Finally I bought this old flick just to see what it is all about. To be honest, I've seen the trailer and seen how weird some shots were and otherwise how bad it was. Is it a comedy, well, can't really, say that I had a smile on my face. Well, that's maybe not true, I laughed a lot but it was with the bad acting, this is really so awful, when they have to eat something that is infected with the worms you can see them laughing and when they drop unconscious you can see them act badly. Really, this is a turkey and one that I won't recommend to anybody wasn't it for some scene's. The ones were the worms are being eaten is really gruesome. You really see real worms going into mouths. And that's the reason why it has a cult status. To say, comedy, no, or to say horror no but one to see for the, sigh, worms.
Add a Review
-
trashgang16 May 2011
-
Coventry2 September 2007Bad-movie lovers, beware . Your standards will have to be set extremely low in case you want to remotely enjoy Herb Robins' "The Worm Eaters". This movie, produced by one of the über-gurus of crap cinema Ted V. Mikels is BEYOND bad! It has an irredeemably dumb plot, a totally incoherent narrative structure, humorist elements that are horrid and horror elements that are painfully hilarious. It's easily one of the worst movies ever made, and it is truly incomprehensible how the hell it managed to build up a rather solid cult status over the years. Probably this exclusively has to do with the fact that Herb Robins insisted on using real, live worms for the on screen consumption. Much of the footage is just close-ups of people (often with really terrible dental hygiene) slurping down & chewing up worms, and the only goal is to disgust and gross-out the audience. Robins himself stars as the dim-witted hermit Umgar, living in a lakeside shed in a corrupted little town. He collects and breeds worms and then feeds them to his opponents, like the town's council members that want to evict him and reclaim the lake zone. The consumption of the worms somehow transforms people into man-worm hybrids. "The Worm Eaters" introduces a seemingly endless series of demented supportive characters and obviously all the actors and actresses overact incredibly. The make-up effects are pathetic, as the hybrid monsters are simply imbeciles tightly wrapped in filthy brown sleeping bags and desperately trying not to use their feet when they crawl through the mud. But, as wrong as it may sound, the film isn't entirely without merit and there really are a couple of positive elements. Like the goofy but cheerful theme music ("You'll end up eating worms"), the creative animated opening credits and some of the gags that look like Benny Hill sketches. In conclusion, "The Worm Eaters" will undoubtedly one of the most bizarre low-budget, Z-grade schlock productions you'll ever encounter, so be careful who you recommend it to.
-
Serpent-529 March 20001977 comedy (some facts list 1975) has Herb Robins assaulting the town using worms in a way that I really can't tell you for it would be giving away the surprise of the film. There is actual worm eating, and the ending is classic. Even got a chezzy title song. Played at the Seattle Film Festival in the mid-80's, this film got little attention and should be some sort of cult classic. Not recommended to people who don't want to see worm eating.
-
You won't believe this dumb regional concoction, starring, written and directed by former Ray Dennis Steckler movie regular Herb Robins! He plays demented "worm rancher" Herman Umgar, a grimy, gray-haired, club footed (German?) hermit who lives in a shack out near a California lake with his beloved pet worms. Herman sings to the worms, gives them each their own name, builds a worm house and cooks and eats them.
A corrupt mayor and city counsel members try to re-zone the lakeside and cheat Herman out of his land to build a resort, so he uses his slimy friends for revenge. For some reason the worms, when eaten, can turn people into human/worm creatures that look like people crawling around in shaving cream covered sleeping bags. Three worm men with echo voices demand that Herman create mates for them, so he's also forced into feeding (obnoxious) women food laced with worms, then keeping them caged up in his house where they squirm around making high-pitched beeping sounds.
Typical dialogue, in this case spoken by a big-breasted black captive, is "Please! Don't give me any worms! I'll do anything you ask!" Things culminate with the worm men and women living happily ever after and Herman becoming road kill. I'm assuming THE WORM EATERS was meant as a comedy, but has terrible overacting and the intentional humor isn't all that funny. The selling points here are a cameo by producer Ted V. (ASTRO-ZOMBIES, THE CORPSE GRINDERS) Mikels arm wrestling, and loads of disgusting, unfaked close-ups of people chewing on and eating real, live worms. Yeccch! Priceless kazoo-backed theme song ("You'll End Up Eating Worms"), though.
