They Crawl Beneath (2022) 

On a holiday weekend, a man goes to spend time with his uncle. As things get tense, an earthquake traps this man under a car while unleashing something from the ground. 

Written by Tricia Aurand and directed by Dale Fabrigar, this sci-fi body horror film takes a few cues from previous entries in its specific subgenre that includes beasties in the shape of worms. Here, the story sets itself in a limited space and with a very limited number of cast members, killing one almost right out the gate. The story makes the most of this, building some tension and then releasing the kraken, or rather the worms, something that ups the ante and allows the film to really go for it and make itself a fully-fledged member of the body horror genre with a few beasties along the lines of those in Slither and Shivers. The film’s direction plays with all the fun elements, the tension, and the capacity of the cast in a way that makes this a fun watch and an entertaining one. 

The cast here is minimal with mostly just one man on screen for a majority of the run time. Lead Joseph Almani does really good work here, giving a strong performance that is easy to spend time with while the film has him stuck under a car and in a garage for 90% of the story. He takes the part and makes the most out of it, making it is his, but also becoming the character. He has a few more emotional moments, beyond sheer fear, and he really shows what he can do here. Playing his uncle, in a rather small part which works but could have used more screentime is Michael Paré who gives a serviceable performance which could have been a lot stronger had he been given more screentime. The rest of the case gets minimal screentime in comparison with Almani, but most of them do the most of the time they are given. 

Playing an important part in this film are the worms. These are beautiful beasties, great little monsters, and absolutely creepy to anyone with a dislike of these types of beings. Here, the effects to bring them to life are fantastic. Credited with the special effects here are Nick DeRosa and Dan Rebert, both of whom can be given a round of virtual applause for their work. The worms here look great, they move great, they are creepy, they are crawly, they are exactly what the film needed to gets it wanted effect on the viewers. Of course, as in any modern horror film it seems, these practical effects as supported by visual effects that are also very well done. 

They Crawl Beneath is a great entry in the sci-fi body horror subgenre and one that is entertaining throughout. It’s a fun movie that shows that a minimal cast, minimal set, and minimal scrip even can really work when in the right hands. It also shows how strong special effects are still something to more than consider when making a film like this. This one is a must-see for lovers of bug films and for lovers of gross body horror.  

They Crawl Beneath comes out on Blu on October 4th, 2022 from Well Go USA.