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 October 7, 2013

Jeff Lieberman's directorial debut "Squirm" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; Q&A session with Jeff Lieberman and actor Don Scardino; new video interview with horror aficionado Kim Newman; and audio commentary by Jeff Lieberman. The release also arrives with a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Lee Gambin, author of Massacred by Mother Nature and an interview with Jeff Lieberman by Calum Waddell, illustrated with original archive stills and posters, as well as a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"They came from everywhere..."

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, Jeff Lieberman's Squirm arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Squirm was transferred from a 35mm interpositive. The film was transferred in High Definition at Modern Videofilm in Glendale, California. Digital restoration was carried out using the DRS system and was approved by director Jeff Lieberman. Audio was transferred from a restored 35mm mono mag. The colorist was Kevin Shaw, and the entire project was managed by James Owsley of MGM.

Technical consultant: James White.
Production assistant: Louise Buckler."

There are select areas of the film where extremely light noise is visible, but clarity and image depth are good. Contrast levels also remain stable throughout the entire film. Generally speaking, there is also a good range of healthy colors, though occasionally the reds and browns appear slightly pushed up. Perhaps the best news, however, is that there are no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening corrections. Indeed, grain is carefully managed and as a result the film has a stable organic look. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues. Also, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B 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 LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Dynamic intensity is limited, but this should not be surprising considering how and with what resources the film was shot. Occasionally depth also fluctuates a bit, mostly during sequences where Robert Prince's music is used to further enhance the spooky atmosphere, but clarity is very pleasing. The dialog is stable and easy to follow. Also, there is no problematic background hiss, pops, crackle, or distortions to report in this review.

Squirm Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Squirm. (2 min).

• Q&A with Jeff Lieberman and Don Scardino - the majority of the comments in this Q&A session are from director Jeff Liebermann, who recalls how Squirm came to exist (Mr. Lieberman was apparently inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds) and discusses some of the technical issues his team faced during the shooting of the film. The session was filmed after a 35mm screening of Squirm at New York's Anthology Film Archive on August 17, 2012. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• The Esoteric Auteur: Kim Newman on Squirm - in this video interview, Kim Newman journalist and film critic Kim Newman discusses the work of director Jeff Lieberman and the unique qualities of Squirm. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

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

• Booklet - collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Lee Gambin, author of Massacred by Mother Nature and an interview with Jeff Lieberman by Calum Waddell, illustrated with original archive stills and posters.

• Cover art - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin.

Squirm Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeff Lieberman's Squirm should appeal strictly to fans of low-budget horror films. Arrow Video's technical presentation of the film is up to the high standards set by the company this year, so if you happen to be one of those fans, you should not miss it.