I scream for 'Ice Cream Man'

"Ice Cream Man" is exactly what I want in a horror film: It's smart, energetic and includes some of the most memorable grotesque visuals this gore hound has ever seen.

Directed and co-written by Eli Roth (with help from Noah Belson), "Ice Cream Man" tells the story of a silent and evil purveyor of sweet treats whose colorful confections turn children into bloodthirsty and superhuman murderers. Set in the idyllic suburban town of Bayleen Bay, "Ice Cream Man" moves briskly — it clocks in at less than an hour-and-a-half — as protagonists Jared (Charlie Seltzer), Tommy (Shiloh O'Reilly) and Mia (Kiori Mirza Waldman) attempt to save the day from the titular villain and his new army of homicidal psychopaths. With caked ice cream stuck to their maws and a shocking combination of extreme strength and nigh-invincible resilience, the Ice Cream Man's child victims are a hybrid of the juvenile baddies from "Children of the Corn" and the zombified urchins from "Weapons."

Meanwhile, the unnamed Ice Cream Man himself (played by Ari Millen from "Orphan Black"), who we never hear speak, seems to infuse elements of iconic film characters like Conrad Veidt's Gwynplaine in "The Man Who Laughs" and David Howard Thornton's Art the Clown in the "Terrifier" series, with a dash of the Pied Piper thrown in for good measure. Unlike the evil ice cream man played by Clint Howard in the 1995 movie of the same name (with which this has no direct ties), Millen's Ice Cream Man is literally demonic, a fact that is made evident by the actor's unspoken mannerisms long before it is rendered explicit in the plot. He is among the more sympathetic gothic villains out there, mixing a sadistic glee in inciting brutal killings with a tragic backstory that reflects all-too-realistically on how corrupt institutions can railroad the most vulnerable among us.

Inside the mind of the Ice Cream Man

When I spoke to Millen after both watching the motion picture and writing the bulk of this review, I asked him if my read was on point, and he had an interesting observation about what makes the Ice Cream Man tick.

"When I read him, this is a man who was done wrong and his modus operandi has always been to bring joy to children," Millen explained. "And through what happened to him, the corruption of the minds of kids, he never wants that to happen again. We can argue whether how he goes about it is the right way to do it. But absolutely, his heart is very much in the place where he is here to maintain the innocence of kids and to not let adults or society sort of corrupt their innocence."

I also got a strong sense from that conversation, and from watching "Ice Cream Man," that this was a film in which everyone involved had a lot of fun. Shot in only 19 days with a cast and crew drawn heavily from Canada (a nation that Millen argues, and I agree, deserves more recognition for its tremendous talent pool of actors and filmmakers), you can feel the gusto for the material brimming from every macabre frame.

This is not to say that "Ice Cream Man" is for everyone. When I referred to myself as a "gore hound," it is because I am a longtime fan of the genre, and in particular of the type of blood-and-guts soaked fare that this filmmaker regularly serves to his audiences. If you are made squeamish by decapitations, mutilations, viscera and flying vital fluids, I urge you to stay away from "Ice Cream Man," as it will likely make you equal parts queasy and mentally scarred. For those with strong stomachs and a taste for this type of flick, however "Ice Cream Man" works for the same reason as Roth's best work: There is a brain beneath the exploitation aesthetic.

"Ice Cream Man" in context

Consider how "Ice Cream Man" stacks up against the other horror movies directed by Roth (each of which, as a Roth superfan, I have watched repeatedly). "Cabin Fever" was about how civilized behavior crumbles when humans face a crisis, with an infectious disease catalyst all too relevant after the COVID-19 pandemic; "Hostel" skewered Americans' ignorance of and false sense of superiority to the world around them; "Hostel: Part II" critiqued misogyny in ways that presciently predated the Me Too movement; "The Green Inferno" underscored the naïveté of political activists who act based on what is trendy online rather than what they have researched; and "Thanksgiving" satirized American consumerism and how powerful business leaders can dangerously skirt accountability. Even his non-horror movies, like his underrated "Death Wish" remake (which I reviewed for Salon), touched on issues like our gun-obsessed culture and how it can breed vigilantism.

With "Ice Cream Man," the intelligence comes from comprehending the innocence and cruelty that defines childhood, as well as how easily kids can be exploited by adults. "Ice Cream Man" captures all of that vividly, in no small part because a lot of the aforementioned fun seemed to come from the child actors who run wild. As Millen pointed out, kids get a "bad rap" as being "difficult to work with, but Charlie and Kiori and Shiloh are some of the most talented and dedicated actors, kids or adults, that I've ever worked with. They just have the benefit of still having a child's imagination." As such "they were in this world as soon as Eli called action. They were in that world. And that made my job that much easier because they just drew me in."

Much as the children pulled their weight, a large share of the credit must also go to Millen for his starring performance. Mute film baddies are hardly new, especially since the type was popularized by "Halloween"'s Michael Myers and "Friday the 13th: Part 2"'s Jason Voorhees, but usually the archetype wears a mask and seems literally inhuman. The Ice Cream Man, by contrast, has a constantly visible face and is terrifying in part because of his humanity. Like the best mimes (a comparison I use as a sincere compliment, not a backhanded one), he expresses a wide range of emotions — cruelty, a desire to be liked, even a twisted sort of kindness — without uttering a syllable. Like Robert Englund's Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street," it is difficult to imagine anyone else in the Ice Cream Man role once you see Millen. As an asset to the film, he is irreplaceable.

Again, I must reiterate that "Ice Cream Man" is not for everyone. Like akutaq or black licorice ice cream, this is a genre picture for those with a very specific type of cinematic palate. If you oppose the use of Generative AI to create special effects, you may object to that aspect of the movie on principle. (Personally I didn't notice any moments that seemed AI-y; the animation and special effects seemed realistic.) Yet if you are a fan of Roth's best work like "Cabin Fever," "The Green Inferno" and "Thanksgiving," "Ice Cream Man" will not disappoint. Similarly, if you're in the mood for a scary movie that flies by fast and contains characters and images that stick with you, "Ice Cream Man" is two scoops of devious deliciousness that will go down smooth.