The Worm Eaters (1977)

Herman Umgar, a German hermit, has an ability to communicate with worms. One day the mayor of the town runs him off his property, so in revenge he plants worms in everybody's food. However,... See full summary »

Director:

Herb Robins

Writers:

Herb Robins, Nancy Kapner (original story)

Stars:

Herb Robins, Lindsay Armstrong Black, Joseph Sacket

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Herb Robins	...	Herman Umgar
Lindsay Armstrong Black
Joseph Sacket
Robert Garrison
Muriel Cooper
Mike Garrison	...	Arnold Manhoef
Carla Ziegfeld
Barry Hostetler	...	Max
David McGrath
Claudette Wells
Cynthia Negri
Terry Smulen
Fred C. Dobbs
Shelley Golden
Emmett McGuire

Storyline

Herman Umgar, a German hermit, has an ability to communicate with worms. One day the mayor of the town runs him off his property, so in revenge he plants worms in everybody's food. However, these worms are a special breed of mutant worms from the Red Tide, and when the people eat them they are transformed into giant worms themselves. These worm-people also become Herman's slaves. What will the remaining do?

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Plot Keywords:

worm | revenge | hermit | mutant | actual animal killed | 

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Taglines:

An inmortal film of our time...

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Die Wurmfresser

Filming Locations:

Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The white foamy substance used in the worm transformation scenes and towards the end where Herman Umgar himself becomes a worm is standard Barbasol® brand shaving cream.

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Goofs

When Arnold runs behind some bushes and the toilet explodes, crew members can be seen throwing rolls of toilet paper in the air.

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Quotes

Herman Umgar: I'll rip your tongue off and slap ya silly with it!

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Connections

Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Happy Birthday"
(uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill
Performed by the cast

User Reviews

Uniquely awful horror/comedy with a slight cult reputation.

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