Probably one of the last B pictures make-up man Rick Baker (no relation) did prior to the disastrous KING KONG remake was American International's SQUIRM. SQUIRM tells of the aftermath of a powerful storm, which has downed a powerline now releasing high voltage into the wet earth. This has brought forth hordes of flesh-eating worms from deep within the ground. Unfortunately, this is exactly the time that Mick has come from New York to search Fly Creek for antiques -and make time with his new girl Jerrie. When the couple discover a human skeleton, they find themselves caught up in the invasion from underground -and the only ones aware enough to stay ahead of the million-mouthed eating machine. Roger, bumpkin son of the local worm farmer, has claimed Jerrie as his own and tries to make an advance on her while the two are out fishing. When she slaps him away, he falls face-first into a pile of killer worms. In the film's most infamous sequence, the worms burrow their way into Roger's face! SQUIRM is one of those regional horror movies dripping with atmosphere and local color, beautifully shot and overall nicely edited. The cast is good, and the direction is crisp -which is somewhat surprising since they reportedly had a hard time taking this work seriously. The characters even manage to remain interesting despite not being the most likeable bunch ever put on film (our official heroes smoke pot, for example). The movie was a big hit for AIP, and was actually one of the more solid entries in the sometimes iffy "nature strikes back" genre. Flawless? No, but there are worse ways to kill a couple hours. Not for the overly squeamish, though.
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