MovieChat Forums > Squirm (1976) Discussion > did the mother enjoy being attacked by t...

did the mother enjoy being attacked by the worms?

posted 17 years ago by sharkattack1978
27 replies | jump to latest

Towards the end of the movie when the worms first invade the house, didn't you find it a bit strange that Mrs Sanders did not scream when she was attacked by the worms that were raining down on her?
Ok we never saw it happen but why didn't we hear it happen? I mean she wouldn't just sit there and not scream when she felt the horrifying pain and the sight of the worms burrowing into her flesh now would she? Plus Geri and Roger were in the house, didn't they hear anything?

I think the worms bit holes in the script. Hearing a blood curdling scream is enough to freak anyone out. Why didn't they do it in the movie?

SharkattackUK

[–] nsavage3-1 16 years ago

Having seen this on the big screen in a movie theater, my friends and I always debated this one particular scene-

When Mick returns to the house at night and finds the mother all covered in worms, if you look closely, I'm almost certain that she is still knitting! You can see what looks like her hand in motion, moving up and down, under all the worms. It looks like the effect was done with double, or overlap exposures, but I'm almost sure its there. If you have the recent DVD, watch this scene very closely.

After all, it seemed that Ms. Sanders was becoming increasingly more mentally unstable, especially in the second half of the movie. She wouldn't even stop knitting, in spite of what was going on around her.

[–] pkstr11 16 years ago

How was she losing her mind!? Why was she losing her mind!? Was she supposed to lose her mind!? She lost her mind!?

No. She did not lose her mind. Its a bad movie. Makes no sense. Enjoy.

[–] nsavage3-1 16 years ago

Even at the beginning of the movie, she (the mother) is showing signs of instability. Occasionally, she makes reference to "not having a man around the house", so maybe she had just recently lost her husband. Then, with the storm, then the power outage, topped by the tree crashing onto the house, I guess it sent her over the edge.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rjd279 16 years ago

The worm made Momma all loamy.

[–] Wuchak (8161) 5 years ago

Also, Mick said before she died that he thought she was on the verge of cracking.

[–] Incredible_Brightness 16 years ago

Well, PenguinPower9 - most people don't know what makes people lose their mind. Nor does it matter. This is a horror movie. Is there any explanation for why Regan was possessed by the devil/a demon in The Exorcist? No. Is there any explanation for where the creatures/monsters came from in The Howling? Is there any explanation for what drove Michael Myers insane in Halloween and made him kill? Why would a group of anyone drive up to a cold, ugly shack in the mountains in The Evil Dead? Why did going to camp make the Friday the 13th teens so horny? Why did Rosemary have an evil Baby? Where did the Dawn of the Dead zombies come from?

This is the horror genre. GET USED to things not being explained, birdbrain!

"Carol, one word of advice: send Cindy to a special school"

[–] pkstr11 15 years ago

Unless you're arguing that the mom is the source of the worm attacks, your logic here is a bit lacking. The mom is not the villain, she is a standard character. If she was supposed to be driven insane, they did a piss-poor job of showing it. If she's insane to begin with, they never firmly establish it.

[–] nsavage3-1 15 years ago

I wouldn't say she had completely gone insane, but, it seemed like she had been going down-hill for some time. And then, in the aftermath of the storm, she was getting worse.

Its like she was losing touch with reality. Thats why she keeps rambling on towards the end, oblivious to the fact that everyone else was gone and worms were all over the place!

[–] Nightman85 15 years ago

Actually there's plenty to imply that Mrs. Sanders is coming unhinged. There's the worry over Mick coming to visit Geri (she fears losing Geri) and then her dropping the plate in the kitchen. She was freaked out by the storm, the flooding, and the fact that the sink isn't working. She notices Geri's panic later on after she returns from the lake and again nearly freaks. She overreacts when she hears Geri and Alma arguing about Mr. Beardsley. Then she really comes apart when the tree crashes in on dinner (after noticing Mick spilling the salt no less) and it's all over the edge from there. This is why she doesn't notice when Geri and Alma both disappear and the worms begin to overrun the house.

In addition according to Jeff Lieberman's commentary it's implied that Naomi Sanders hasn't been herself since the passing of Geri's father, which the Sheriff and Roger both refer to over the course of the film.

[–] nsavage3-1 15 years ago

Thanks Nightman85-

I had forgotten some of those details. In fact, they actually did a very good job of showing that she was slowly coming apart.

I thought actress Jean Sullivan did a very good job in her portrayal of Mrs. Sanders. To have put more into the "mental breakdown" sub-plot, would have added too much unnecessary fluff to the movie. I thought it was handled appropriately, since this is primarily a sci-fi movie.

