After
directing a bunch of Godzilla movies for Toho, Ishiro Honda decided to try his
hand at a monster movie on a much smaller scale for a change. The results are frustratingly uneven. Ishiro, buddy. Stick to big ass monsters instead.
Passengers
on a yacht get lost in a storm. They
wind up shipwrecked on an uncharted island where the only vegetation seems to
be giant mushrooms. After their rations
run out, they resort to eating the mushrooms, which turns them into living
mushroom men.
The early scenes made me yearn for the directness of She Demons. At least with that movie, it began with the characters already washed up on shore. These opening scenes on the ship aren’t bad per se, just perfunctory. The part where the supposed famous songbird warbles a tune is good for a laugh though as she sings “la, la, la, la, la” over and over again.
From
then on, it’s a slow burn, with the emphasis on slow. The subplot about the desperation and mistrust
growing among the survivors was to be expected, although honestly, I was
expecting a bit more. When all the
characters are at each other’s throats, it leaves little room for likability
among the cast.
There’s
certainly plenty of atmosphere to go around as the fog-shrouded beaches and
fungus-covered ships are appropriately creepy. You just have to wait an awfully long time for
the mushroom people to finally do their thing. Even then, it’s not exactly worth the wait
(although the first appearance of the mushroom monster is effective). The fungus-faced toadstool terrors are
memorable creations, but ultimately, they don’t get much screen time and aren’t
given a whole lot to do besides stumble around. If you stick around, there’s a good little twist at the end,
although it comes too little too late.
AKA: Matango.
AKA: Zombi 14: Mushroom Zombies. AKA:
Matango: Attack of the Mushroom
People. AKA: Curse of the Mushroom People. AKA:
Fungus of Terror. AKA: Matango:
The Fungus of Terror.
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