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Squirm
Bloodthirsty worms of the Deep South
1976
Director: Jeff Lieberman
Starring: Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy
Virtually required.
THE SETUP:
An electrical storm turns normal earthworms into bloodthirsty super-worms who are out to eat you, unless they choose to control your mind instead.
DISCUSSION:
I recall seeing the paperback “adaptation” of this movie way back in 1977, when I still lived in Detroit, sitting around in the school library, and of course the image of a guy neck-deep in worms stayed seared in my memory to this day. So when I saw this movie available for $2, of course I had to see what it was all about. It didn’t let me down.
This movie contains such a potent mix of ridiculous general storyline, hideous acting [and regional dialects], and super over-the-top everything that it instantly won me over. You’ll like it. If it’s good enough for MST3K, it’s good enough for you.
Mick the skinny loser redhead from New York goes down to Georgia for a little “antiquing” [is THAT what they’re calling it these days?] and plans to meet this hick redneck chick and her full-on redneck family [the horrifying accents mixed with the hideous dialogue provide a whole unique layer of entertainment to this pic]. Unfortunately a recent electric storm has turned all the worms in town into vicious man-hungry beasts, and they start a very slow-building rampage.
Be on the lookout for the main woman’s kid sister, who is a HOOT with her horrible accent, tube tops, and Dr. Scholls. Then there’s also the character of Roger, a simpleminded hunky backwoods man-child who pines for Geri [the main chick], but is sadly transformed into the worm man. You see, the worms basically just want to eat, except in the rare case that they want to burrow into your skull and control your mind. Poor Roger falls victim to this malady, mainly because the producers seemed to feel that it just wouldn’t be scary enough with only worms menacing people. So this inevitably sets up a dynamic between two rivals for Geri’s love, the wimpy, wussy, know-it-all redhead with the skinny and repulsive body who is supposed to be some moron’s idea of a sophisticated New Yorker, and Roger, the aforementioned hunky idiot man-child who is now controlled by worms. I personally see nothing wrong with idiot man-children, though Roger’s skin tone does suffer a bit from his encounter with the worms. PLEASE note that the version you see on MST3K has been stripped of the startling shot of the worms actually burrowing INTO Roger’s face… ruining all his hopes of romance in the process. Drat you, electrified worms!
Toward the end the worms reach ridiculous mass, for example filling an entire second-floor room. Now, HOW and WHY would earthworms make their way to a second-floor room, without coming through the main floor below? Why go there at all? That’s one we’ll have to leave to the nefarious mastermind of the worm supercolony.
Anyway, a total hoot from start to finish.
SHOULD YOU WATCH IT?
Yes, it will put a smile on your face and a song in your heart.
