Roth uncuffed
Eli Roth is back with a new gore fest called Ice Cream Man. The reputation surrounding the film highlights how Roth does not hold back on violence or the kills. In his review for the film, our Tyler Nichols said that there was plenty of sweets for the bloodthirst of horror fans, but it ultimately feels shallow. He expounded, “Roth’s film is the epitome of a ‘turn your brain off’ kind of movie. Every character is painfully dumb, and it’s got more gore than you’ll even know what to do with. But is that really enough to keep an audience entertained these days?”
The Studio and Borderlands
As Ice Cream Man displays what happens when Roth becomes unshackled, when he tries to play by the rules of the studio, a project like Borderlands gets released to immense panning across the board and became a big flop for the company. Variety recently caught up with Roth and discussed how the filmmaker bypasses the studio for creative freedom after his experience on Borderlands. Roth worked with Lionsgate to bring the video game to life in an adaptation with a $120 million price tag. But because Roth wanted to steer away from conventional ideas, he felt his movie getting pulled away from him by the studio.
Roth explained,
As things grow bigger, studios just naturally become more risk averse. My nature as a filmmaker is to do the thing that’s left of center, because that’s what has worked for me.”
Lionsgate wanted a PG-13 rating and showered Roth with notes for cutting things and tweaking parts of the movie. The movie ultimately bombed and the final product was notoriously disjointed. Roth would also say,
You got something that belonged to nobody. It’s not a kids’ movie, but it’s trying to appeal to everybody. It’s for gamers, but it doesn’t have the violence the gamers want because it can’t be that extreme because it costs too much. You just wind up with a movie that’s neither fish nor fowl.”
The Horror Section
Roth founded his own company in 2025 called The Horror Section to go into business for himself and leave the studio system behind. His film, Ice Cream Man, is his inaugural project with the company. Per Variety, “The plan is to distribute two to four horror films annually in theaters, keeping budgets low to preserve creative freedom.” After Ice Cream Man, The Horror Section will release Stiletto, a slasher film set in strip clubs, in the fall. Then, they go into production on Don’t Go in That House, Bitch!, a horror film that will team Roth with Snoop Dogg. All of the movies will get theatrical releases of roughly 45 days.
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