Horror filmmaker Eli Roth is ready to develop his next terrifying movie. While we wait for the follow-up to 2023's holiday slasher Thanksgiving, it looks like Roth is setting his sights onto a new project called Ice Cream Man.
Media Capital Technologies (MCT) and Roth's own independent studio The Horror Section will fully finance the film (via Variety). Given that Roth is relatively well-known in the filmmaking world, it might come as a surprise that his movie is getting the indie production treatment, but when you learn more about Ice Cream Man, you'll understand why.
Notably, he claims it will likely be his "most terrifying and insane film to date." And considering this is the man that brought us the Hostel franchise, that's saying something.
The first Hostel is still considered one of the most disturbing horror movies ever made, perhaps most infamously for the graphic eyeball torture scene that happens near the end. Hostel II was also extremely graphic, featuring a visceral and gory blood bath scene inspired by alleged female serial killer Elizabeth Báthory.
Apart from Hostel, Roth is also known for Cabin Fever, The Green Inferno, The House with the Clock in Its Walls, Knock Knock, and last year's Borderlands.
According to the outlet, Ice Cream Man is set in "an idyllic summer town" that ultimately descends "into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results."
Roth has been working on getting this movie made for more than two decades now, adding that the original version of the script scared off the major studios.
But we are living in a post-Terrifier world, so you'd think maybe the studios would have come around to the idea of financing riskier horror projects, especially if they have a smaller price tag than other big blockbusters. Clown in a Cornfield just earned the biggest opening for an IFC Films ever, and that's likely owing to the fact that it was made on a modest budget.
However, I'm assuming that because Roth's movie will feature horror inflicted upon children, that could be why the studios were hesitant to finance it. Even though Terrifier 3 was merciless in its violence toward children, very little was actually graphically depicted on-screen. We'll just have to see how far Roth is willing to push the envelope and his early comments on Ice Cream Man make it seem like he wants to do just that.
“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.”
Other details on Ice Cream Man are being kept under wraps for now, but stay tuned to 1428 Elm for more details as they become available. It's also worth noting that this movie is not connected to the popular dark comedy horror comic of the same name or the 1995 movie.