The concept of Paddy Breathnach’s 2006 film, Shrooms, is almost too good to be true: Six friends isolated in the Irish countryside decide to brew up some good old fashioned magic mushroom tea. But this is no hippie-dippy trip. No way. Terrible things start to happen; black-cloaked demons start to appear, cows start giving foreboding warnings, and dead bodies start popping up left and right. How much of this is real? How much is caused by the drugs? Are people actually dying or did these kids accidentally eat the dreaded Death’s Head Mushrooms? (identifiable by the small black nipple on the cap of the fungus).
Like I said, the concept of Shrooms is almost too good to be true. Horror films with brilliant concepts have a lot to live up to. Shrooms, despite all its efforts, simply can’t live up to its own promise. However, that being said, I really, really enjoyed this movie.
Right off the bat, it’s clear that this movie is made well. Shrooms opens with a jolt: A tracking shot through the woods is crosscut with quick glimpses of nightmarish imagery. It’s difficult to discern exactly what we’re looking at, but this being a horror film, we know we’ll find out soon enough.
I need to make it clear that I gave Shrooms the benefit of the doubt on several occasions. This is NOT a perfect film. The characters are flat, uninspired and annoying. Their dialogue is cloying, boorish and pathetic. They’re also total fucking idiots. None of them know nothing of the drugs with which they’re experimenting (honestly, wouldn’t at least one of them have at least heard of Erowid?). Each character is a stereotype (jock, hot chick, hippie-chick, hippie-dude, high-strung-girl-who-wins-our-sympathy-early-on-because-she-can’t-get-laid, and omniscient-foreigner). And each character has an entirely single-track mind–they think of nothing except eating mushrooms (a dead giveaway of drug novices).
Who cares about the characters? I thought. This movie still has the best god-damned concept that’s come around in a while! I didn’t care what they were saying, I just wanted to see some drug trips infused with demonic spirits. Enter the Death’s Head Mushrooms. Described by the omniscient foreigner as mushrooms that create "a border to another dimension. They give the ability to commune with the dead; uncontrollable ferocity, shape-shifting, and last but not least, foresight–the gift of premonition." Sweet.
Being cloddish half-wits, the characters obviously do not heed the omniscient foreigner’s advice. This raises some serious red-flags. Seriously, who in their right mind would eat a mushroom growing in the wild without first identifying it? Anybody? High-strung-girl-who-wins-our-sympathy-early-on-because-she-can’t-get-laid wins 2007’s biggest movie dumbass award. They’re fungus, you idiot! Get a fucking mushroom classification book!
The strength of Shrooms, and of Breathnach as a director, is in the hallucination sequences. Although relying heavily on post-production sound-effects and fancy editing tricks, the hallucinations these characters suffer and visually stunning.
Shrooms would have gotten a more glowing review had it not relied on an (unfortunately) all-too-popular horror film ending (you’ll know what I’m talking about once you see it). It’s a shame that Pearse Elliot’s script couldn’t have taken more risks. A perfectly good local legend is wasted (along with a wicked creepy villain) in favor of a more traditional, less-freakish conclusion. However, this movie was made with the utmost of skill. And the concept… I still can’t get over how good the concept is.
Like I said, Shrooms isn’t perfect, but it’s still recommended.
"Shrooms"
I watched this film last week. I enjoyed it; it was decent light entertainment for the suspend-your-disbelief "young people go out to the woods and are killed off one by one" slasher film genre. And I don't usually like that genre. This one adds the psychedelic element that the group eats mushrooms and drinks mushroom tea. The mix of whether things are real or not, especially the shimmering effects in the woods, are quite well done. The cinematography is what kept me watching through the weaker story moments. I'm not sure I like the violence meme the film's plot seems to attribute to a particular super-strength mushroom, but again this is fiction. You will have to suspend some of your disbelief in regards to the tripping elements – those in the know will know it is not quite like portrayed. And the visuals don't meet the wild, dark beauty of the last sequence in Blueberry/Renegade. That said, its worth watching and stands out for an indie horror film.
On a related note, has anyone seen "The Tripper" directed by David Arquette? Also a decent psychedelic slasher movie. Maybe a bit more effective because of its satire.
CRAP
Great! Finally- a good review! Yeah, screw the film as a whole. Sometimes you watch a certain movie for certain reasons. I wanted to see drug induced visions of ancient Irish ghost and demons and the film delivered on that.