For more than two decades, Eli Roth has built a career by terrifying audiences with films such as Cabin Fever, Hostel, The Green Inferno, and, most recently, Thanksgiving. Now, the filmmaker is entering a new chapter with Ice Cream Man, the first release from his independent studio, The Horror Section. But the movie almost never happened.
The horror veteran revealed that the inspiration behind his latest film traces back to an obscure Spanish-language classic that so profoundly affected him, he abandoned his own screenplay for nearly 20 years.
"I'd written this movie in 2003," Roth told this reporter. "Someone said, 'Have you ever seen Who Can Kill a Child??' I watched it and went, 'I've never seen a movie... this movie is such a masterpiece. I'm not even going to try.' So for like 20 years, I couldn't even think of how to make this movie."
The 1976 psychological horror masterpiece is directed by Uruguayan-born filmmaker Narciso "Chicho" Ibáñez Serrador, who became one of Spain's most influential horror directors. Set on a seemingly idyllic Mediterranean island where children inexplicably turn violent against adults, the movie has become a cult favorite among genre fans and filmmakers alike. While it never achieved mainstream recognition in the United States, it remains one of the most acclaimed Spanish-language horror films ever made.
For Roth, the story hit differently years later.
After becoming the father of a young daughter, he revisited the screenplay with a new perspective, transforming it into Ice Cream Man, an unsettling suburban nightmare that launches The Horror Section, the independent production company he founded after decades working within the Hollywood studio system. The movie opens this weekend.
"This is the first one I want to do. I want to make a statement with these are the types of movies that I want to do," Roth said. "Every single horror movie... there's always someone that says, 'You have to take this out or we won't release the movie.'"
With The Horror Section, Roth says he no longer has to compromise.
"I want people to go, 'Well, I've never seen that before. That is insane.'"
Opening in theaters this weekend, Ice Cream Man transforms one of America's most nostalgic symbols into a nightmare. Bright suburban streets, children on summer vacation and the familiar jingle of an ice cream truck become the backdrop for graphic horror, a deliberate contrast Roth says was inspired by the family films he grew up watching.
"I wanted bright primary colors. I wanted a beautiful horror film," he explained. "The kids are happy. They're having fun. They don't know. They think it's Christmas morning."
Rather than drawing inspiration from dark, gothic horror, Roth said he looked to classics such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Gremlins, and The Bad News Bears, using their nostalgic Americana as a canvas for one of his most disturbing stories yet.
The conversation about Who Can Kill a Child? couldn't end without touching in another subject Roth has long noticed: the enduring relationship between Latino audiences and horror movies.
"I think it's religion," he said. "There's a big part of Latin culture... believing in ghosts. Abuela... everything that Abuela terrified you with. The ghosts, the fantasmas. It's very real. It is part of Latin culture."
His theory echoes years of industry data.
According to the Motion Picture Association, Hispanic audiences consistently attend movie theaters at higher rates than their percentage of the U.S. population, making them one of Hollywood's most valuable moviegoing demographics. According to UCLA's annual Hollywood Diversity Report, Latinos represent 22 percent of audiences on any given weekend. But when it comes to horror, that proportion jumps to as much as half the box office.
Researchers have pointed to a combination of folklore, Catholic traditions and supernatural storytelling passed down through generations as possible reasons. Legends such as El Chupacabra, La Llorona, El Silbón and El Cucuy have remained staples of Latin American and Hispanic storytelling for decades, making ghosts, curses and supernatural forces familiar territory long before audiences step into a theater.
"They love their blood," Roth said with a laugh. "There's just a great tradition with Latin horror."
Hollywood has increasingly recognized that connection.
In recent years, Latino performers have become some of horror's biggest stars. Jenna Ortega helped revive the Scream franchise before starring in Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Melissa Barrera became the emotional center of the latest Scream films before leading Universal's vampire thriller Abigail. Ana de Armas began her international breakthrough in the Spanish-language thriller El Internado before appearing in psychological thrillers such as Knives Out, while Mexican actress Eiza González has become a frequent presence in action-horror and genre films.
Roth, who has worked with several Latino actors throughout his career, said he sees that momentum continuing.
He also believes horror remains one of the few genres that demands the communal experience of a theater.
"There's no place you're allowed to scream anymore," he said. "You can pirate a movie, but you can't pirate that adrenaline rush. It's like going on a roller coaster."
For Roth, that's exactly why Ice Cream Man needed to be the first film released by The Horror Section.
The project represents not only the launch of his independent studio, but also the culmination of a creative journey that began with a forgotten Spanish-language masterpiece and ended with the movie he once believed he could never make.
As he prepares for the film's theatrical debut, Roth has one message for the audience he believes has always understood horror better than most.
"Thank you to the Latin audience," he said. "Getting out and seeing this in the theater will make the difference. This is totally independent, completely outside the studio system... You're going to get all the blood."
