Worm

Worm is a ne'er do well petty criminal who finds himself in quite a pickle as the unwitting scapegoat in a grisly double homicide. He gradually comes to realize that nobody close to him can be trusted, and that the life of his young daughter may be in urgent jeopardy.

Audaciously avant-garde low budget neo-noir filmed in two long takes, with the camera focused squarely on the face of the central character. It's a bold stylistic push, but the proceedings are so well supervised that it never feels like a contrived gimmick. The story, which plays out in real-time, is tense and engaging, and the characters, despite being largely unseen, are developed and well dramatized. Andrew Bowser is award worthy in a highly complex and demanding protagonist role, spinning his initially somewhat unappealing loser character into a relatable and valiant hero with a pitiable history.

WORM is far and away one of the gutsiest film experiments to come along in quite a while. Sure, it's flawed. Big deal...the Venus De Milo ain't got no arms. It might not appeal strongly to mainstreamers, but if your tastes run per-contra the dull polish of Hollywood, you won't want to miss it.

7/10.

This film is one with a gimmick. A big one. Shot entirely with a GoPro strapped to his chest, director/star Andrew Bowser pulls off an amazing feat with this film.

From what I've read it was shot in two 50 minute takes. The logistics of this film shoot must have taken Bowser, the other actors and producers a long, long time to figure out.

The story is of "Worm", a loser living in a small town in Oklahoma, who gets wrapped up in a tale of murder, deceit and betrayal after agreeing to do an odd job for a mysterious outsider in town for business. He has to navigate throughout the town, trying to avoid both the police and the people behind the crimes he is being accused of.

This all happens in 90 minutes of real time in which we watch Worm try to navigate throughout places and people all while we see every second of what he is doing from the front of his face. The decision to make the film this way makes you really pay attention to the acting of Bowser and realize that he is a very fine actor. The exclusion of most of the other actors besides a few glimpses behind Worm's back and their voices has you blind to most of the scenarios surrounding the actor, but also increasing your sympathy for him at the same time. It's like looking into someone's soul for an hour and a half and feeling what they are feeling, whether you want to or not.

I've seen most of Andrew Bowser's other work that he has done. Several full length movies, dozens of shorts that he has directed and this one seems the most personable to me. I really enjoyed it and look forward to his next feature film.

It's freely available on youtube in it's entirety so check it out.

Worm is an interesting movie. It's filmed entirely by a GoPro camera mounted facing the protagonist (Worm) played by Andrew Bowser, and he is pretty much the only character we will see with the exception of a few glimpses at some other characters in the background.

So, can a movie so restricted by its camera angle and low budged hold your attention for 90 minutes? I can, thanks to Andrew Bowser.

The story it tells feels sometimes rushed, specially towards the end, where some segments can get a little ridiculous. But it does not matter because that's not the greater strength of this movie.

This movie is filmed in (what seems like) a continuous 90 minute shot, and that whole story is unfolded during this time period. It lets Andrew Bowser shape and mold the charismatic protagonist "Worm" in real time, you see him go trough all variety of emotions seamlessly, with no cuts, so it feels all the more real. The story ends up being just an excuse to showcase the incredible array of acting skills Andrew has.

That's why I gave it a 7 and not more. Because with a little more work on the plot and secondary characters this could easily get an 8.

It is an average story with a very interesting artistic direction that has an exceptional actor carrying the whole thing. But I think that was the point, for Andrew to present himself and show off what he can do. And I hope he gets hired for something bigger and better after this.

And yes, it is worth watching, it'll keep you interested in "Worm's" story for its full length. Unlike other movies I've seen recently (James Bond "spectre" and The Martian come to mind). It is actually pretty fresh compared to what you would expect from a triple A movie studio.

This is a crime thriller unlike any other picture that comes to mind. Film-maker Andrew Bowser can be relied upon to craft original features that try something a little different, like them or not. With the distinct way this is shot, 'Worm' definitely stands out in a crowd.

