Review: ‘Shrooms’ on DVD

Having never done “shrooms” myself, I can only speculate on the true effects of the “all natural” party fungi. However, I can certainly tell you that watching this movie puts me off the idea of ever indulging myself on the local fungal fare of Ireland. When I first saw the poster for Shrooms, my first impression was “Hey, a weird little horror movie about killer mushrooms running a muck killing unsuspecting teens.” Well, i got the part about the unsuspecting teens right …

Shrooms was directed by Paddy Breathnach (I Went Down) and stars a small cast, including Lindsey Haun (Village of the Damned), Jake Huston (Factory Girl), Max Kasch (Waiting), Maya Hazen (Lucky You), Alice Greczyn (The Dukes of Hazzard) and Robert Hoffman (Step Up 2). This Irish-made indie horror film is fun, but turns out to be a real horror movie and not just another comical horror romp. The story follows a group of five young American party-seekers who travel to Ireland to experience the country’s native psychedelic mushroom. They meet up with local shroom expert Jake (Huston) who leads them into the woods to gather the coveted domes of pleasure. The first night, after collecting the bounty, Jake tells a scary legend of the area around a campfire.

The story slowly becomes more a frightening reality that superstition for the group as strange things begin to occur and people start dying at the hands of a strange evil wandering the woods. The teens, now psyched out on shroom-brewed tea, must fight for survival against a supernatural force. Shrooms is an understated but effective horror film that offers thrills and scares, but doesn’t rely on gore and heavy creature effects to tell its freaky little story. Allow yourself to get pulled into the story and don’t get too bound down with the acting … the ending is relatively unique and makes for a nice finish. Overall, Shrooms is a good scary date movie and a worthwhile view for horror aficionados.

[rating:3.5/5]