Mr_Ectoplasma Jeff Lieberman's debut film "Squirm" has a rural Georgia town inundated with flesh- eating worms who have been summoned by electrical currents from fallen power lines in the aftermath of a storm. Down-home Southern girl Geri (Patricia Pearcy) is meanwhile being visited by her New Yorker boyfriend, Mick (Don Scardino), and needless to say, things in Fly Creek run amok.I've read multiple comments about this film essentially being a rendition of Hitchcock's "The Birds," rather with worms, and they couldn't be any more correct— Lieberman takes the template and runs with it by all means, but "Squirm" still retains so much charm and doses of wormy nastiness that I find it impossible not to love it.Admirable special effects on a shoestring budget are one noteworthy aspect of this film (early work by Rick Baker, who has went on to become a majorly successful makeup designer in Hollywood, is on display here), but perhaps its greatest achievement is the sense of unease that pervades even in spite of the inherent silliness of the plot. By some unidentifiable stroke of genius (or perhaps accident), "Squirm" never works its way into any sort of cornball hysteria— despite the fact that the film's antagonists are thousands of worms (and a worm-infested redneck), it still never manages to fall into the "so bad it's good" category that one might expect it to.The innocuous exposition of the film may have a great part in this in that it builds a certain kind of dread, but no matter the cause, the film maintains a healthy level of self- awareness and seriousness that really elevate it from standard low-budget creature fare. Don Scardino (who later appeared in another genre favorite of mine, "He Knows You're Alone") takes on the Tippi Hedren role as the borderline martyr figure— the New York stranger in town— and does it remarkably well. Patricia Pearcy, R.A. Dow, and stage actress Jean Sullivan all amp up their inner Southerner without falling too far into caricature, and each of the characters are memorable. The film's finale has all the worms you could ask for, and the entire event is just plain fun.Despite what preconceptions you may about "Squirm" (I had many), it is definitely a film that is worth the time for anyone who is a fan of '70s horror or creature features in general. The direction is classy and the production is remarkably sophisticated given the minuscule budget, and lends the film a Southern Gothic dread that coexists nicely with our ground-dwelling villains. Is it cheesy? Well, it's a film about flesh-eating worms, so, yes, in content, sure— but it's just got enough elegance to really pull itself off. 8/10.

gavin6942 At the beginning of the film, we learn from one of the characters that earthworms can be called to the surface with electricity, but somehow it turns them into vicious flesh-eaters. Sure enough, a storm that night causes some power lines to break and touch the ground, drawing millions of man-eating worms out of the earth, and into town where they quickly start munching on the locals.Something about the idea of millions of flesh-eating worms taking over a small town just indicates that it must be a fun movie. And in many ways this is a fun movie, with some quirky characters and humorous moments. But it never really gets in high gear. The good parts are surrounded by too much blah and lackluster scenes.The film is fun to ponder "what if", as such stars as Kim Basinger, Martin Sheen and Sylvester Stallone were allegedly all possible contenders for the roles. Somehow rather than three great actors, they ended up getting almost no one of note (Don Scardino has his merits). How did this happen, and would casting changes have made any difference in the overall picture?

Bezenby When Seventies Elton John goes to visit his girl way down somewhere in Virginia, he's all expecting some passionate loving (wait, that doesn't sound like Elton John at all), but instead gets surrounded by pink, wriggling slimy things instead (that sounds more like Elton John).What's happened, right, is that there was some sort of storm and the some electricity hit the ground and then all these worms (who were residing in a worm farm) all went a bit mental and start chowing down on the locals, none of whom in the slightest belief Elton John's theories (or even like him in the least, especially that sheriff with the simply bizarre haircut. You know, it's one of those nature on the loose deals, only this one manages to pick a pretty harmless creature. It's far too slow as well, what with Elton and his girl doing exciting things like checking dental records, going fishing and trying to convince the sheriff that something's wrong over and over and over again.The video cover to this one scared that crap out of me when I was young (when video shops existed), but sadly it didn't live up to it all. The wormface bit was good though, but that's it!

geminiredblue Starting in the late 60s and through the mid-80s, horror directors really came up with some ingenious plots. Case in point: this little killer worm movie filmed in Georgia. Based on the premise that a violent electric storm sent millions of volts into the ground, causing literally thousands of worms to turn into zombie-like killers. To best describe this movie, imagine a Tennessee Williams play gone berserk and you've got an inkling.The story: a red-haired New Yorker named Mick has come down to visit a red-haired southern belle named Geri. However, the creepy country boy next door, named Roger, doesn't like Mick making moves on her. And as if that wasn't bad enough, a pervy borderline vigilante sheriff sets his sights on Mick as a troublemaker. Almost immediately, we get a sense that something's rotten in the state of Georgia. And all the main characters, save Mick, seem to be a little nutty. Oh and did I mention the rampaging worms?! Yes, there's a lot of underlying tension brewing and the movie's plot deftly handles every development. The special effects and make-up is chilling to say the least. My two favorite scenes are when the worms attack Roger and he turns into a loony worm guy, and when we find a man who's been hollowed out by worms. I challenge even a die-hard horror fan not to flinch and feel a tiny wriggle of apprehension! As I said earlier, the 70s was ripe with imaginative horror flicks and this one qualifies as one of the most under-appreciated. So hunt it down and get ready to squirm with thrills and chills!