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The Last of Us review: An excellent example of fungal horror

From Hannibal to Whitechapel and now this fine adaptation of a bestselling video game, why do fungi so often steal the show in TV thrillers, wonders Bethan Ackerley

By Bethan Ackerley

18 January 2023

THE LAST OF US takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) in a US where fungi threaten

HBO/Warner media

The Last of Us

Streaming now on HBO Max

MY FAVOURITE fungus has a nasty party trick. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a parasite that bends the minds of insects to its will. After taking over an ant’s central nervous system, it manipulates the insect into climbing up a plant to a spot with ideal conditions for the fungus to proliferate. While its muscles atrophy and its insides are consumed, the ant clamps its jaws in a “death grip” that firmly secures it to the …

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