Going into Eli Roth’s latest ‘film’, there was already an element of controversy. There is generative AI in this film that has drawn a lot of ire, but frankly, that’s the film’s vastly less egregious offense. It almost feels like an easy out, to blame AI for this abomination, and… There is certainly evidence for that argument: in the derivative yet nonsensical script, in the atrocious dialogue and threadbare characters, in the strange glitches and garbled jargon… But… AI implies intelligence, and there’s little to be found here. No, I’m afraid, the sins of this film are of an absolutely human nature. The misogyny and racism, the crude jokes at the expense of the helpless, the tactless yet bombastic self-aggrandizement, and the disquieting fixation and lingering camera gaze on young bodies... Might as well watch the current news cycle, and I prefer horror movies as cheerful escapism. This film is puerile and foul. It is tasteless, classless, clueless and… Uncomfortable, but not in a good way. This is a movie that mistakes exploitation for transgression, cruelty for subversion, malice for merit. What makes this tragic are the obvious production values behind it. There are no real names beyond Roth involved, but obviously money was spent to make something so foul look so good. There is something to be said for the vibrancy of the film, everything takes place in bright sunlight with every drop of blood and viscera hypersaturated. But that candy-colored polish serves a fetishistic indulgence in the shots and framing of the children, made worse by an antagonist styled like a stranger-danger flyer come to life. Roth has never been a director hamstrung by restraint, quality or script, here he demonstrates he has no shame either. This is by far the worst atrocity he’s ever committed to film and inflicted upon eyeballs. It is an affront, and not in the manner he might wish to provoke.
Ice Cream Man (2026)