Fantastic Fest 2023: MUSHROOMS

My first year covering Fantastic Fest has presented some incredible films thus far – and Paweł Borowski‘s Mushrooms is no exception. A slow burn packed with intention, Mushrooms is a dark fairy tale, reverberating elements of the Brothers Grimm while grounding its revelations in modern horror.

Into the Woods

Borowski’s Mushrooms begins like many fairy tales before – deep within the forest. The forest is introduced through a close-up shot of a mushroom, a small worm moving his way along its dome. As the camera holds on to the mushroom, audiences will feel a reminiscent sense of Alice in Wonderland, immediately driving the idea of a fairy tale long before the camera has captured the forest and the elderly woman foraging within it.

As a finger appears, carefully removing the worm and cutting the mushroom with care, we are introduced to the elderly woman. The camera follows her, pensively and patiently walking through the forest and gathering what she needs. As she strips bark from trees, disarms bear traps and gently blows dirt off the mushrooms she has picked, there is a sweet caress in her nature and deeply driven fondness for all life. She is there to only take what she needs and nothing more, speaking to a deeply rooted respect for nature and all its inhabitants.

This serene sequence is interrupted as she stumbles on a young pair dressed in theater clothing in one of the forest’s clearings. While she tries to leave unseen, she stumbles, alerting the pair to her presence. There is an instant sense of danger that comes over her face as the young man pleads with her to help them find their way out of the forest. As he tells her, he and his fiancée we out with friends drinking, and they were left behind as a prank, their friends taking everything including their IDs.

Initially reluctant, the woman agrees to help them after discovering that the young woman has been hurt, agreeing to lead them out to the village and aid in the splinting of the young woman’s ankle. But like most fairy tales, there is always the innocents and the villain. Mushrooms works to toy with your perception of the young couple, constantly questioning intentions and hidden meanings, the elderly woman’s wavering trust and inquisitive recognition leading you to only further question any conclusions you may have inferred on your own. It is this mystery that will keep its audiences hooked, never truly sure what the real truth is and what is going on.

Mushrooms may have a slow pace, but it is intentional with each moment. This is not a film that works to race to the end, rather than emulating a fairy tale in a modern world and patience of survival. Broken into multiple acts, each return to the story takes the trio on another angle of understanding and ominous foreboding.

Conclusion:

Mushrooms does run the risk of wearing on its audience at times as a keen eye will discover the ending from the very beginning, thus the film becoming an exercise of patience as you wait to find out if you were correct. Yet, even with its air of predictability, Mushrooms still has one more trick up its sleeve. I was taken aback by the scope if its final revelation, the depth of fairy tale lore reaching into the annals of modern history and bringing the horrors to full understanding. It is unexpected, blindsiding the audience with a final stroke of horror. Many may find it unsettling, especially in its unexpected abruptness, but give it time this ending will stick with you long after the film has ended.

Watch Mushrooms