Squirm Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Squirm Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 30, 2024

Jeff Lieberman's directorial debut "Squirm" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Lee Gambin and John Harrison; archival audio commentary by Jeff Lieberman; archival making of program; vintage publicity materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A pylon collapses during a heavy storm nearby Fly Creek, Georgia, and sends millions of volts into the ground. Soon after, giant worms begin attacking the clueless residents of the sleepy town.

Around the same time, New York City geek Mick (Don Scardino, Cruising, He Knows You're Alone) arrives in town to visit good friend Geri (Patricia Pearcy, The House Where Death Lives), who lives with her widowed mother Naomi (Jean Sullivan) and younger sister Alma (Fran Higgins) in a large house in the nearby forest. Mick’s arrival immediately upsets Geri’s retarded neighbor and admirer Roger (R.A. Dow), who thinks that the city boy has come to steal his girl. At the town’s popular cafe, Mick also manages to upset everyone’s favorite sheriff (Peter MacLean, The Friends of Eddie Coyle), who does not like folks who know how to use their heads.

In the days after the storm, the worms quietly enter the town. Mick and Geri are the first to figure out what is happening and try to warn the sheriff while he is on a date with his mistress, but he immediately makes it clear that he does not need anyone telling him how to take care of his town. Meanwhile, Roger has a surprising encounter with a few of the tiny visitors, and they make sure that no human being will ever fall in love with him. (The encounter is one of the nastiest sequences in the entire film).

Jeff Lieberman’s directorial debut, Squirm, should appeal only to viewers who enjoy low-budget horror films with a lot of bad acting and a lot of very poor special effects. If the mix is right, occasionally these type of films could be entertaining, but in Squirm the formula is just plain wrong.

Rather predictably, the best parts of the film are the ones where the viewer actually sees the large worms emerging from the ground and then causing some damage. But excluding the graphic sequence where Roger’s face is disfigured, the rest of the footage with the worms really is quite average. The finale also unites the key characters in the most predictable of ways.

What happens during the day, which is when the worms are stuck in the ground, is immediately forgettable. Mick and Geri discover the obvious after a series of encounters and conversations that do little, if anything at all, to enhance the film’s atmosphere. There are also a couple of sequences involving the sheriff that could have been funny, but instead look just awkward.

The acting ranges from decent to poor. Scardino’s intensity is often believable, but there are sequences where it feels like he does things simply because he is well aware of the fact that the camera is observing him. Pearcy frequently utters lines that have clearly been memorized. MacLean also looks and sounds mean because he has to be. Dow is the only actor who looks convincing after the worms emerge from the ground.

Squirm was lensed by cinematographer Joseph Mangine (Lewis Teague’s Alligator, Charlie Kaufman’s Mother's Day, Ian Merrick’s The Black Panther), who is probably better known for his contributions to a number of classic adult films.

Squirm Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Squirm arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

A little over a decade ago, we reviewed this Region-B release of Squirm from Arrow Video. It appears that Kino Lorber's release is sourced from the same master, which was reportedly struck from a 35mm interpositive.

I revisited Squirm last night and think that it still looks quite nice on Blu-ray. Excluding a few outdoor panoramic shots where delineation and depth can be a little bit better, I would say that the overall quality of the visuals ranges from good to very good. A new 4K master will undoubtedly improve grain exposure, but the current master is free of digital corrections and grain exposure remains satisfying. What about color reproduction? It is good. A few primaries, like blue, brown, and green, can be better saturated, but color balance is convincing. Also, there are no anomalies to report. Image stability is good. I noticed a few white specks, but there are no distracting large cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. So, Squirm has a fine and attractive organic appearance on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Squirm Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

When the current master was prepared, the audio was restored. I think that it is quite easy to tell because it is very healthy. However, Squirm was shot with a modest budget, and its original Mono track reveals plenty of limitations. For example, last night I had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit and quite often I felt that the Mono track was pretty thin. Perhaps modern remixing technology can introduce some meaningful improvements, but you should not expect to hear great dynamic contrasts, even in areas where the music works hard to accomplish precisely that.

Squirm Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Lee Gambin and John Harrison.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary with director Jeff Lieberman initially appeared on MGM's R1 DVD release of Squirm.

• Digging In: The Making of Squirm - in this archival program, Jeff Lieberman and actor Don Scardino discuss the conception and production of Squirm and some of the unique locations and characters that were used in it, the film's genre identity, marketing and lasting appeal, including in different territories around the world. The program was produced by Shout Factory. In English, not subtitled. (34 min).

• Eureka!: A Tour of Locations with Jeff Lieberman - in this archival program, Jeff Lieberman visits some of the original locations where Squirm was "hatched". The program was produced by Shout Factory. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Publicity Materials - presented here are vintage publicity materials for Squirm.
  
  1. Original U.S. trailer. (2 min).
  2. Original U.S. TV spot. (1 min).
  3. Original U.S. Radio spot. (1 min).

• Cover - a reversible cover with vintage poster art for Squirm.

Squirm Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After revisiting Squirm for the first time in more than a decade, I cannot write that I have a newfound appreciation for its low-budget thrills. It lacks the type of atmosphere I like to discover in these genre films, so I do not find it intriguing. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from the same old but strong organic master that other labels have worked with and has a nice selection of new and archival bonus features. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.