Score: 1 out of 10 -
One of my beloved movie bibles, "The Time Out Film Guide," calls Herb Robins' 1977 gross-out horror comedy "The Worm Eaters" "a truly disgusting film." Reason enuff for any aficionado of bad cinema to rent it out in a flash, right? Unfortunately, this movie is not so much disgusting as it is truly awful, and every element of the cinematic arts--acting, directing, scripting, photography, editing, scoring--is rock-bottom deplorable here. "Director/writer" Robins himself plays Umgar, a clubfooted worm breeder who talks to his little squirmy darlings, calls them by name, and takes decided action when some slimy land developers try to push him off his turf; namely, he puts his pets in the local town's food. Thus, we are treated to various loudmouthed (every character in this flick seems to scream his or her lines obnoxiously), truly ugly personages eating spaghetti & worms, hot dogs & worms, ice cream & worms, cake & worms, and even worms & worms with his/her mouth wide open and in delectable close-up. For some reason never explained, these folks then turn into worm people themselves, and squeak and slither for the rest of the picture, supposedly hilariously. But not a single gag is the slightest bit funny here, many details go unexplained, Umgar's phony German accent is almost incomprehensible, the film's theme song is offensively and annoyingly catchy, and the net result is a film far worse than just about anything in the Ed Wood oeuvre. I've seen a lot grosser films, truth to tell, but none much worse; still, I wouldn't want to watch "The Worm Eaters" while scarfing down a bowl of linguini marinara!
-
This movie, no scratch that, this crap is an exercise in base film making. You actually think this is gonna be a horror, but you'll be wholly sold up the river. No gore here. Is it a comedy? Oh right? No, I'm void on laughs. As an 80's teen, I remember being repulsed, adverse to hiring this film, when looking at the uninviting cover of our ugly old German hermit, Umgar, (Robbins) about to devour worms from a glass jar. This movie, there I go again with that word, I mean crap, wasn't what I expected. I expected it to be a bad movie, but this throws that context all out the window. The catchy song at the start is better than anything that follows. You'll recognize a couple of faces, and wonder what the f..k, they're doing in this? The extreme, purposeful overacting is annoying and ostensibly staged, and people may say, adds to the stupidity and awfulness of the movie, or adds awful style to it. No, it doesn't. It just looks stupid. The plot has Robbins who lives out of town, who been repeatedly evicted by this pushy land developer, (a face you'll recognize) to move to make way for these condos, to be built over this stinking polluting swamp, that fringes Robbins place. He won't budge, and uses his own smarts, to prolong and fight against this rival. Umgar breeds these worms, not your ordinary worms, planting in people's foods. When they devour them, they take over their body and from the head down, they form the same shape and features, smarts on the writers part, unfortunately the director, and lead star of this tripe. You can even see on one on the actors behind, where the latex/worm skin and come apart off the back. This only blends in to the awful style of this tripe. The hated and unpopular Umgar keeps his victims in a floor board stash, beneath his shack. I can't believe this (film) is what is is. There were moments, pauses, where I was in completely stupefaction, jaw slacked by this s..t, eyes rolling, thinking "What the f..k is this? The violence especially that I expected, was like ordering a cheeseburger, and not getting cheese. We have some close ups we could do without, of oblivious worm eating. Near the start, see how the daughter of the mayor, reacts, when finding worms in her cake. Everything about this movie sucks, script, acting, non violence, non laughs. Umgar is interesting though, someone you won't forget, with straggly hair and stinky shirt overalls. The thing you won't forget, is the (film's) best asset, that song that will ring in your head, long after watching this dribble. Oh, did I forget to mention he communicates and talks with his worms too, giving them names. Strictly for the undemanding. Robins made another late 80's films, The Brainsuckers, and looks worse than this. At least he's keeping up the same style of base film making. It is colorful though. An offbeat originality and style in being base.
