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''Squirm'' is a 1976 American natural
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
written and directed by
Jeff Lieberman Jeff Lieberman (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director and screenwriter, known for his cult film, cult horror film, horror and thriller films ''Squirm'' (1976), ''Blue Sunshine (film), Blue Sunshine'' (1977) and ''Just Before Dawn ...
in his feature-film directing debut, starring
Don Scardino Donald Joseph Scardino (born February 17, 1949) is an American television director, producer, and retired actor. Career Acting Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents, Dorothy Denny Scardino and Charles Scardino. His first ...
,
Patricia Pearcy Patricia Sue Pearcy is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in theatre, appearing on Broadway and in local theatre companies in Connecticut and Kentucky before making her film debut in Monte Hellman's '' Cockfi ...
, R. A. Dow, Jean Sullivan, Peter MacLean, Fran Higgins and William Newman. The film takes place in the fictional town of Fly Creek,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, which becomes infested with
carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
worms after an electrical storm. Lieberman's script is based on a childhood incident in which his brother fed electricity into a patch of earth, causing
earthworms An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial animal, terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (biology), class (or subclass (biology), subclass, depending on ...
to rise to the surface. Most of the financing came from
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
producers Edgar Lansbury and Joseph Beruh. Millions of worms were used over the five-week filming in
Port Wentworth, Georgia Port Wentworth is a city in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. The 2020 population was 10,878, more than double the population of 5,359 at the 2010 census. Port Wentworth is part of the Savannah metropolitan area. History The Georgia Gener ...
; worms were brought in from Maine to augment local supplies. Makeup artist
Rick Baker Richard Alan "Rick" Baker (born December 8, 1950) is a retired American special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times f ...
provided the special effects, using
prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...
s for the first time in his career. After
American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...
picked up ''Squirm'' for distribution, it was edited to remove the most graphic scenes in an unsuccessful attempt to lower its "R"
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
to "PG". The film was a commercial success, but opened to lukewarm reviews. It has since become a critical favorite and a
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
.


Plot

On September 29, 1975, in the rural town of Fly Creek,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, a powerful storm blows down an
overhead power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors (commonly multiples of three) suspended by towers or poles. ...
, leaving the area without electricity. The power line lands in wet mud and electrifies the worms underneath. The next morning, Geri Sanders borrows a truck from her neighbor,
worm farm A vermifilter (also vermi-digester or lumbrifilter) is an aerobic treatment system, consisting of a Bioreactor, biological reactor containing media that filters Organic matter, organic material from wastewater. The media also provides a habitat f ...
