SHROOMS has got to be one of the worst "teens in the woods" horror films I've ever seen, right along with the similarly execrable GRIZZLY RAGE. Although I hate films like this with a vengeance, I'll admit to liking the plot as a whole: it was responsible for a slew of atmospheric and gory '80s slashers (I'm thinking Friday the 13th) and even today gems are still added to the mix (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, of course, and more recently WILDERNESS). Yet SHROOMS is dull, dumb, and unworkable from the very beginning, a complete waste of space.
The plot sees a bunch of American teenagers heading to the Irish woods to experience some magic mushrooms. The setting enticed me, but nothing is made of the Irish connection: this might easily have been set in America, so the location is wasted. Director Paddy Breathnach instantly seems out of his depth, not knowing how to shoot his film, how to draw out the natural atmosphere of such a place, fumbling the action and chase sequences, dropping the ball when it comes to the scares. From watching the behind the scenes footage, it looked like was too mild-mannered to direct his cast properly. Add to this the execrable, clichéd-packed script and you have a recipe for disaster.
The horror-scenes are non-starters. Most of the kills are shown in flashback, or from another character's viewpoint, so you're not really sure what's going on. There are no special effects to speak of and no gore. The stupidly-acting characters are hateful and the cast poor, so even the joy of savouring the next death is taken away because you never really see it. The unlikeable Lindsey Haun comes off particularly badly, especially in all the 'sit up screaming with a camera strapped to her chest' scenes she has. God, just thinking of this rubbish makes my blood boil.
The plot sees a bunch of American teenagers heading to the Irish woods to experience some magic mushrooms. The setting enticed me, but nothing is made of the Irish connection: this might easily have been set in America, so the location is wasted. Director Paddy Breathnach instantly seems out of his depth, not knowing how to shoot his film, how to draw out the natural atmosphere of such a place, fumbling the action and chase sequences, dropping the ball when it comes to the scares. From watching the behind the scenes footage, it looked like was too mild-mannered to direct his cast properly. Add to this the execrable, clichéd-packed script and you have a recipe for disaster.
The horror-scenes are non-starters. Most of the kills are shown in flashback, or from another character's viewpoint, so you're not really sure what's going on. There are no special effects to speak of and no gore. The stupidly-acting characters are hateful and the cast poor, so even the joy of savouring the next death is taken away because you never really see it. The unlikeable Lindsey Haun comes off particularly badly, especially in all the 'sit up screaming with a camera strapped to her chest' scenes she has. God, just thinking of this rubbish makes my blood boil.