My quick rating – 5.3/10. Wormtown slithers in with a premise that sounds like it should be played for laughs, but it surprised me by going all-in on grim seriousness, claustrophobic dread, and surprisingly realistic world-building. One year into a plague of flesh-eating, mind-altering worms, the nocturnal town of Ashland, Ohio, has stopped fighting back and simply embraced the infestation as a new way of life. Shot right there on location, the town feels eerily authentic, like you’ve stumbled into a community where the streetlights died, everyone switched to night mode, and nobody’s bothered to come back into the sun since.

The story opens with what has to be the bleakest eye exam ever filmed. A man sits calmly in the dark, seeing better without light – and when the doctor peeks closer, his eyes are hosting a handful of wriggling tenants. The reveal is great: black-and-white, grimy, and unsettling in a way that sank under my skin. That monochrome aesthetic goes a long way toward hiding the budget while giving the movie a strangely classy sheen, even as it bombards you with worms, gore, and squishy sound effects that feel lifted straight from a Foley artist’s nightmares.

Ashland is now ruled by Mayor Joshua, a cult-like figure who’s convinced the townsfolk that worm symbiosis is the next evolutionary step. His zealous followers, appropriately called Ranchers, spread their ideology the old-fashioned way. Through persuasion when possible, and forced implantation when it’s not. Meanwhile, three uninfected women are just trying to survive the only way anyone can in this hellscape – scavenging, hiding, obsessively scrubbing themselves clean, and hoping their luck holds out a little longer than their sanity.

There’s also an Amish village on the outskirts, which becomes a refuge of sorts. One of the women escaped from there, and their scenes provide some much-needed contrast, and some unexpected humor. The Amish family telling bedtime stories about Bill & Ted movies absolutely cracked me up. It’s such a bizarre, charming moment in a film where most people are busy coughing up parasites or getting indoctrinated into a worm cult.

The worm-removal set piece was my highlight – rough, visceral, and filmed with the kind of practical effects that make your stomach tighten. When these parasites hit sunlight, they erupt out of the host in fountains of gore, creating some wonderfully messy visuals. This movie may have been shot on the cheap, but the camerawork and effects team really push it higher than its budget should allow.

What surprised me most is how Wormtown actually commits to its plot. The lore isn’t over-explained, but there’s enough there to piece together how Ashland fell under Joshua’s sway. Writer Andrew James Myers feels like someone who’s either researched cults extensively or just knows a little too much from experience. Director Sergio Pinheiro also deserves credit, he takes a premise that should be schlock and makes it weirdly engaging, cohesive, and even satisfying.

For a low-budget, worm-ridden nightmare, this one definitely wriggles above expectations.