Squirm (1976), Reviewed by: The Masked Reviewer
In Squirm, when a storm knocks down the power lines in the small town of Fly Creek, the worms are mysteriously mutated. Apparently when a worm mutates they hunger for human flesh. Meanwhile Geri Sanders is waiting for Mick her boyfriend from the city to arrive. Roger not so subtly flirts with Geri, she thinks he’s a good friend. Her sister, and mother find it funny. Long story short Mick arrives in Fly Creek and discovers a human skeleton. The sheriff investigates the crime scene only to find no skeleton. His hatred for poor Mick begins. As more bodies are found more worms appear. Can our heroes stop the murderous worms?
If this film sounds silly it is, and that is not a bad thing. This is a so bad it’s good kind of movie. The script isn’t great, most of the characters are passable at best. But there are some things that are genuinely great about Squirm.
The special effects are still impressive today, especially Worm Rodger’s appearance, and deterioration throughout the film. Squirm has a good pace, and is shoot very well.
Cast of characters in Squirm
- Mick (Don Scarino, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone) : Geri’s nerdy, but courageous boyfriend. He is the one sane man in a small town full of fools, and oddballs. Mick is a well rounded character in a world of cardboard cutouts.
- Geri Sanders (Patricia Pearcy, The Goodbye Girl) : A rather simple young lady that the small town of Fly Creek adores for some reason. She is unaware of Roger’s obvious affections. Geri is a pretty static character.
- Alma Sanders (Fran Higgins) : Geri’s younger sister. A smart young lady, that enjoys pranks. She also enjoys teasing Geri for how foolish she can be. Alma is a character that uses logic, and wit to fight the worms.
- Naomi Sanders (Jean Sullivan, Escape in the Desert) : A well meaning woman that loves her daughters. The poor woman is kept out of the loop for the whole film. She is one of the nicest characters in Squirm.
- Roger Grimes (R. A. Dow) : He is a skin crawling individual, who has trouble understanding personal space. After his meeting with the worms he becomes one of the most interesting characters. R. A. Dow brings an odd charm to Roger that keeps your attention.
- Willie Grimes (Carl Dagenhart) : Roger’s irritable father. He fights with his son all the time, mainly about the family’s worm farm.
- Sheriff Jim Reston (Peter Mclean, Days of Our Lives) : The sheriff that automatically hates Mick for no real reason.
Squirm is not a great creature feature, it’s not even a good creature feature. Squirm is a silly, nonsensical movie about killer screaming worms. It’s a shut your brain off, and have laugh kind of film.
I rate it 3/5 stars