It seems Visual Vengeance has really been amping up its physical releases over the last couple of months. Every time a new one lands, I’m surprised at how much SOV content is still out there waiting. So here we are again with a micro-budgeted film that was all but lost in the shuffle. This time it’s Fungicide (2002).
Filmed in Pennsylvania, the film has gained enough notoriety over the years to be tackled by the RiffTrax crew in 2021. According to IMDB, it had a massive budget of $140. What did that get us? Let’s find out.
Silas (David Weldon) is an unhinged basement scientist, a socially awkward experimenter still living under his parents’ roof. He can’t stop tinkering with dangerous chemical formulas, a recipe for disaster. Trouble begins when he decides to vacation at a secluded bed-and-breakfast.
He accidentally spills one of his mysterious compounds, which seeps through the cracks in the porch and into a patch of mushrooms. The spill triggers a grotesque mutation that transforms the fungi into ravenous killers. What follows is pure madness. The B&B’s terrified guests find themselves trapped and hunted by vicious, flesh-devouring toadstools that slaughter their victims with merciless abandon.
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This is a wacky film that, despite subpar acting, terrible effects, and a lack of budget, manages to entertain throughout. That statement only holds if you know what you’re getting into ahead of time or enjoy no-budget horror films. There are CGI mushrooms, hand-puppet mushrooms, and even humans dressed as mushrooms. It’s definitely good for a few laughs.
And it’s okay to laugh at Fungicide, since writer-director Dave Wascavage (Suburban Sasquatch) clearly knew what he was doing and went for broke (all $140 of it). It’s a goofy oddity with DIY charm.
Along with the director-approved SD master from the original tape elements, there’s a new commentary featuring Wascavage and co-writer/co-producer Mary Wascavage, an archival commentary with the duo, another from Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum, and a fourth commentary from Schlock and Awe Films.
The best feature on the disc is the full RiffTrax version, which is hilarious. The release also includes an alternate opening, deleted scenes, outtakes, trailers, and more.
Fungicide proves that if you have drive and determination, you don’t need money. Just use what you have and make a movie.
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