Home
Home

Shrooms (2007)

DVD Cover (Magnet Releasing)
Add to Collection
Sign up to add this to your collection
Add to Favorites
Sign up to add this to your favorites
Overall Rating 44%
Overall Rating
Ranked #3,744
...out of 20,323 movies
Check In? Sign up to check in!

Three couples go to Ireland woods to collect magic mushrooms and trip out. On their way they meet some strange inhabitants of the woods and it doesn't take long until a creepy story is being told at the campfire which might be more than just a story. So strange things happen, people start disappearing, silhouettes move through the woods and the creepy story starts to melt into reality. The horror kicks in along with the effect of the --IMDb
User Image
Review by Tristan
Added: May 26, 2008
I have to tell you folks, I'm quite surprised with myself that I watched this. I don't do drugs, nor do I enjoy the company of people who do. Needless to say, I really hate movies about drugs. There is the odd exception, but for the most part, they just annoy me. I thought that maybe I could overlook this for the sake of a horror film, since almost all of them are about substance abusing teens meeting the business end of an axe. Even with me keeping my personal bias at bay, Shrooms still fell short of being a decent horror film.

A group of five American teenagers take a break from their Catholic University to travel to Ireland. Sounds harmless enough, but they're going for the sole purpose of finding magic mushrooms and staying wasted for an unmentioned amount of time. Once they arrive in Ireland they are greeted by Jake (Jack Huston), a pre-summer boyfriend of heroine Tara's (Lindsey Haun), who takes them to a remote location in the woods and gives them the basics of what to look for. They do however run into a problem when they find the "Death's Head Mushroom", which is the same as the ones they're after, just with black spots. Supposedly, your heart will explode if you eat it. If you are lucky enough to survive however, you'll have special powers including being able to communicate with the dead, shape shifting, and the neatest power of all, being able to see into the future.

That's all well and good until of course, Tara decides to eat one of them after missing the big meeting. No surprise - she doesn't suffer the exploding heart treatment. Instead she has weird visions and terrible nightmares that carry on all afternoon. While the group sits around the campfire for the obligatory "haunted woods" spiel, she begins having visions of her friends dying, and within the next little while, they're dead. Rinse and repeat for the remainder of the film.

In essence, this is a slasher flick. Only we don't get to see any of the good stuff. Splatter fans will be greatly disappointed with this one, as there is basically no on screen violence. There are quick music video styled flashes of violence, but that does nothing for the gorehound in me. When it stopped being about the drugs and started into the horror it was watchable, but for the most part I was just wanting it to end. I'm sure most of you are smart enough to figure it all out from my review, but if you haven't, the twist ending is something you can see from a mile away, and once you figure it out it's almost not worth watching the rest of the film.

Since this movie had no good special effects and a weak storyline, you'd think that the actors could at least do their part to save it. None of the characters were very likable, and the dialogue was campy and unrealistic at best. The only saving grace came in the form of a talking cow (yes, you read that correctly). It was a brief scene, but for some reason it had me laughing pretty hard, and I had to re watch it a few times because of this. It's sad when a movie's highlight is a talking cow, but this was a pretty sad movie. If anything, it's an anti-drug advertisement with a horror movie plot thrown in for good measure. It was a semi-decent idea, and it looked great. I mean really great. There were so many moments when it had a Tim Burton-esque quality about it, and since a majority of the movie had a "drug haze" on it, the woods seemed to almost come alive. I just didn't care for it much at all. Other than being mentioned 50+ times in the first 10 minutes, and being the basis of Tara's ability to see into the future, the shrooms didn't have anything to do with the movie. Well, I suppose they were also an excuse for the group of teens to head into the woods in the first place, but this formula has become so tired in this day and age, you almost don't need a reason. Teens in woods + scary legend = dead teens.

Compared to the last few movies I've watched, Shrooms was an enjoyable little flick, but overall it was quite the letdown. It's worth a rental or Netflix slot at best. Don't spend any of your hard earned cash on it, as you'll be just as disappointed as I was.

5/10.
Cryptorchild #1: Cryptorchild - added May 27, 2008 at 8:31am
I've been curious about this movie. I LOVE the cover art. And I think that's what keeps catching my attention. But your review doesn't sway me to check it out any time soon. Oh and it's glad to meet a like minded person with the same view on drugs as me.
Tristan #2: Tristan - added May 27, 2008 at 11:28pm
In all honesty, the cover art was the only reason I even bothered to watch this. I read about it a year or so ago, and a movie about mushrooms didn't really peak my interest. Then yeah, I saw the cover and figured it deserved a shot. Boo.
grain of sand #3: grain of sand - added May 28, 2008 at 6:57am
I actually talked a few people out of renting this at Blockbuster the other day. Drag of a movie, beautiful cover and good tagline.. Shame you wouldn't enjoy my company Tristan...... Haha
5/10 seems right.
Chad #4: Chad - added July 24, 2008 at 8:31pm
Agreed with all but the ratings, and even that was basically the same - I'd say a 4/10 is more appropriate. The ending is hinted at with all the subtlety of a blinking neon sign, and from there, you just want the damned thing to be over with because you know exactly where it's going and neither the kills nor the story keep you interested. I paused this at least ten times to play with my cat and check my email, if that tells you how much I got into the film.
BuryMeAlive #5: BuryMeAlive - added January 10, 2009 at 4:47pm
Seems like I'm the only one that really enjoyed this one... I would rate it: 7.5
Lucid Dreams #6: Lucid Dreams - added April 26, 2010 at 1:09am
Boring. 4/10
Crispy #7: Crispy - added March 3, 2011 at 4:07pm
I liked it, as unoriginal and unmemorable as it was. 6/10
Sign up to add your comment. Sign up to add your comment.
Recommended Movies
The Children Toolbox Murders Reeker Open Graves KillerKiller Grim Reaper Thorn House Of 1000 Corpses V/H/S Cradle Of Fear No Man's Land: The Rise Of Reeker Black Devil Doll Boogeyman 3 Johnny Gruesome Sorority Sister Slaughter Slumber Party Slaughterhouse: The DVD Game Babysitter Wanted Chop Chop... You're Dead
Layout, reviews and code © 2000-2024 | Privacy Policy
Contact: Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Review Updates