er Roger Grimes, to pick up her boyfriend Mick, who is arriving from New York City for a vacation. While Geri and Mick go to town, Roger's shipment of 100,000 bloodworms and sandworms escape from the back of the truck. Mick enters a diner, where a customer says over 300,000
volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
s are being released into the ground from severed power lines. He orders an
egg cream An egg cream is a cold beverage consisting of milk, carbonated water, and flavored syrup (typically chocolate or vanilla), as a substitute for an ice cream float. Ideally, the glass is left with liquid and foamy head. Despite the name, the dr ...
and finds a worm in it, though the owner and Sheriff Jim Reston believe he placed it there himself as a prank. Geri introduces Mick to her mother Naomi and sister Alma, before they both leave to browse at antique dealer Aaron Beardsley's house. Outside, Roger's father Willie finds the shipment of worms is missing. Roger sees Mick with Geri and becomes envious of their relationship. After arriving at Beardsley's house, Geri and Mick cannot find him, but Geri sees a human skeleton outside the property. They bring over Sheriff Reston but the skeleton disappears. Thinking it is another prank, Reston threatens to arrest Mick if he returns to the town. While asking locals about Beardsley's whereabouts, they find out he was last seen before the storm. Mick believes he himself unintentionally released the worms; he apologizes to Roger and invites him to go fishing with him and Geri. They find the skeleton in Roger's truck. While on the boat, Mick is bitten by a worm. Roger shows his bitten-off thumb and tells Mick and Geri that worms attack when electrified. Mick gets off the boat to tend to his wound, leaving Geri with Roger; Mick and Alma take the skeleton's skull to an abandoned dental office, where they compare its teeth with
X-rays An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
and confirm the skeleton is Beardsley's. Roger makes advances towards Geri, but the worms they brought as bait attack him and crawl into his face. He runs off into the woods and Geri tells Mick what happened. Mick and Geri visit the worm farm to find Roger, but Mick finds Willie's body being eaten by worms. They try telling Sheriff Reston, but he ignores them. Mick deduces the worms killed Beardsley but cannot figure out why they attacked him. While Mick and Geri are eating dinner with Naomi and Alma, the worms eat through the roots of a tree, causing it to crash into the house. Mick realizes electricity is still being released from the power lines and that the wet soil is acting as a conductor; he hypothesizes the worms only come out at night. Mick tells Geri to keep everyone inside equipped with candles and leaves to get plywood to board up the house. Roger, whose face has been deformed by worms, attacks Mick and knocks him unconscious. He then enters the house and kidnaps Geri. The worms infest the house and attack other places in town. Sheriff Reston and a woman are eaten alive in a jail cell, and people at a bar are attacked and eaten. Mick regains consciousness and finds Naomi's remains, covered in worms, at the house. When he goes upstairs, Roger attacks and chases him downstairs. Mick pushes Roger into a pile of worms, which engulf him. Mick frees Geri and tells her that Naomi, and presumably Alma, are dead. While they try escaping through a window, Roger crawls out of the pile of worms and bites Mick in the leg. Mick beats Roger to death with a flashlight before climbing onto a tree with Geri, where they stay until morning. Upon waking up, they realize the worms had disappeared and a repairman informs them that the power has been restored. Alma, who survived by hiding in a chest, comes out and looks out the window. Geri and Mick rush into the house to meet her.


