The movie Squirm came out in 1976, just before I was born. However, I remember watching it on late-night shows as a kid and it scared the bejesus out of me. Having such fond memories of the movie as a child, I decided to rewatch it as a man in his mid-forties, slightly stoned, on a Wednesday night, and with all of the lights out. It was a little over an hour and a half of my life, but was it worth it or do I wish I could have watched something else instead? 
Let’s talk about the plot first. Squirm is a movie about a storm taking place in Fly Creek, Georgia. A power line goes down and electrifies the muddy ground and the worms underneath. The worms go nuts and start biting, and eating, some residents. A New York hunk named Mick fights back.
The film gets started when a worm farmer named Roger Grimes loses a shipment of worms out the back of his truck. This happens because his horny neighbor, a southern belle named Geri, steals it for a while to pickup her boyfriend (Mick) that’s visiting from New York.
There’s a lot to unpack there, but basically Geri needs to pickup her New York booty call and don’t got no truck of her own. The Sheriff becomes suspicious of the Yankee stranger. At some point, Mick apologizes to Roger about losing his worms and offers to take him fishing to make up for it. Surprisingly, Roger likes the idea and goes with Mick and Geri on a fishing trip.
Mick leaves Geri alone with Roger (big mistake) and the creep makes a move. She says no and then worms eat his face and he runs in the woods embarrassed. Geri escapes and Mick becomes the Sherlock Holmes of Fly Creek, Georgia. The film climaxes in Geri’s house with Roger transforming into a pretty decent bad guy.
Roger makes the movie. His worm face is the only thing worth remembering thanks to special effects artist Rick Baker (he did that awesome makeup in An American Werewolf in London so he went on to better gigs). Roger is a walking bundle of rapey energy and was perfect for that role. Good pick Jeff.
You gonna be da’ worm face!
What it a good movie? Not really. It was pretty bad but I am just a little happy that I sat through it. Now I can always have Roger’s worm-eaten face in my brain for when I want to puke.
