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh.
“We believe ‘Ice Cream Man’ will mark the start of the next great horror franchise with massive commercial potential.”
The film’s cast also includes Byron Davis (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Karen Cliche (Thanksgiving), Dylan Hawco (Heartland), Sarah Abbott (Black Mirror, The Body), Shiloh O’Reilly (Thanksgiving), Kiori Mirza Waldman, Charlie Zeltzer (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Charlie Storey (Thanksgiving).
Ice Cream Man looks like it’s aiming to deliver one of the most outrageous horror experiences of the year. It’s nasty, unsettling, and completely unhinged in all the ways fans of Roth’s brand of horror are hoping for.
Check out the red band trailer below... if you’ve got the stomach for it. Then let us know what you think.