Squirm (1976)

Director:

Jeff Lieberman

Writer:

Jeff Lieberman (writer)

Release Date:

30 July 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

Tagline:

An avalanche of killer worms...writhing across the land in a tidal wave of terror!

Plot:

At the beginning of the film, we learn from one of the characters that earthworms can be called to the surface with electricity...

Plot Keywords:

Worm | Storm | Fishing | Small Town | Animal Attack

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Don Scardino	...	Mick
Patricia Pearcy	...	Geri Sanders
R.A. Dow	...	Roger Grimes
Jean Sullivan	...	Naomi Sanders
Peter MacLean	...	Sheriff Jim Reston (as Peter Mac Lean)
Fran Higgins	...	Alma Sanders
William Newman	...	Quigley
Barbara Quinn	...	The Sheriff's Girl
Carl Dagenhart	...	Willie Grimes
Angel Sande	...	Millie
Carol Jean Owens	...	Lizzie
Kim Iocouvozzi	...	Hank
Walter Dimmick	...	Danny
Leslie Thorsen	...	Bonnie
Julia Klopp	...	Mrs. Klopp

Runtime:

92 min | USA:93 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Italy:VM14 | Australia:M | France:-16 | Norway:16 | UK:18 | USA:PG | USA:R (original rating) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Port Wentworth, Georgia, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Once in the 1980s, WPIX-TV in New York accidentally showed the film in black-and-white. Instead of complaining, Jeff Lieberman called the station and mentioned how much he loved the way the film looked. In fact, Lieberman prefers people to watch the film in black-and-white even though a black-and-white version is not available. Instead, you should turn the color down all the way on your television set.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Roger throws a board at Mick it knocks Mick out and the board is clearly on top of him. When he wakes up, the board is off to his side.

Quotes:

Roger Grimes: You gonna be da' worm face!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Slugs, muerte viscosa (1988)

Nature strikes back in a big way!

The 1970's saw a number of nature-strikes-back horror films, like Frogs (1972), Grizzly (1976), Empire of the Ants (1977), Day of the Animals (1977), and Prophecy (1979), but none that were quite as well-made and effectively frightening as this low-budget horror masterpiece!

Freak storm blows down power lines in a small Georgia town, and the resulting surge of voltage through the soil drives hordes of sand worms into a flesh-eating frenzy!

The debut film of director Jeff Lieberman, who would go on to make other great B thrillers like Blue Sunshine (1977) and Just Before Dawn (1981), Squirm is still one of his best. Lieberman wrote the story, which is clever and suspenseful, as it seems to enjoy its campy elements. The plot builds from a mysterious nature to a dark, claustrophobic climax. There's a number of memorably tense moments, such as the shower sequence and the infamous row boat sequence. Lieberman well uses the backwoods and swamps of coastal Georgia to convey a realistic setting and feverish summer atmosphere. Robert Prince's musical score is excellent, with some truly eerie and haunting themes that are perfect in conjunction with some of the dark sequences. The film also contains some of the early creations of a young Rick Baker, who does some awesome makeup effects that provide for more than one memorably creepy moment.

The cast of unknowns is quite good. Scardino is perfect as the out-of-towner hero who comes to visit his lady friend. Pearcy is attractive and genuine in her role as Scardino's southern girlfriend. R.A. Dow, Jean Sullivian, and Fran Higgins all make for perfect small-town characters.

Squirm is an undervalued film indeed. It's simply an unforgettable skin-crawler that never fails to entertain and thrill. It's above-average on all levels for a B horror film and is truly one of the best low-budget flicks of its time!

**** out of ****