This is one of those strange little outgrowths of the horror genre that have been popping up from time to time lately. At this point in their evolution, low-budget horrors are almost inevitably awash in blood and violence, yet there seems to be a realization that there should be something more: a touch of the surreal, perhaps, or a hint of the supernatural. Thus, we get films like NIGHTMARE (2002) and FINGERPRINTS, in which ghost stories cross-pollinate with stalk-and-slash motifs. Even HATCHET, an homage to ’80s slasher films, cultivated an aura of legend around its maniacal killer, implying that Victor Crowley might be the walking dead. SHROOMS is the next off-shoot in this horticultural hybridism, taking the seeds of a standard slasher movie and planting them firmly in the soil of a hallucinatory drug flick, engendering nightmare visions in which the frantic victims seem to be pursued by killer as frightening and unstoppable as the most mythical of monsters.
SHROOMS is the tale of a group of college kids who vacation in Ireland so that they can enjoy the local magic mushrooms. When one girl accidentally ingests a considerably more potent – and potentially lethal – species, she begins to experience visions of violence perpetrated by two threatening characters from a local legend. Her friends think she is hallucinating, until they start to die mysteriously one by one.
The script briefly has a little bit of fun with the depiction of characters too stoned to realize the danger they face, and there are some wonderfully, comically surreal bits, including a conversation with a talking cow. Once the horror hits, the film effectively plays the reality-versus-illusion game, keeping us guessing about what is actually happening. The hallucinatory imagery propels SHROOMS well out of thriller territory, offering monstrous visions of horror that are genuinely spooky and shocking.
Yes, we have seen kids chased through the woods by a killer before, but the Irish locations offer a nice backdrop for this variation on the familiar story. The cast of unknowns (at least to American viewers) turn in credible performances. Director Paddy Breathnach does a good job with the suspense and a better job with horrifying glimpses of the “killers” who may or may not be real. Pearse Elliott’s screenplay provides enough characterization to raise this above the usual level of slasher films, setting up hidden conflicts that provide clues to the story’s resolution.
Inevitably, that final revelation is a disappointment, and cynical viewers might not have too much trouble foreseeing it (just assume that the film is deliberately manipulating you). The explanation wraps up the plot threads, but it stretches credibility, providing an extremely weak motivation for the killer (as Raymond Chandler said, the unguessable twist ending requires that you fake the characterization). We were probably better off when we had to make up our own minds about what was really happening.
SHROOMS may seem great while you’re under its spell, but once the drugs wear off and you wake up, it fades pretty quickly, leaving you hollow and frustrated by the ephemeral nature of the experience, wishing there was some more substantial residue than a grungy hangover. Still, it’s not a bad trip while it lasts.
SHROOMS (2007, released on home video 3/25/08). Directed by Paddy Breathnach. Written by Pearse Elliott. Cast: Lindsey Haun, Jack Huston, Max Kasch, Maya Hazen, Alice Greczyn, Don Wycherley. Sean McGinley.
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