Cast

*
Don Scardino Donald Joseph Scardino (born February 17, 1949) is an American television director, producer, and retired actor. Career Acting Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents, Dorothy Denny Scardino and Charles Scardino. His first ...
as Mick *
Patricia Pearcy Patricia Sue Pearcy is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in theatre, appearing on Broadway and in local theatre companies in Connecticut and Kentucky before making her film debut in Monte Hellman's '' Cockfi ...
as Geraldine "Geri" Sanders * R. A. Dow as Roger Grimes * Jean Sullivan as Naomi Sanders * Peter MacLean as Sheriff Jim Reston * Fran Higgins as Alma Sanders * William Newman as Quigley * Barbara Quinn as Sheriff's Girl * Carl Dagenhart as Willie Grimes * Angel Sande as Millie * Carol Jean Owens as Lizzie * Kim Leon Iocovozzi as Hank * Walter Dimmick as Danny * Leslie Thorsen as Bonnie * Julia Klopp as Mrs. Klopp * William A. Lindblad as Power Line Repairman


Production

''Squirm'' was written by
Jeff Lieberman Jeff Lieberman (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director and screenwriter, known for his cult film, cult horror film, horror and thriller films ''Squirm'' (1976), ''Blue Sunshine (film), Blue Sunshine'' (1977) and ''Just Before Dawn ...
, who at the time was working for
Janus Films Janus Films is an American film distribution company. The distributor is credited with introducing numerous films, now considered masterpieces of world cinema, to American audiences, including the films of Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergei Eisenstein ...
on a series called ''The Art of Film''; he developed ''Squirm'' after his work shifts ended to deal with his "frustrations over having to put on a tie". The script was based on a childhood incident in which Lieberman's brother connected a
transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
to the ground to force worms to emerge so he could use them for a fishing trip, which "scared the shit out of" Lieberman. He was also inspired by a news story from
Floyds Knobs, Indiana Floyds Knobs is a small Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Lafayette Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States. Historically a farming community on the outskirts of New Albany, Indiana, New Albany, it has since become a bedroom ...
, about migrating
millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derive ...
s invading homes and by the 1963 film '' The Birds''. Lieberman completed a rough draft in six weeks and gave it to producer George Manasse, who saw potential in it. Manasse showed Lieberman's script to then-independent
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
producers Edgar Lansbury and Joseph Beruh. They read the script during the warm U.S. summer months of 1975, after which the project moved swiftly, with the producers buying ''Squirm'' and investing $470,000 of their own money into the project. ''Squirm'' was the only film produced by The Squirm Company. The original setting and filming location was planned to be
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
but the filming was changed to
Port Wentworth, Georgia Port Wentworth is a city in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. The 2020 population was 10,878, more than double the population of 5,359 at the 2010 census. Port Wentworth is part of the Savannah metropolitan area. History The Georgia Gener ...
, due to unsuitable fall weather conditions in the northeastern U.S. Production began in the warmer climate of Georgia in the late fall of November 1975.
Kim Basinger Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a ...
auditioned for the role of Geri, but Lieberman passed on her, believing that the audience would not believe that she would live in a "hick town". Lieberman later regretted the decision, calling himself an idiot.
Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
was originally cast to play the role of Mick, but was replaced with Don Scardino. Sheen had suggested that Mick should be an actor and had wanted him to recite the
Yorick Yorick is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is the dead court jester whose Human skull, skull is exhumed by the The Gravediggers, First Gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes ...
scene from ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' when he discovers Aaron Beardsley's skull. Jean Sullivan, who played Geri's mother Naomi, based her Southern accent on
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...
. To prepare for his part as Roger, R. A. Dow spent weeks in Port Wentworth to do
method acting Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...
training. Half of the worms used in the film were made of rubber; the others included large sandworms from Maine, refrigerated and transported to Port Wentworth, and an estimated 3 million bloodworms provided by the University of Georgia Oceanographic Institute. To get the worms to move, wires were run under them and electrified. One scene in which a living room is filled with worms was accomplished by building a scaffolding above the ground; a canvas was placed on top and covered with a six-inch layer of thousands of worms. The local
Boy Scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...
troop was hired to move the canvas from below to make the worms undulate; they received merit badges for their work. After production wrapped, newspapers in Maine reported the local fishing industry had been impacted by a shortage of worms caused by the film production. Brian Smedley-Aston edited ''Squirm''. Robert Prince composed the score and also conducted a full orchestra in England for the film.
Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...
, composer for ''
The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'' (1951) and '' Psycho'' (1960), was originally slated to write the score but died before beginning work. Joe Mangine was the
director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
and Henry Shrady was the
art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
. Special make-up effects artist
Rick Baker Richard Alan "Rick" Baker (born December 8, 1950) is a retired American special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times f ...
created the make-up in New York for R. A. Dow's character Roger, who turns into "Wormface". He made a facial mold using
prosthetics In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...
, which he had never worked with before. The fake worms were drawn through Dow's skin using
monofilament fishing line Monofilament fishing line (shortened to just mono) is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic material, as opposed to multifilament or braided fishing lines constructed from multiple strands of fibers. Most fishing lines are now nylon ...
covered in lubricant, pulled from just out of shot.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
wrapped after five weeks, one of which was dedicated to working with the worms. Lieberman was heavily involved with the
post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...
work, which included making the sound effects for the worms using balloons and shears and looping the two sounds using
multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...
. The shears snapping open and closed were used to make the sound of their teeth. The worms' screams were taken from a scene in which pigs are slaughtered in
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...
's 1976 film '' Carrie''.


