Squirm (1976)
Written and Directed by Jeff Lieberman
Starring Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy and R.A. Dow
Runtime 1 hour and 32 minutes
Available from Kino Lorber on Special Edition Blu-ray here

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport and Editor in Chief

Back of the box synopsis:
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out…and to their ravenous intent, they leave no doubt! A truly frightening account of an infestation of biting worms, Squirm is guaranteed to make you do just that! When a powerful storm knocks Fly Creek, Georgia’s power lines down onto wet soil, the resulting surge of electricity drives large, bloodthirsty worms to the surface—and then out of their soil-tilling minds! Soon, the townspeople discover that their sleepy fishing village is overrun with worms that burrow right into their skin! Inundated by hundreds of thousands of carnivorous creatures, the terrorized locals race to find the cause of the rampage—before becoming tilled under themselves! Try to sit still for Squirm, the cult eco-horror classic from director Jeff Lieberman (Blue Sunshine, Just Before Dawn) and makeup F/X legend Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London)!

Features that make it special…

• Audio Commentary by film critics/authors Lee Gambin and John Harrison

• Audio Commentary by Writer and Director Jeff Lieberman

• Digging In: The Making of Squirm

• Eureka!: A tour of locations with Jeff Lieberman

• Theatrical trailer

• TV and Radio spots

• A full color glorious slip cover

• Reversible cover insert

Why you need to add it to your video library…

“Where did you get that shirt… out robbing corpses again?”

You know things are going to go south when someone finds a worm in their egg cream. This event occurs within the first moments of Jeff Lieberman’s cult horror, Squirm. From there, as the back of the box warns: worms crawl in, worms crawl out.

When a thunderstorm causes power lines to break, they electrify the ground and cause tons of man-eating worms to erupt from the depths of the soil. They soon crawl into town and start munching on the community. For, where the story lacks, one will surely find they got their money’s worth due to some zany scenes, excellent special features, and thoughtful film transfer. One of the benefits of owning a release such as this is the astounding sound quality. The Blu-ray release truly makes the worms shine! Part of me was equally grossed out and fascinated with being able to hear every worm squiggling and wiggling on screen. I hated but also loved when they were pouring out of the shower head onto their unsuspecting victim. This was actual nightmare fuel to me. In conducting a bit of research, I found that the number of worms used in the production was countless. The crew utilized such a vast amount of the creepy crawlers that they ended up wiping out the New England fishing industry’s supply of Glycera worms the year the movie was made.

Within the extra Digging In, Lieberman discusses the inspiration for the film deriving from a childhood experiment he and his brother were conducting. By using the electricity from a miniature train transformer they drove out the worms from the soil. Together they learned that the worms were sensitive to light and the story grew from here, which would inevitably be the basis for the script. Within the film itself, one of the characters, Roger Grimes (The actor R.A. Dow only has one screen credit. His profile image on IMDB is breathtaking.) details this as part of his scientific theory of why he believes they are experiencing this catastrophic wormy event.

In speaking about Roger, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the exquisite special make-up effects compliments of Rick Baker. Baker would go on to work on films such as Videodrome, Ed Wood, Escape from L.A., and Men in Black. His talents are surely on display in Squirm, and it really is no surprise where his abilities would take him. Overall, I believe this release is worth adding to your library simply for the preservation purposes. It is chock full of great supplements that provide insight into how the film was made. There truly is something special about films made prior to computer generated imagery. If Squirm were made today, I am doubtful it would rise to its predecessor.

If I have not convinced you to check it out, just know you’ll be missing out on a scene in which people are discussing the “worm problem” while eating a heaping plate of spaghetti and well, if that ain’t movie magic, I don’t know what is.

Check back next week for a new installment of Kino Lorber creature features! During the month of October Rosalie Kicks will share some of the spooky critter offerings presently available from Kino Lorber.