-
Darkangl10 February 2002I collect movies like this and if done properly this could have actually been a very funny movie. What it turned out to be was a very bland gross-out movie that really has no redeeming comic or interest value whatsoever. There are tons of great comedy horror films out there. I would suggest looking elsewhere if you want some good old fashioned gross-out entertainment, as this movie will leave you wondering why you actually paid good money to buy it. It's a one time watcher at best.
-
cgearheart30 December 2017It's not a gross out movie... It's not a campy horror yarn.... It's tedious, annoying, pointless garbage with scenes that don't even pertain to the movie (KKK members?), horrible loud acting, a grating soundtrack consisting of the same song over and over again, horrible cinematography and visuals (looks very grimy and unappealing), a stupid plot, very seldom "worm eating", and the worst "special" effects ever. Don't come near this movie.. It's a waste of time, money, and your life.
-
HumanoidOfFlesh10 August 2012The mayor and town council in California want to steal dirty hermit Umgar's land.They want to build condos for yuppie tourists.Unfortunately for them Umgar discovers that when a human eats one of his worms they become a giant worm themselves.It's time for worm eating."The Worm Eaters" by Herb Robins is totally bad taste horror comedy in the vein of John Waters works.Ted V.Mikels produced and distributed this piece of utter schlock.The characters are absurd and annoying,the humor is goofy and there are some mildly disgusting close-ups of worm eating.The film is obviously not as extreme as "Cannibal Holocaust" or similar exploitation classics.If you like amateurish Z-grade cinema check this worm out.5 worms out of 10.
-
johnc214114 April 2011The worm eaters is so bad of a movie you will feel like you were robbed out of the hour and 20 minutes watching it.it makes plan 9 from outer space look like citizen Kane,well not really but its really bad and not even in a fun way.bad acting and some really nasty scenes of people eating worms.if you want to see a good worm movie watch squirm which came out the same year,thats a gem compared to this nasty movie.Ted V Mikels has made better movies,like astro zombies.the cast is a bunch of unknowns.it surprises me that this was ignored in the DVD 50 of the worst movies ever made,so was mighty gorga which is sightly better than this one.people eat worms and turn into,well you will get the idea.worm eaters is so awful you will ask yourself why.
-
I think that it's a shame that collectors of movies such as this are steering good folk like you away from "The Worm Eaters." As far as I can tell this is a love it or hate it kind of movie, as is the case with any movie of its ilk. I think that it lacks respect to tell people not to bother with this film. Look, if you are into movies like "Big Meat Eater" or "Cannibal Campout" do yourself a favor and get your hands on "The Worm Eaters." You may not like it, but it may end up becoming one of your favorite movies! You know the deal with films like these. Jeez, "Flesh Eating Mothers" was awful, but I would never tell anyone to avoid it! I think this movie is downright hilarious, and the overacting (which I'm sure is not too unintentional) just makes the camp/slash/fun level sky-rocket.
And to all of those people who thought this comment wasn't useful (though I know you will probably never read this): You can sit and spin! -
Hey_Sweden4 August 2018Writer / director / star Herb Robins (the creepy carny in Tobe Hoopers' "The Funhouse") concocted this inane cult horror-comedy that may well have been inspired by Jeff Lieberman's "Squirm". Robins plays Herman Umgar, a German hermit residing on highly coveted lakeside property which the uber-sleazy local mayor wants to develop. But Herman will get his revenge. It so happens that he can communicate with worms (!), and when he infects the towns' food supply with toxic worms, people end up turning into half-human, half-worm hybrids!
No-budget quirky stuff isn't as much fun as the B movie aficionado might like. It runs an hour and a half, but one can't help but wish that Robins had cut down a lot of the offbeat character detail; it takes this simple flick too long to get going, and the humour pretty much runs its course before long. As a director, Robins seemed to have encouraged his cast to go way over the top, whether or not the scene really calls for it. Still, Robins does know how to push SOME buttons: the most memorable images occur when people are chowing down, and he inserts close-ups of worms in peoples' mouths. Always a good way to gross an audience out. The special effects are hilariously crude.