Release

''Squirm'' was shown during the May 1976
Cannes Film Market Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The city is ...
. It was acquired by
American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...
(AIP), who released it theatrically in the United States on July 14, 1976, and worldwide on August 9 that same year. AIP had given a $250,000 advance to the film's producers for domestic distribution and $500,000 in guarantees from sixteen territories. AIP hoped for a "PG"
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
from the
Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...
(MPAA), but the MPAA objected to nearly all the horror scenes as "objectionable to PG-rated sensibilities". The film was edited to remove most of the scariest material and a shower scene with Patricia Pearcy. This cut the running time by 1 minute. The now 92-minute film, however, still received an "R" rating. In 1977, the MPAA re-rated the film with a "PG" rating. The TV film was even more extensively cut: Lieberman commented that "In the theatrical version there was just enough of the worm attacks left for them to work; on TV, the cuts are ridiculous!" The film was financially successful; Lansbury and Beruh made their investment back from the foreign theatrical market. The film was released on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
by
Vestron Video Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market. The name is now used for a collecto ...
in 1983 and on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
by
MGM Home Entertainment MGM Home Entertainment LLC (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of the American med ...
in 2003. The DVD version, with a 93-minute run time, restored the shower scene and included an
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
with Lieberman as part of the special features. MGM released it as part of a set with ''
Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...
'' (1982) and ''
The Return of the Living Dead ''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon (in his directorial debut) from a story by Rudy Ricci, John Russo, and Russell Streiner, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, ...
'' (1985) in 2011. The unedited R-rated version was released in the United Kingdom on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and DVD by
Arrow Video An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a Bow and arrow, bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like St ...
on September 23, 2013. This version was released in the United States on Blu-ray by
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
under its label Scream Factory on October 28, 2014. ''Squirm'' was also released on
streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
services
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
,
Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
, and Shudder.


Reception

Opinions on the film's horror elements and special effects were mostly positive, with several reviewers crediting the special effects for conveying a sense of gruesome creepiness. A ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' contributor described the worm scenes as "genuinely terrifying", and ''
Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/ ed ...
'' contributor Kyle B. Counts found a shot of the worms burrowing into Roger's face "expertly gruesome".
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
, writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', felt the worm scenes were "effectively revolting", though he disliked the shot of Roger sinking into a pile of worms, comparing it to spaghetti with meat sauce. In his 2019 book ''American International Pictures'', Rob Craig agreed that the movie's horror was made effective by Baker's gory make-up. Craig was also impressed that the film managed to convey a "sense of dread" with the use of a traditionally non-threatening creature like the earthworm, by "amassing
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
into a gigantic horde which becomes a mass-minded killing force". Another retrospective reviewer, in the 2013 edition of ''
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'' was a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally calle ...
'', assessed the film as an "above-average horror outing
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
builds to good shock sequences". Robert Prince's use of
synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
in the music score produced an "unnerving effect" according to Donald Guarisco of
AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...
. Critics were less impressed with the film's production and performances and were divided on Lieberman's direction. Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' argued that Lieberman showed "plenty of panache ..deftly playing a disarming folksy atmosphere against rapidly escalating peril", and ''TV Guide'' thought it was underrated, "as with most of Lieberman's work". Counts criticized the director's handling of the creepy moments in the film as "oppressively clumsy", and ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine also found the creepy special effects were offset by "clumsy and amateurish" production. The cinematography was praised by critics;
John Kenneth Muir John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres. Biography Bor ...
commended the filmmaking along with the film's imagery, though he found the inconsistent tone and lack of believable characters "a letdown". In Canby's opinion, Scardino and Pearcy gave decent performances. ''Squirm'' received lukewarm reviews upon its release from ''Variety'' and ''The New York Times'', but impressions changed over time. Counts, an early reviewer, criticized the way the film cut away from violent moments to scenes of
comic relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
, saying that it undermined the film's "threadbare" tension, but Thomas thought the film had a good balance between humor and terror. John Pym of ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' thought the film's use of humor and narrative rendered ''Squirm'' a commendable and scary addition to the genre. Guarisco described ''Squirm'' as an "excellent example of the 'revenge of nature' horror" genre, and praised its third act for getting viewers invested in the fate of the characters. The film received generally positive retrospective evaluations, earning it
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
status and recognition for its humor and themes; ''Time'' listed ''Squirm'' as one of the best "Killer-Animal Movies" in 2010, noting its "sick twist" on the shower scene in ''Psycho''. A ''TV Guide'' contributor gave positive marks to its handling of the
tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...
humor and scares, including the tribute to ''Psycho''. Craig considered it to be "an entertaining – and fairly insightful − film which is certainly not uncritical to its main characters and their community". Jim Craddock, author of ''VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever'', gave a less than positive review and summarized it as an "okay" giant worm movie.