[–] dejavu73 15 years ago

Well, there was a little hole in the celeing when Noemi took place in her armchair. Maybe the hole has grown up minutes later and she could have been catched off guard by a sudden rain of animals that pounced on her.

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[–] nickswife 15 years ago

The mother reminded me of people I know who started "loosing it", after many stressful situations. The portrayal was actually quite realistic to me.

It was probably best left as a small sub-plot, though, since this is markedted as a horror movie.

Definately an above-average movie for this type.

[–] pkstr11 14 years ago

So... she reacts when things happen, basically, and this is your argument that she's coming unhinged?

[–] haskeebabalina 10 years ago

Little late on the response, but:

Regan became possessed using a Ouija board
Michael Myer's childhood helped with the insane thing
In Evil Dead, no one saw the cabin until they got there
ANY young adults (they weren't teens) left unsupervised in the boonies would shack up
Rosemary was raped by the Devil while drug induced
BIG fan of Dawn of the Dead...................we can blame anything from radiation to a space vessel returning to Earth with a contaminant....to whatever you can think of

Thanks. I feel better now.

[–] scarpred 8 years ago

If you're referring to Rob Zombie's remake, that's one thing, but otherwise Michael Myers' childhood is not said to have anything to do with his murderous nature.

[–] starlight_and_unicorns-92901 8 years ago

Okkkkk..........according to our "resident horror expert", SCARPRED, who seems to know everything (extreme sarcasm) says that "Michael Myers's murderous childhood is never explained!" Um...yeah.....let's see here.....Michael Myers kills his sister when he is 6 years old on Halloween night , is put away in a mental institution and analyzed for 15 years by Dr. Sam Loomis, escapes and returns to Haddonfield Illinois to kill Jamie Lee Curtis's character, Laurie Strode, kills everyone who get's in his way, etc. etc......

Here's a brilliant idea, *beep* of blabbering stupid random guesses about a film's plot, why don't you try actually WATCHING the movie Halloween....and I mean the 1978 original, not the stupid remake, and you might actually learn something...if possible! I think the Squirm worms ate holes in your brain...what there is of it anyway! LOL

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that MICHAEL MYERS KILLS HIS SISTER WHEN HE IS 6 YEARS OLD??!! That should give you a clue right there, moron! LOL

"I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes."

[–] scarpred 8 years ago

Hahahaha, did you even read my comment? I never said anything about Michael Myers not killing his sister when he was six. What I said was, "Michael Myers' childhood is not said to have anything to do with his murderous nature." Meaning, in the original film, it is never said that he was an abused child, as it was in the remake.

Calm down. It's just a movie. You need to take your meds, come back, and try again.

[–] TitusYorick 14 years ago

She must have or she wouldn't have just sat still in her rocker while the worms devoured her alive. Hell, she was probably so far gone mentally that she didn't even feel them.

[–] nsavage3-1 14 years ago

Right. And the fact that she just sat there and didnt react shows that she had already lost it mentaly. But you can see her falling apart slowly before that. I think the realization of everything set in and pushed her over the top.

[–] illemannen 14 years ago

There is one thin i'd like to ad to this discussion, i first saw it as a kid, i thought i'd might be wrong, but i bought it, and watched it again.
And i can swear that in that scene when Mick arrives to the house and sees the wormfeast upon the mother going full throttle, her hands moves like she's still knitting.

Is it just me, or has anyone else notised this?

Live with Honor! Die in Glory!

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nsavage3-1 13 years ago

Yes, it was mentioned on the first page of this subject.

It makes sense too, that if she was that far gone. Its like people who completely close out reality in a disaster, and try to keep doing normal things, like everything is fine.

This discussion makes me want to watch it again too. Its been a while.

Great sci-fi movie.

[–] hyperium13 10 years ago

Since this is based on truth (I lvied there at the time but left town 1 week prior to go on holiday in Texas) I seriously doubt she enjoyed being attacked. The actual character this was based on was actually just outside the porch.

[–] gothbreed 9 years ago

Since this is based on truth (I lvied there at the time but left town 1 week prior to go on holiday in Texas) I seriously doubt she enjoyed being attacked. The actual character this was based on was actually just outside the porch.

Please tell more!

[–] bok602 8 years ago

According to the novelization (and hinted at in the film) Mrs. Sanders was a bit "off" following the death of her husband. When the worms fell on her and swarmed from below, she more or less "shut down" mentally and it was all over too fast for her to scream or struggle.

"If you don't know the answer -change the question."

[–] Steamboy 8 years ago

I thought the worms were raining on top of the the shelf where she kept her scissors?

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