Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
A group of American teens comes to Ireland to visit a friend who takes them on a camping trip in search of the local, fabled magic mushrooms. When the psychedelics start taking hold, the panicked friends are attacked by ghostly creatures; but how can they determine whether what they are experiencing is reality or hallucination?
Shrooms is a middling horror entry that blends drug-induced hallucination with slasher tropes in an Irish forest setting. The plot leans heavily on well-worn genre conventions — isolated teens, mysterious local legends, and unreliable perception — without developing its premise in particularly interesting ways. The twist ending attempts to subvert expectations but feels telegraphed and borrows too liberally from similar psychological horror films. Acting is serviceable but unimpressive, with characters that remain largely archetypal. The Irish forest cinematography has some atmospheric moments but nothing that distinguishes it significantly. The hallucinogenic horror angle had potential for genuine novelty but is executed too conventionally to stand out.