Matango: Attack Of The Mushroom People

The lone survivor of a doomed ship tells a group of doctors, and us, how exactly he got that way, from the first shipwreck, there was trouble, and a shortage of food that drove many to mutiny. It seemed like the only thing eatable that was natural in the island were mushrooms. But this is no ordinary island, since it was a place where there were many nuclear tests during the 1950’s. Soon, the people start eating those mushrooms, and not only do they get high as fuck, but they also start turning into giant mushroom monsters.
Ishiro Honda is more famous for his contributions to the first wave of Godzilla pictures, making some of the best entries in the series. This is definitely a deviation, and in a good way. It’s an original and genuinely creepy scenario that, as wacky as it might seem, is also very realistic. Yes, there are fungi out there that take over the minds and physical body of insects. So why couldn’t it happen to humans? I know this was only meant to be as a b picture by Toho, but still, think about it. The acting is very extreme, and when the characters start losing their minds, you’re right in there, looking dumbfounded at just how weird it all gets. By the time the mutated mushroom people show up, you’ll be sitting with your mouth open, in awe of what you see. It has to be said that this movie is a precursor to Night of the Living Dead. The sequences on the boat, where they’re fighting against each other, protecting themselves from the menace outside, would be repeated in this zombie classic five years later. The makeup effects are excellent, and the production design, with all the mold and fungi covering the floors and walls, is truly remarkable. This movie used to scare the shit out of me when I was a kid, and now, as an adult, it still has a creepy vibe.