With the stars aligning in a curious constellation this week, it seems Eli Roth is ready to serve up something sweetly sinister—yep, that’s right, the man who brought us the infamous faux slasher trailer for Thanksgiving is back with a horror twist in his latest project. After a long 16-year wait for a full-length film based on that very trailer, fans are finally getting a taste of Thanksgiving in cinemas today. But he’s not stopping there! Instead of wallowing in the delays of his much-anticipated sequel, Roth has whipped up something entirely new—Ice Cream Man. Set to hit theaters on August 7th, this film promises a delightful mix of summer bliss and chilling horror as an idyllic town derails into chaos thanks to an ice cream man serving treats with terrifying consequences! What could the stars possibly have in store for this terrifying tale? Might it bring a sprinkle of stardust to summer horror? I can’t wait to find out! LEARN MORE!
Sixteen years passed from the time Eli Roth made a slasher faux trailer called Thanksgiving for the Robert Rodriguez / Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse to the day when a feature version of Thanksgiving (read our review HERE) finally made its way into theatres – and soon after that movie was released in 2023, it was announced that a sequel would be coming along in 2025. Thanksgiving 2 was supposed to start filming last March… but that didn’t happen. Filming had to be delayed (hopefully not cancelled completely). And rather than mope about not being able to make that sequel this year, Roth shot a different horror movie called Ice Cream Man last summer! Filming wrapped in September, and now a press release has revealed that the film will have a theatrical run in North America on over 2000 screens, courtesy of Iconic Events Releasing. The release date: August 7th.
Media Capital Technologies (MCT) and The Horror Section are fully financing Ice Cream Man, which follows an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Roth directed the film from a screenplay he wrote with Noah Belson, based on “an original idea he has had for over twenty years, but studios were too nervous to finance.”
Ari Millen (Orphan Black) stars as the titular character and is joined in the cast by Benjamin Byron Davis (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Karen Cliche (Thanksgiving), Dylan Hawco (Heartland), Sarah Abbott (Black Mirror), Shiloh O’Reilly (Thanksgiving), Kiori Mirza Waldman (Small Achievable Goals), Charlie Zeltzer (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Charlie Storey (Thanksgiving). Roth is also in the cast.
Media Capital Technologies’ Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh are producing alongside Cream Productions’ Kate Harrison. Executive producers include MCT’s Kevin Frakes, Connor DiGregorio, Eli Massillon, and Lorenzo Antonucci, and The Horror Section’s Jon Schnaars and Holly Adams. The score is being composed by Brandon Roberts, with additional music by Snoop Dogg. Steve Newburn and Adrien Morot handle the special effects.
Just yesterday, it was announced that The Horror Section and Mass Appeal, the entertainment company founded by rapper Nas, have entered into a strategic partnership. “Through the partnership, which includes an investment from Mass Appeal into The Horror Section, the two entities will collaborate across many aspects of the business, including having Roth and Nas co-develop film and television projects.” As the first step in this alliance, Nas and Mass Appeal CEO Peter Bittenbender have become executive producers on Ice Cream Man.
Roth had this to say about the team-up: “Nas is one of the most influential storytellers and cultural voices of all time and we bonded instantly over our mutual love of horror. We are thrilled to partner with Mass Appeal with its unmatched pulse on culture and what truly resonates. I look forward to collaborating with Nas, Peter, and the entire Mass Appeal team, starting with bringing Ice Cream Man to theaters worldwide and creating cultural events in the horror space for audiences everywhere.“
Nas added, “I’m proud to come together and partner with Eli to bring these films to life and push the boundaries of what horror can be, both culturally and creatively. Eli and I shared the same vision from the beginning and partnering with him and The Horror Section feels natural. I’m excited to take the genre in an exciting new direction, and Ice Cream Man is just the beginning.“
The August 7th release date puts Ice Cream Man in direct competition with the Universal comedy One Night Only, Searchlight’s Super Troopers 3, and the Lionsgate Premiere survival thriller Fall 2.
Are you looking forward to watching Ice Cream Man this August? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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