All in all, there's a certain gleeful childishness about the whole thing, certain to make children and more immature adults giggle. The opening credits are accompanied by one of the most insidiously catchy ditties ("You'll End Up Eating Worms") that one is ever likely to hear. Robins doesn't deliver as good a time as these credits would seem to indicate, but it's hard to completely knock B pictures with these kinds of wacky premises. If you enjoy "Squirm" (whether ironically or not), you may be amused to some degree by this ridiculous nonsense.
Produced, and distributed, by Ted V. Mikels, himself a somewhat big name when it comes to similar entertainment ("Astro-Zombies", need I say more?).
Six out of 10. -
Now bear in mind, I love weird and even boring movies. "Big Meat Eater", "Weekend", and "City of the Living Dead" are all ones I've given ten stars to, but not this. "Videohound's Cult Flicks and Trash Pics" summed this one up pretty well: It starts out looking like a slightly gross kids movie, but quickly devolves into pointless dreck. A crazy old man accidentally raises some worms that become radioactive or cursed (I don't care enough to double check this), and 3 lost fishermen who eat them are transformed into worm men: People in sleeping bags covered with shaving cream. Soon they're putting the creepy crawlers in the town's food to expand worm society, and the whole second half of the movie is just extreme close-ups of hot dogs and scrambled eggs with worms in them being chewed. Eventually the old guy is accidentally wormified and tries to crawl into town to stop the madness, only to get flattened by a semi. Now, after the pain of sitting through the whole movie, this ending is indeed a satisfying crunch, but to quote VideoHound again, it "comes about a half hour too late to save the viewer". I recommend not even wasting a rental on this unless you really need a visual appetite suppressant. There is a scene in the beginning of the old guy playing house with his pet worms that was just cute enough that I almost gave "The Worm Eaters" 2 stars, but if this movie isn't total crap, I'm at a loss as to what is. Give me the puke-eater instead, any day!
-
ethylester16 November 2003Ignore those folks on here that say this movie blows. It is so great! I love every minute of it. What great characters! I am serious, there are some great characters. I love Herb Robins' character, he is so unique and he makes the greatest facial expressions. Great lines of dialogue. The husband of the weird fudgies lady is so funny. Everyone does over-act, but it's in a hilarious way. Kill me for saying this, but it's the kind of over-acting that John Waters is famous for - it's just too much! But in a good way. Yes, there's worm eating, but the story itself and the acting is really great. It doesn't even need the worm eating to be a stellar movie! If you like weird movies, you should see this one. I give it a 9/10!
-
EyeAskance15 March 2004A club-footed fellow named Ungar is displaced from his home, and latterly feeds some people live worms. For some unexplained reason, these people mutate into monsters with the upper body of a human and the lower region of a wriggling earthworm(a really cheaply done effect...it looks like people wearing waist-high feed-bags).
A film which was made solely for the purpose of presenting gross-out scenes involving live worms being slurped-up into people's mouths in almost-pornographic close-up shots. It's allegedly a comedy, although I have doubts that anyone with a cranial capacity above the "Beavis and Butthead" level would ever manage to find a single frame of THE WORM EATERS worth laughing, or even smiling about. This is nothing more than a "Hey, look, everybody...aren't we weird?" piece of poorly concocted idiocy...to be curious about it is understandable, but honestly, chain yourself to a tree or something if necessary.
2.5/10 -
Woodyanders11 July 2014Flaky clubfooted hermit Herman Umgar (beautifully played with exceptional depth and feeling by Herb Robbins, who also wrote the profound script and did the masterful direction) gets revenge on several people who want to take away his land by putting worms in their food. This causes everyone who eats said worms to transform into grotesque humanoid worm beings. The rank amateur community theater level histrionic acting rates as Oscar caliber stuff. The puerile humor and silly slapstick gags possess a wit and sophistication that's nothing short of sublime. The libidinous worm men with their primordial need and desire for female mates really bring on the sexy, with the definite erotic highlight occurring when one worm dude attacks a woman while she's taking a shower. The story about evil and greedy folks who want Herman's land so they can build condominiums provides a provocative and substantial little man versus the system socio-political subtext. The cast display an astonishing sense of commitment that goes above and beyond the call of duty by actually putting gross slimy'n'squishy worms in their mouths. The tragic ending packs a devastating punch. The scrappy cinematography by Willis Hawkins gives this picture a gorgeously grainy look. The bouncy'n'catchy theme song hits the jaunty spot. As the tagline aptly states, it's an immortal film of our time.
