Eli Roth's "No Limits" New Horror Movie Sprung To Life After 20 Years Thanks To 2024 Record-Breaking Hit

Icon Events Releasing Published Jul 29, 2026, 7:36 PM EDT Sign in to your ScreenRant account Eli Roth has a record-breaking 2024 movie to thank for getting his "no limits" new horror movie off the ground. In the first week of August, Ice Cream Man, the latest Roth-helmed movie, arrives in theaters. However, the filmmaker had the Ice Cream Man idea lingering in his head for 20 years before that, though he found it difficult to realize given its gruesome premise. Now Roth has revealed that fellow horror movie Terrifier 3’s theatrical release two years ago paved the way for Ice Cream Man to finally get in front of cameras and become a reality. In an interview with Joe Deckelmeier for ScreenRant at our San Diego Comic-Con 2026 media suite, Roth noted that Ice Cream Man is being released unrated. This follows behind Terrifier 3 becoming the highest-grossing unrated movie in 2024, making over $90 million worldwide. The writer/director said that if Ice Cream Man also does well in theaters, “it opens the door for doing movies this way.” Roth continued: I wanted to make a movie that really had no limits. That was just so unhinged, and that it's this like carnival of chaos. It's just carnage and violence, and you're watching children do it. Like you actually can't believe what you're watching. But I wanted the deaths to be fun and creative, but also [for] the kids, it's like Christmas morning. They don't know they're doing anything wrong. They're not evil kids. The kids are just having a blast. Instead of opening presents, they're opening chest cavities. Everything happens for a reason. Starring Orphan Black’s Ari Millen in the title role, Ice Cream Man follows a suburban town that becomes enveloped in chaos when a sinister ice cream man serves tasty treats to its children that turn them into cold-blooded killers. Roth was encouraged to finally make Ice Cream Man after seeing Terrifier 3’s box office success, as it meant theater chains were willing to present movies that are unrated rather than disregard them. Roth urged moviegoers to buy tickets in support of his new movie and “other unrated movies, because otherwise, it’ll be like Terrifier or nothing.” Ice Cream Man is Roth’s first movie since 2024’s Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black. However, while Roth oversaw the video game adaptation's principal photography, he was unable to return for reshoots due to scheduling conflicts with his 2023 movie Thanksgiving, so Deadpool’s Tim Miller filled in for him. Other notable entries in Roth's filmography include Cabin Fever, Hostel, Knock Knock, and the Death Wish remake. Ice Cream Man opens in theaters on August 7, with Iconic Events Releasing handling its distribution. One Night Only, Super Troopers 3, and Tony are among the other movies coming out that same day. The Terrifier film series is also set to conclude at a yet-to-be-revealed date with one more movie, and it was revealed this past May that Terrifer 4 will see Art the Clown’s final rampage taking place on New Year’s Eve. Release Date August 7, 2026 Runtime 86 Minutes Director Eli Roth Cast Benjamin Byron Davis The Priest Writers Eli Roth, Noah Belson Producers Kate Harrison Karman, Eli Roth