Book Review: Squirm

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Book Review: 'Squirm' by Richard Curtis

2 / 5 Stars

Squirm was a low-budget, drive-in horror movie from American International Pictures released in the U.S. in 1976. It revolved around a rather contrived sort of ‘monster’, namely, the humble marine worms that live in the sand and sediments of the seashore. These so-called ‘clam worms’ or ‘bloodworms’ are relatives of earthworms, and are (unlike earthworms) carnivorous. They are harvested in great numbers and used as bait for saltwater fishing; you can buy them live and store them in your refrigerator until you go fishing.

This tie-in paperback was published by Sphere books in the U.K. in 1976. At 157 pages, it’s a quick read. I can’t tell if ‘Richard Curtis’ was a pseudonym or not, but the novel is based on the screenplay by Jeff Lieberman.

‘Squirm’ is set in Fly Creek, a coastal Georgia town. As the novel opens, in 1960, we are introduced to an eccentric named Willie Grimes, who earns a living from harvesting clam worms for use as bait. Willie discovers that applying electricity to the soil harboring the worms drives them into a biting, ravenous frenzy. But this can have consequences, as Willie and his son Roger soon find out..........

Fast-forward to the present day (i.e., 1976). Lead character Mick Gordon is on his way to Fly Creek to visit his girlfriend, Geri Sanders. A severe storm has left the highway blocked by debris so Mick has to hoof it into town, where he discovers the electricity is out and the villagers coping through patronage of the local watering hole. Meeting up with Geri and her family, Mick learns that some of the neighbors are missing, including Willie Grimes, who lives next door to the Sanders.

What Mick and Geri don’t know is that the storm knocked down power lines, and those lines are pumping voltage into the ground. Come nightfall, the earth will seethe with thousands of clam worms, intent on finding, and devouring, any human flesh within reach…………. 

‘Squirm’ is a competent enough tie-in novel. The fact that it’s based on a low-budget movie necessarily handicaps what the author can do, plot wise. So, for much of the narrative the worms necessarily remain off-screen, requiring considerable padding to the plot, and thus we get many scenes of people conversing, the odd popup appearance of a clam worm every now and then, and some manufactured domestic drama.

It’s only in the last few chapters that the action ramps up and the worms take center stage. In the film, these sequences happen at night (the better to conceal the contrived special effects), and there is a lot of jump-cutting from close-ups of actual, writhing clam worms, to ranged shots featuring mass quantities of what obviously are rubber worms. I won't disclose any spoilers, save to say that not all of the residents of Fly Creek are going to survive their 'wormy' ordeal come the morning light. 

The verdict ? Only those who are diehard fans of low budget films and the film Squirm are really going to want to seek out this novelization.