Worm

Director - Doug Mallette (Bad House)
Starring - John Ferguson (Crazy Bitch), Shane O'Brien (Refrigerate After Opening), and Jes Mercer (A Spoonful of Zanny)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Tagline - "Chase your dreams"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    When I started writing reviews I thought I would be writing reviews for films that I have bought over the years.  I wanted to review films that people had forgot about or did not know they existed. However, once I was brought on to write for Horror Society that all changed.  People started reaching out to me to review their films and that lead to me receiving films from distribution companies to review before their release date. I had no idea that my little blog would take me down this path and I fucking love it.  Not long ago the fine folks over at Synapse said they would be releasing a film titled Worm.  The film looked interesting so I reached out to Synapse for a review copy and they were nice enough to send me one one. Thanks for that!
     The film follows socially awkward Charles (Ferguson) who lives in a world where people no longer dream and rely on worms called Fantasites to help them dream.  He tries to make friends with a man in his apartment building. When he starts to get to know the man he meets his live in girlfriend and starts to have feelings for her.  He learns that they both are using Fantasites to dream so he orders them to fit in.  However, not long after he starts using them the government bans the use of Fantasites due to their addictive traits and the fact they stay in the brain causing brain damage.  The man and girlfriend is addicted to them and try to score Fantasites from underground sellers who dig them up.  Charles goes with the man in hopes of winning over his girlfriend but the underground Fantasite world is very seedy and dangerous and the two, along with his girlfriend, get caught up in that dark world.

     When I first saw the posters and press release for Worm I assumed it was a horror romance flick in the same style as Shaun of the Dead.   However, the film is much more than that.  The film is one linear story but it actually has layers.  The acting in this film is fucking fantastic.  The entire cast was spot on and the two stars of the film, John Ferguson and Shane O'Brien, really made the film.  Both gentlemen need to be in more films and it is a crime if they are not.  The story for this one seems simple at first but then branches out into something very original and fun.  The film starts out as a sci-fi/futuristic film where no one dreams and use worms to give them what they long for.  We then get a drama about addiction and the horror is causes followed by an inside look at the underground drug and trafficking side of the world.  This took a lot of thought and it shows.  Finally, the film does not rely on deaths and special effects.  Instead, we get a solid story, superb acting, and an all around good movie.  Overall, Worm is not a movie the typical horror fan would not want to see but it is a film that all movie fans need to see.  Check it out!