Fungicide: Collector's Edition – Visual Vengeance (Blu-ray)

Release Date: USA, 2002
Director: Dave Wascavage
Writers: Dave Wascavage, Mary Wascavage
Cast: Wes Miller, David Weldon, Mary Wascavage, Loretta Wascavage, Edward Wascavage, Dave Bonavita, Antoinette Cancelliere, Dave Wascavage

Release Date: May 26th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 83 Minutes 26 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Interlaced / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Deep within a tranquil forest, five strangers meet at a secluded bed and breakfast. But one of these guests happens to be a mad scientist, who uses his vacation to accidentally create an army of killer mushrooms. Now unleashed on the other guests, and with the body count quickly piling up, it's up to the survivors to arm themselves and fight back against these slaughtering shrooms in hopes of stopping them from world domination!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Director-approved SD master from original tape elements."

Fungicide comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.7 GB

Feature: 19.7 GB

This transfer looks like one would expect considering the limitations of its video source. Image clarity ranges from adequate to lacking any fine detail, particularly during the darker scenes. That said, while this transfer has its shortcomings, the result is most likely as good as this film will ever look.

Audio: 2.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. Although dialogue comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced, things are limited range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Visual Vengeance trailer for Fungicide (53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a producer’s trailer for Fungicide (1 minute 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background, a Troubled Moon trailer reel (7 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), outtakes (5 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a deleted scene (1 minute 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an alternate opening credits (2 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), the RiffTrax version of Fungicide (72 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with director Dave Wascavage, producer Mary Wascavage and actor David Weldon, an audio commentary with Dave Wascavage and Mary Wascavage, an audio commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum, an audio commentary with Schlock and Awe Films, reversible cover art featuring original home video art, a 'Stick your own' video store sticker sheet (first pressing only), a collectible folded mini-poster, Grow Your Own Killer Mushroom seed packet (first pressing only), and a limited-edition O-card slipcover (first pressing only).

Other extras are Visual Vengeance trailers for Saurians, Reanimator Academy, and Suburban Sasquatch.

Summary:

Five strangers relaxing for the weekend at a bed and breakfast turn deadly when one of them accidentally drops a vial whose contents turn mushrooms into carnivorous monsters.

Having previously watched his film Suburban Sasquatch, I am not new to the cinema of Dave Wascavage. Not going in blind to another one of his films gives me an advantage over someone experiencing it for the first time. For those unfamiliar with his work, his films are ultra low-budget, and many of the cast members are his relatives.

The premise, a mad scientist whose experiments create a monster, is a well-worn trope that's been done better in countless other films. From the get-go, things move very slowly, and the dialogue-heavy narrative never manages to build any moments. That said, Funguicie is a horror film that’s more unintentionally funny than anything remotely scary.

For better or worse, the most entertaining aspect of Fungicide is the absurd-looking mushroom monsters. It’s not difficult to laugh at them since they are rendered via a man in a monster suit or cheap-looking CGI. Instead of checking out Fungicide, check out the RiffTrax version of Fungicide; it's a more entertaining experience.

Fungicide gets a first-rate release from Visual Vengeance that comes with the best possible audio/video presentations and a wealth of extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer