MovieChat Forums > Squirm (1976) Discussion > all dead or what?

all dead or what?

posted 19 years ago by minc-1
3 replies | jump to latest

was it just my imagination or my not-so-good listening-comprehension-abilities
of the english language, or are the townsfolks all dead?
at the end of the movie the electricity clerk says, that although he repaired
the power transmitters damaged in the storm, nobody in town is answering the phone. we only see some people getting into worm-trouble during the attack at night, but that's about it, nothing is mentioned afterwards. so the big bang
at the end is that the whole town has been eaten, but that's only implied?
if that would be so, or one possible interpretation, i would love the movie all the more. i just saw it for the first time some days ago and i thought it
was really great stuff. in my eyes it was not only one more film that
exploited the then-fashionable animal horror thing but also a nice satire on it all the same. it also took up the classic city-country topic and gave it an ironic twist, when mick mocks the sheriff for example. i also loved the music and the sound-effects ,the screaming of the worms, how cool was that, considering that the worms wouldn't make too much noise in the real world, but with these screaming sounds, it was sheer terror!
i'm not sure, whether all these little gems inside the movie were intentionally placed there, but lieberman is said to have a good feeling for
putting layers beneath the surface. wouldn't have expected that in an 70's
animal horror abouts worms gone mad...
but this supposed omission at the end is really the cream on top of it!
anyone agrees?

[–] nsavage3-1 19 years ago

Yes, I think the implication was that everyone in the town had probably been killed by the worms. Maybe a very small handful could have survived, like Mick, Jerri, and Alma did. I thought it was a very appropriate ending. Most of the towns people were not very likable. Lieberman did a good job in making the viewer feel for the surviving cast, so it was a satisfying ending all the way around.

I agree with the fact that this WAS actually a good movie. It has some very good production qualities for it's "kind". It even holds up pretty well to todays sci-fi stuff, although I don't think most of the "jaded" youth of today would be able to sit through the character building stuff (Mick & Jerri trying to solve a murder mystery, etc.) I thought it was a good sub-plot, and helped to build up the story, but today's generation wants everything fast. Too bad for them, they won't be able to appreciate some things.

I love MST3K, but really, I think they "jumped the shark" when the producers decided to add this to thier movies. They saw that there was a movie from the 70's about killer worms and that was it.

[–] minc-1 19 years ago

we do not have MST over here (germany), there was one
stupid try, about a decade or so ago, by a TV comedian called oliver kalkofe,
famous for mocking celebs, he took the concept and did THIS ISLAND EARTH, and it was NOT funny, except for about 3 lines...
well now, do you know where i could get to watch some episodes on the internet as streaming video, because i do not want to order that stuff.
seems to be a thing thing of some wide extent, reading the posts...many people mention that stuff. kalkofes movie is quite famous but most people dislike it,
and those who like it are drunk watching it...but nobody seems to know it
is an american concept taken from a cult status series on tv.
so if you know something or other, and if you like, i would be pleased if you'd
let me know.

[–] Apolyon 19 years ago

Electricity Clerk?