When you hear Eli Roth is directing a movie, it conjures a certain type of tale. You expect it to be dark. You expect it to be bloody. And you expect it to be creatively over-the-top. From that standpoint his new summer film, Ice Cream Man, certainly delivers.

The film opens on Friday, part of a slate of new releases to kickstart the last month of summer. It’s a savage 86 minutes that is sure to scratch the horror itch for many. But is it a must-see experience? Let’s dive in.

The film is set in an idyllic small town that is on the cusp of summer. The kids are playing baseball, looking forward to freedom. That’s when an ice cream truck arrives. And the kids flock to it and it’s confectioner, the Ice Cream Man (Ari Millen).

All the kids of the town seemingly partake. But Jared (Charlie Zeltzer), who is lactose intolerant, is unable to enjoy a cold cone. That night, when the truck patrols the neighborhood with its infectious music, something takes hold of those kids who did get ice cream. They turn savagely violent, disconnected from their consciousness of reality.

As Jared awakes the next day, and his parents (Roth, Karen Cliche) head off to work, he begins to realize something is amiss. Soon, he and a small band of others who missed out on ice cream find themselves living in something of a hellscape trying to survive.

If you’re looking for a good, old-fashioned horror slasher, this is going to be your jam. It’s an interesting set up. It doesn’t waste much time. And it offers plenty of gory violence. It’s a quick hitter that features an interesting twist on the concept that feels a bit like the Pied-Piper approach to a horror film.

 Roth knows his way around some graphic content and certainly has a feel for this story. He wrote the script with Noah Belson, directed it, and is releasing it under his Horror Section label. He’s fully invested in the story on and off screen. In fact, his role as Jared’s father was one of the most fun of the film as he goes off on a variety of topics.

There are a couple other standouts here, too. The Ice Cream Man himself, Millen, is striking in the role. He cuts a creepy and imposing figure from the first moment you spot him on screen. I also enjoyed Benjamin Byron Davis. He is only in one scene, but it’s certainly effective and leads to a twist that, while you see it coming, is still unsettling.

But it’s not all perfect here. The story feels like it is full of a lot of good ideas mixed with some cliches. It’s predictable at times, which isn’t bad but doesn’t give it a lot of punch. In addition, it relies heavily on a younger set of actors who are hit-or-miss at best. That sometimes makes an 86-minute run time feel long.

If you’re looking for gore and violence at the movies, this will be your jam. But it doesn’t rise to the heights of some of Roth’s previous work.

Ice Cream Man opens nationwide on Friday, August 7.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.