Squirm

(1976) Written and directed by Jeff Lieberman; Starring: Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy, R.A. Dow, Jean Sullivan, Peter MacLean, and Fran Higgins; Available on Blu-ray and DVD 

Rating: ***½

“I searched around until I found the yellow legal pad I first sketched out the idea on with title scrawled at the top; Skworm! With a fresh eye, the first thing that struck me was the way I spelled Squirm. Skworm. Too cutesy. The idea was weird enough without needing to put a spin on it. So Squirm it was.” – Jeff Lieberman (excerpted from Day of the Living Me) 

Worms are basically the Rodney Dangerfield of the bug world – like the famed comedian they don’t get a lot of respect. Their mere presence often evokes disgust, along with an “ewww” or “ick” from the beholder. What’s more, the word “worm” is sometimes used colloquially as a pejorative, to describe an unsavory or slimy person. Thanks to writer/director Jeff Lieberman, however, the lowly worm finally had its day in Squirm.* Originally set in New England, novice director Jeff Lieberman and crew took a trip down south, to film around the Savannah, Georgia vicinity. Shot in 24 days, the film featured a mix of professional actors and non-actors (who added some local color to the dialogue). 

* Fun Fact #1: When Lieberman brought up the initial idea of the movie to his wife JoAnn, she replied, “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard in my life.”

The opening crawl, in true exploitation form, proclaims the story we’re about to see is based on a real incident in rural Georgia, in which downed power lines sent “hundreds of thousands of volts surging into the muddy ground.*/** Our protagonist, Mick (Don Scardino) arrives by bus, but due to flooding, sets out on foot to meet his girlfriend Geri (Patricia Pearcy) in nearby Fly Creek (expect lots of jabs at New York City and “city boys”). His first encounter with the locals starts off on the wrong foot when he orders a drink from the diner, only to find a worm in his drink. Thinking it’s some sort of prank, Sheriff Reston (Peter MacLean), who would probably arrest him for breathing if he felt he could get away with it, accuses Mick of being a troublemaker. The sheriff’s esteem for Mick goes downhill from there. Meanwhile, back at the farmhouse, Mick does his best to ingratiate himself to the rest of the family, consisting of Geri’s recently widowed mother Naomi (Jean Sullivan) and her younger sister Alma (Fran Higgins, in her only theatrical role). Adversity looms on the horizon in the form of his would-be rival Roger (R.A. Dow) who runs a worm farm with father (Carl Dagenhart). But things are about to go from bad to worse for Fly Creek, when a horde of angry, carnivorous worms*** take over the town. 

* Fun Fact #2: Okay, so Lieberman omitted the fact that the incident in question stemmed from his childhood, when his brother (inspired by an article in Popular Science) used a toy train transformer to send an electrical charge through the ground, causing multiple worms to emerge. 

** Fun Fact #3: The footage of an electrical tower collapsing in the storm was lifted from Oceans 11 (1960). 

*** Not-So-Fun-Fact: The weird squealing sound of the worms was actually the sound of pigs being slaughtered.

As befits a movie dedicated to killer worms, expect to see lots of the squiggly critters. For the shoot, Lieberman used common earthworms with some marine bloodworms (glycera)* thrown in the mix (along with some terrifying close-ups of their pincers), and approximately 1 million fake rubber worms.** In a fun little bit of foreshadowing, when Mick and Geri interrupt the sheriff on a dinner date in an Italian restaurant,*** we’re treated to close-up shots of them sloppily devouring spaghetti, appropriately reinforcing the central theme. 

* Fun Fact #4: Yes, these things are real. Although generally not considered dangerous to humans, a magnified view reveals some genuine nightmare fodder: extra-strong, venom-injecting pincers for grasping prey, reinforced with copper. Sleep well, folks! 

** Fun Fact #5: In the scene where the floor of Geri’s house comes alive with the writhing critters, Lieberman and company employed a low-tech solution, enlisting 50 kids from a boy scout troop. Stationed in the false floor below the fake worms, at various intervals, the boys would jump up from one corner to another to simulate movement. 

*** This is followed by one of the film’s more curious scenes, in which Sheriff Reston has sex with his date in one of his jail cells (Is it a kink or was he just too cheap to rent a motel room? You decide).

Like any worthwhile horror thriller, Squirm takes its time introducing us to some surprisingly three-dimensional characters,* starting with veteran actress Jean Sullivan as the haunted matriarch of the family, crumbling inwardly through suppressed emotions, but still proud. Lieberman remarked that if he had been a more experienced director at the time, he might have had Sullivan tone down the “Tennessee Williams,” but I think it works well for the character, as well as reinforcing the sense of dread. Geri’s younger sister Alma could have been depicted as a brat, but thanks to Fran Higgins’ nuanced performance, she displays more depth than meets the eye. The requisite sibling rivalry is on display, but it’s also clear that they care about each other. After their mothers’ implied breakdown, both had to step up to take on a larger role in the household. But Alma’s not simply following in her older sister’s footsteps – she’s a bit of a rebel, as revealed in the scene where she lights up a joint and offers Mick a puff. While it’s not exactly a love triangle, her interest in Geri’s boyfriend seems motivated by a combination of envy and curiosity. The other key player in this melodrama is Roger (R.A. Dow) who’s held a torch for Geri for years. He may not be the brightest bulb, but he has aspirations beyond his browbeating father’s worm farm. When he finally confesses his love for her, it goes about as well as could be expected. (SPOILER ALERT) Mercifully, we don’t have much time for second-hand embarrassment, since he becomes worm food.** 

* Fun Fact #6: According to Lieberman, film history might have gone a different way if he had ended up casting some other actors that were also considered at the time. Martin Sheen was originally cast for Mick, but he and Lieberman had creative differences about his character. Then-unknown Kim Basinger auditioned for Geri, and (before his ship sailed in with Rocky) Sylvester Stallone wanted the role of Roger. 

** Fun Fact #7: The facial prosthesis on R.A. Dow, graphically depicting the worms burrowing into his face, was created by budding effects master, Rick Baker.

Squirm’s low budget works to its advantage, painting an intimate portrait of a small town under siege, and one family’s attempt to meet a disaster head-on. Rich with Southern Gothic atmosphere, the film evokes an air of mystery, epitomized by antebellum ivy-covered houses gone to seed,* repressed family secrets, and unrequited love. Jeff Lieberman promised worms, and you get more of them than you can shake a fishing rod at. Unabashedly a B-movie through and through yet much better than its admittedly sensationalistic name suggests, Squirm delivers the goods, and then some. 

* Fun Fact (or Folklore) #8: Lieberman commented that one of the homes used for filming had a reputation as one of the most haunted in the South. It didn’t take much searching to learn that Savannah is apparently ground zero for ghostly occurrences.

  

Sources for this article: Day of the Living Me, by Jeff Lieberman; Kino Lorber Blu-ray commentary by Jeff Lieberman; Wikipedia entry, Glycera (annelid)