Creepy kids are the main dish in Eli Roth’s “Ice Cream Man”, the director’s intentionally goofy and gleefully gory spin on the age-old Pied Piper legend. The film is Roth’s first feature since the seismic box office disaster that was “Borderlands”. His latest sees him back in his splatter film wheelhouse with a movie that is a horror comedy in its fullest sense. And I can an assure you, “Ice Cream Man” is quite different than his previous horror offerings.

There are no grand illusions here. Roth knows the kind of movie he’s making and never pretends otherwise. “Ice Cream Man” is a gorefest that pushes the blood and guts to absurd levels. But it’s also openly self-aware which ends up fueling much of the film’s warped and twisted humor. And considering how much “Ice Cream Man” relies on children, the humor is crucial in making the blood-drenched movie digestible. More on that in a second.

The story kicks off as an old-fashioned ice cream truck rolls into Bayleen Bay. It’s a regular day in this cozy coastal town, which basks in the idyllic glow of the warm summer sun while the enthusiastic sounds of children plays like background music. And their enthusiasm only grows once they hear the high-pitched jingle of the ice cream truck. As kids surround his frozen ecstasy on wheels, the eerily silent ice cream man (slyly yet devilishly played by Ari Millen) hands out free ice cream to every child there.

The day ends as normal, outside of a few brain freezes, sugar rushes, and upset tummies. It isn’t until later that the movie’s sinister twist is revealed. In the middle of the night, the Ice Cream Man begins driving his truck through every neighborhood with his jingle ringing out in the darkness. It triggers something within the children, who suddenly begin rising out of their bed in a catatonic haze, their faces stained with dried ice cream and sprinkles. Much worse, the kids begin gruesomely murdering their parents with a gleeful indifference.

The next morning, Jared (Charlie Zeltzer), who fortunately is lactose intolerant, wakes up and heads to school where he encounters a campus full of zombified classmates. Suddenly the Ice Cream Man pulls up, which sends the students into a murderous frenzy. They begin hacking, impaling, and dismembering their teachers, and those are the tamer kills! Meanwhile Jared is joined by fellow ice cream abstainers Mia (Kiori Mirza Waldman) and Tommy (Shiloh O’Reilly) in a desperate effort to escape.

The rest of the movie follows these three kids from vastly different social groups as they navigate the copious carnage and comical chaos that Roth throws their way. And he throws A LOT their way. Enough that we can’t help but feel a little queasy, not at the extreme gore itself, but at the child actors and actresses tasked with capturing it for the camera. From all indications, it was made a playful shoot for the young cast. Still it’s a quagmire that the film never fully escapes from.

That said, there is a lot for splatter film fans to appreciate in “Ice Cream Man”. The creativity and artistry from the makeup and effects teams is routinely on display as they mostly practically capture every bonkers idea Roth tosses at them. And they visually manage to walk the line between grisly and goofy. Together with Roth and DP Simon Shohet, they also help to pull off some mind-boggling extended sequences that require as much intense coordination as corn syrup.

“Ice Cream Man” succeeds in being the gratuitously gory and absurdly funny horror-comedy concoction that Eli Roth envisioned. It has all the ingredients to entertain those who know what they’re getting into and repulse those who don’t. On one hand, it’s unhinged go-for-the jugular fun that is just as interested in making you laugh as squirm. On the other hand, it’s a movie that uses children in ways that can easily be considered suspect. It ultimately poses a question that reaches beyond this one movie. But the answer to that question may be enough to shape how you feel about it.

VERDICT – 3 STARS