Irish premiere turns into horror show

A CLAIM that Ireland has the “best magic mushrooms in the world” leads to horror in a new Irish movie from the team who previously made the likes of I Went Down and Man About Dog.

Shrooms premiered last night in Dublin but won’t go on general release in Ireland and Britain until the end of the month. The makers hope to capitalise on the current appetite for bloodthirsty, gory horror flicks.

With its theme revolving around students in the wild, it’s already being compared with the cult horror hit The Blair Witch Project.

Starring Irish actors Don Wycherley and Sean McGinley as well as a cast of up-and-coming Americans, it was made in Armagh and Monaghan and set in the bleak plains of the midlands.

The story revolves around five American college students who arrive in Ireland for a camping trip with their old friend Jake who has promised them the “trip” of a lifetime, claiming that Ireland has the best magic mushrooms in the world.

“The actual idea for the movie goes back to a time when I was taking mushrooms with friends,” says writer Pearse Elliott.

“I felt that there was a good story there and I thought it would be interesting to make a horror film about such an important aspect of youth culture.”

Meanwhile, three rising talents in Irish film have been awarded €250,000 apiece to make low-budget feature films under a new scheme called the Catalyst Project.

Selected from 42 submissions, the three winning film makers — PJ Dillon, Conor Horgan and Margaret Corkery — will start work on their chosen productions next year.