DVD Release
A bunch of stereotypical American students make a mecca to Ireland in order to get off their mash on magic Mushrooms. That’s it. Alright, so there is a more to the plot… They have an English mushroom guide (?), Jake (Jack Huston), who tells them a creepy story about an abandoned mental clinic. Once they’re all tripping out, they start dying. One of the students, Tara (Lindsey Haun), takes a special type of mushroom, one that gives her the power of fore-sight! Too bad then that she can’t do dick to save her friends.
Shrooms is a movie that could have been so much more. Had they of opted for more ‘survival-esque’ horror, in which the whole gang break down and start offing each other, this would have been far more effective. As it is, it’s a run-of-the-mill slasher that has zero originality. As is the norm with modern slashers, it tries its best to apply a twist ending – One that is so blatant, that the attempts to hide the reveal only cause confusion for the viewer.
If all this wasn’t bad enough, it’s also light on the slasher genres other staple ingredients – Gore and T’n'A! Quite what Pearse Breathnach was trying to achieve remains a mystery to me. Although he does get kudos for including a scene that involves a character engaging in a conversation with a talking cow – Ace!
Shrooms feels like an opportunity missed, they really could have done better with the material instead off falling back on every tried and tested cliché. Even the Irish are portrayed in a racist manner – Rednecks who eat road-kill to be exact! Seeing as this was an Irish production, you really have to wonder what was going through the money men’s head on this project. All isn’t lost though, some decent laughs can be had and Lindsey Haun is very easy on the eye!
