Master of modern horror Eli Roth is preparing to unleash what he describes as his “most terrifying and insane film to date,” a new project titled Ice Cream Man, as reported by Variety. The film, backed by Roth’s recently launched The Horror Section banner, sees the director of Hostel and Thanksgiving returning to his independent roots with an original story he’s been developing for over two decades. While the title might immediately ring bells and cause some confusion for longtime horror aficionados familiar with a 1995 cult film of the same name, Roth’s Ice Cream Man is an entirely original work, not a remake or sequel of any kind.
“I’ve had this idea for a long, long time, and studios were too afraid of my early drafts,” Roth stated, emphasizing the project’s edgy nature. “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 Horror Section, which Roth launched in March 2025 in partnership with Media Capital Technologies (MCT), aims to produce, acquire, and distribute a wide range of horror media, focusing on building a robust library of intellectual property.
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“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.”
Roth’s Ice Cream Man revolves around an idyllic summer town that turns into a special kind of hell when an ice cream man starts to serve desserts that have horrifying effects. Further specifics are currently under wraps, but Roth is credited with the screenplay and will direct. WME Independent is set to represent international rights at the upcoming Cannes market, while The Horror Section will handle the U.S. release, planning a wide theatrical debut in the second quarter of 2026, with filming scheduled to commence this summer in Canada.
Eli Roth’s Twisted Legacy Builds Up Hype for Ice Cream Man
Eli Roth has carved out a significant and often controversial niche in the horror landscape, building a reputation for pushing boundaries and delivering unsettling cinematic experiences. His claim that Ice Cream Man will be his most twisted is a particularly chilling promise, considering the disturbing depths he’s previously explored. Given this filmography, which consistently delves into graphic violence, psychological distress, and taboo subjects, Roth’s assertion about Ice Cream Man sets an incredibly high bar.
Roth burst onto the scene with 2022’s Cabin Fever, where he took the familiar “cabin in the woods” trope and injected it with gruesome body horror and a palpable sense of dread as a flesh-eating virus decimated a group of friends. He then solidified his status as a master of extreme horror with the Hostel franchise, beginning in 2005. These films were instrumental in popularizing the “torture porn” subgenre, presenting harrowing tales of American backpackers lured into a nightmarish underground world where wealthy clients pay to torture and kill victims. The graphic violence, psychological torment, and bleak worldview of the Hostel films shocked many but also resonated with a segment of horror fans craving more intense fare.
Roth continued to explore brutal themes with The Green Inferno, a modern take on the cannibal films of the 1970s and 80s, in particular Ruggero Deodato’s controversial Cannibal Holocaust. It depicted a group of student activists captured by a remote Amazonian tribe, subjecting viewers to visceral scenes of dismemberment and cannibalism, further cementing his reputation for stomach-churning content. Most recently, Roth scored a major hit with Thanksgiving, successfully expanding his infamous fake trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse into a full-fledged slasher film. Thanksgiving delivered on years of fan anticipation with creative, gory kills and a darkly comedic holiday theme, proving Roth’s enduring ability to tap into the gleefully macabre.
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