UFO Mushroom Invasion

Shirakawa plumbs the existential dread of the unknown to audacious effect in this science fiction/horror thriller, originally released in Japan in 1976. When a flying saucer crashes into the Ubagatake mountains, Japan’s government is quick to seize control of the situation, sweeping the wreckage and extraterrestrial survivors off to a research facility for further study. In their haste, they overlook the odd, luminous mushrooms bursting up from the ground all around the crash site. By the time that a schoolboy named Aoki and his teacher Sada investigate the site a few days later, these glowing fungi have sprouted legs and begun a campaign to merge with and gain control of any and all human and animal life they encounter. As it becomes obvious that these otherworldly mushrooms are hell-bent on becoming the dominant lifeform on Earth, Aoki and Sada find themselves caught between a nightmarish horde of invaders and government agents determined to silence them, lest they cause a public panic.