Analysis

''Squirm'' can be seen as a "revenge of nature" film, a genre which began in the early 1970s with films like ''
Frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...
'' and ''
Night of the Lepus ''Night of the Lepus'' (also known as ''Rabbits'') is a 1972 American science fiction film, science fiction horror film directed by William F. Claxton and produced by A. C. Lyles, A.C. Lyles. Based upon Russell Braddon's 1964 science fiction nove ...
''. '' Jaws'', the most important film in the genre, spawned "Jawsploitation" films which attempted to take advantage of its success, but
film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...
scholar I. Q. Hunter argues that ''Jaws'' "merely served to perpetuate the early-1970s genre
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
called the 'Mother Nature goes ape-shit kind of movie'". Muir describes the genre as "eco-horror", commenting that "these films reflected genuine audience trepidation that Mother Nature would not stand for Man's continued pillaging and pollution of the Earth". The film critic Robin Wood, in a discussion of horror films showing the re-emergence of repressed sexual and familial tensions, included ''Squirm'' as an example of the "revenge of nature" motif and argued that the survival of three of the main characters runs "counter to the film's logic" of the unstoppable natural forces that the worms represent. Rob Craig also commented on the sexual undercurrents in the film, arguing that in the context of the film's treatment of rural folk as "ignorant, divisive, reactionary, corrupt, and quite possibly lunatic", the worms can be seen as a metaphor for "a country bumpkin's slimy, limp penis: a laughably vulnerable object by itself, but fearsomely dangerous in aggregate", which in turn implies the rural men are "a gaggle of 'limp noodles' which are nonetheless dangerous as a societal force". Kyle B. Counts notes similarities between the themes of "masculine ideals" in ''Squirm'' and ''Straw Dogs'', in which the male leads are heroes, and also said the film does not give the impression Don Scardino's character grew into a "man" after his experience. Lieberman wrote the foreword for Jon Towlson's 2014 book ''Subversive Horror Cinema: Countercultural Messages of Films from ''Frankenstein'' to the Present''. In this, he addressed the critical and scholarly analysis of ''Squirm'':


Legacy

Director Brian De Palma included a poster of ''Squirm'' in several scenes of his 1981 film ''
Blow Out ''Blow Out'' is a 1981 American independent mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-bud ...
''. A fan of De Palma, Lieberman told ''
Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...
'' that he asked him about the poster years later. De Palma reportedly answered "Only use the best!" Musician "Weird Paul" Petroskey created an album titled ''Worm in My Egg Cream'' that was dedicated to the scene where Mick orders an egg cream and finds a worm in it. Released on his label Rocks & Rolling Records, all 16 tracks on the album are titled the same as the album. ''Squirm'' was featured on a 10th-season episode of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...
'' (''MST3K''), a comedy television series in which the character Mike Nelson and his two robot friends Crow T. Robot and
Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a c ...
are forced to watch bad films as part of an ongoing scientific experiment. The episode was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel on August 1, 1999, and was the penultimate episode of the season and of the Sci-Fi Channel era of the show. It was shown along with the short film '' A Case of Spring Fever''. In 2014, Shout! Factory released the ''MST3K'' episode as part of the "Turkey Day Collection", along with episodes focused on '' Jungle Goddess'', ''
The Painted Hills ''The Painted Hills'', also known as ''Lassie's Adventures in the Goldrush'', is a 1951 drama (film and television), drama Western (genre), western film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and directed by Harold F. Kress. Adapted by True Boa ...
'', and ''
The Screaming Skull ''The Screaming Skull'' is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white horror film, produced by John Kneubuhl and directed by Alex Nicol, starring John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, Tony Johnson, and Nicol. ''The Screaming Skull'' m ...
''.


References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links

* * * {{Jeff Lieberman 1976 films 1976 directorial debut films 1976 horror films American International Pictures films American natural horror films Films directed by Jeff Lieberman Films scored by Robert Prince (composer) Films set in 1975 Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) 1970s English-language films 1970s American films Films about worms English-language horror films Mystery Science Theater 3000