-
lor_6 January 2023My review was written in October 1981 after a Midtown Manhattan screening.
Filmed in 1977 but recently picked up for distribution by Joe Gage's New American Films, "The Worm Eaters" is a grotesque horror comedy in the category of "intentionally bad" camp humor. Writer-director-star Herb Robins gives every indication of working in the vein of the late exploitation movie director Edward D. Wood Jr., but his film has enough outrageous laughs and gross-outs to captivate a minor segment of today's younger audience.
Robins portrays Hermann Umgar, a club-footed worm breeder living near Lake Melnick. Just as his dad had been cheated years before, Umgar is target of a real estate scheme whereby his land will be condemned by the city to make way for condominiums.
Though pic has a "serious theme" and much attempted pathos, Robins goes for intentional silliness, playing a poor man's Mel Brooks who sings and talks to his beloved worms (each with a pet name) while cracking Borscht Belt jokes. Supporting cast looks like people randomly recruited off the street, and they are encouraged to shout their inane dialog in an hilarious attempt at "acting".
Key requirement for main roles (including Robins') is a willingness to chomp real worms on camera. Gross closeups of the actors' mouths chewing disgusting food with live worms wriggling out of their choppers will no doubt amaze the younger patrons while striking adults as a new variant of pornography.
Pic gets really wild when Robins introduces a subplot of his worms somehow causing humans to turn into "worm people" (half man/half worm) when ingested. This sci-fi gimmick is hysterically realized, with the cast wriggling along the ground (resembling mermaids, the bottom half is a worm) and secreting shaving cream. Filmmaker's notion of irony has three fishermen turning into worm men and hooking Umgar (sleeping in his bed) to reel him in and demand that he bring them worm women to build a new, better civilization in the lake. A "red algae tide" on the lake's surface is the pic's big special visual effect.
Unlike the spate of comedy spoofs filling the horror market recently, Robins seems to be serious about his weirdness, including strange scenes of him dancing (in slow motion) to a music box with his worm Bertha dancing on his hand and a tasteless finale of himself being run over by a truck.
Technically the film is surprisingly watchable, being lensed in brightly lit 35mm with functionalism stressed rather than atmosphere. Beyond that, it's amateur night. -
Michael_Elliott11 January 2014The Worm Eaters (1977)
* (out of 4)
Ted V. Mikels produced this film that was directed, written and stars Herb Robins. In the film Robins plays a German man who has a special friendship with some worms. He eventually has a breakdown and starts feeding these worms to some of the locals who themselves turn into mutant worm creatures. THE WORM EATERS is an extremely bad movie but if you could come up with a catchy title and get it into the drive-in market then you could have a good hit on your hands and I can imagine a lot of people going to see this movie just on dares. The film runs 90-minutes, which is about thirty-minutes too long because there's really not much going on here. For the first forty-five minutes or so we see Robins talking to himself, talking to worms and just coming across as a complete weirdo. Once people finally start eating the worms these "shock" sequences really aren't all that shocking today considering many mainstream shows (Man vs Wild, Fear Factor) have gotten you used to seeing people eat worms. The scenes here are obviously done by a couple stunt worm eaters because we just see close up shots on their mouths with the worms in them but apparently no worms were injured, which seems true since we never see them bitten into. The mutant worm creatures appear to just be the actors with some sort of sleeping bags around their bottom half with various types of white foam coming out of them. Obviously this film wasn't trying to be the next CITIZEN KANE but it just needed a lot more entertainment in order for it to work. Those curious about the strange title and low-budget nature of the story might be tempted to watch it but there are certainly much better movies out there.