THE
WORM EATERS (1977)Director: Herb Robbins
Image Entertainment
THE
WORM EATERS (1977)Ted V. Mikels produced this slimy fiasco which was written and directed by Herb Robins (who also stars). Robins plays the heavy-accented Herman Umgar, an odd club-footed hermit who breeds hordes of worms in an old windmill house on the banks of his dried-up lakeside property. Some bigwigs in the town want to build a condominium development on his land, but old Umgar doesn't want to give in. He gets revenge on the town by sneaking worms into their meals, and some of these hapless victims turn into mutant crawlers themselves (the effect is created by actors wearing what looks like sleeping bags up to their wastes, and writhing about like imbeciles).
The film aims for laughs, advertising itself as a comedy, but it's not very amusing or fun for that matter (for a fun, serious worm flick, watch SQUIRM). You would think this would be a real gross-out, but it's not, and the PG-rated film was obviously intended for a juvenile audience. Close-ups of people eating worms are actually inserts of stand-ins (apparently two different troopers, a girl and a guy--Robins himself perhaps?) who were brave enough to put the slimy critters in their mouths. According to Mikels, no worms were hurt during the shooting, and you can believe it as the worm eating is so stunted, that the actors doing the chomping do so in a prolonged, fabricated manner! Worms mixed with food whirling inside a rotten-toothed orifice is vulgar no matter how you look at it!
The commentary here by Mikels is simply the worst ever. I guess since he didn't direct it, he has even less to say than he did on his other commentaries. He gives no production history of the film or how Robins (a frequent Mikels star who was excellently sleazy as the carnival barker in Tobe Hooper's THE FUNHOUSE) came to helm the project. Mikels even mentions that he recently phoned Robins, but doesn't give any details of the conservation. Hell, you'd think he could've at least prepared himself by reminiscing with Robins ahead of time and asking for some anecdotes--but noooo! Mikels' lecture is so fragmented that at times you forget you're listening to an audio commentary. Seems like he's taking a nap half the time and you will too if you try and endure his sparse remarks.
Image has presented THE WORM EATERS on DVD as part of its "Cult Cinema Collection," a line exclusive to T.V. Mikels titles. It's letterboxed at 1.78:1 with Anamorphic enhancement. The colors are bold, but sometimes fleshtones appear pinkish or faded. The image is sharp, but there is dirt and other markings apparent, especially noticeable at reel changes. The mono sound is fine, especially considering the overall cheapness of the production. The original trailer is also included.
Mikels' productions aren't for everyone's tastes (even in terms of bad film lovers), so if you haven't seen any of his work, you might want to view THE DOLL SQUAD or ASTRO ZOMBIES (both on DVD from Image) before suffering through this turkey. (George R. Reis)