Having accordingly been filmed in and around Guthrie, Oklahoma, 'Worm' absolutely has the look and feel of a story playing out in Small Town, USA. Disparate old buildings, abandoned structures, knucklehead cops, sleepy streets, and dusty roads round out the setting. There's a strong sense in the dialogue and characterizations that this is a place where everyone knows each other. Moreover, the title character, of whom more is revealed as the movie goes on, seems very much like a familiar figure that we can all recognize in someone among our high school classmates of however many years ago.

The narrative doesn't do much to impress at first, but turns in the plot keep us watching. Story beats are written well and stitched together into a cohesive whole that's ultimately quite rewarding, especially at the climax. I also appreciate the ending, summarily cutting to the end credits with an open-ended curtness echoing Worm's jarring, eye-opening journey. Characters, meanwhile, don't necessarily seem developed beyond the purpose they serve in the film, including the aforementioned scenery for the setting. Yet having served that purpose - and given that 'Worm' is enjoyable as is - I'm not going to harp on that particular deficiency.

The prime attraction of 'Worm' is in its technical craft - or deliberate lack thereof. Bowser has taken three novel, relatively uncommon ideas and combined them into one: The movie is filmed with a GoPro camera, worn by Bowser in the starring role. Unlike other features or personal videos that utilize a first-person perspective, Bowser does the exact opposite here, and has the camera turned back onto himself for the entirety of the runtime, creating a minor fishbowl lens effect. And these methods are employed, as per Bowser himself, for the two sole long takes of which the picture is seamlessly comprised, creating the appearance of one continuous shot.

It's an inventive and profoundly risky endeavor to shoot a feature film in any of these ways, let alone all of them, as each technique carries liabilities of one sort or another. Bowser is to be applauded for daring to create something so out of the ordinary, whether it completely succeeds or not. That said, in my mind, 'Worm' does pull it off, quite well.

There's an overarching sense of claustrophobia to the film - not for any specific confined space, but in a more esoteric, thematic sense. Worm, the character, is a man effectively trapped by his past and status in the small town where he was raised. The intrigue he's caught up in has him in a tight spot, and the persistent orientation of the camera further emphasizes this, as though he's in a bubble. The visual of a continuous shot, the believable real-time transpiration of the course of events over 90 minutes, the consciously unrefined quality of the film, and at length the finale - the very last lines of the picture - all build into that atmosphere of oppressive, narrowly enclosed circumstances. This unifying slant to the movie is gratifying for the consideration it's given.

As much as 'Worm' deserves praise, it's not perfect. The film-making style is novel, and it works, but it's easy to imagine that it's a hard sell to a general audience for so much of each scene to go unseen. Bowser has demonstrated reasonable skills as an actor previously, but the "camerawork" here is such that even the most celebrated A-lister has their work cut out for them - and furthermore, Bowser has written himself into a particularly dynamic role that demands strong emotive range. I don't like to be an abject critic, but with these notions in mind, I don't think he's entirely able to sell the part - at least, not when it matters most, unfortunately. And while the weight assigned to preceding plot points makes up for the weakness, I also don't feel like the final scene wholly imparts the gravity that's intended - the briskness of the final minutes, and arguably the camerawork again, detract from the momentousness.

Still, these perceived shortcomings do not outweigh what is otherwise a highly enjoyable movie. Bowser's acting under these conditions is mostly suitable, if thusly imperfect. The narrative is solid. The original music of Aaron Marsh, largely unobtrusive, rears its head to underscore important emotional beats. Every aspect of the feature lends deftly to an intangible air of bounds, and constraints. And this is all achieved, faults and all, with an imaginative, unconventional approach to the production.

Anyone with a keen interest in Bowser's career should have already watched this, and it's especially worthwhile too for any viewer who seeks films treading a path less taken. At that - so long as the atypical storytelling style isn't a turn-off, this is a fine watch for a wider audience. Though not without its flaws, 'Worm' is a carefully and cleverly crafted thriller, and recommended as a fun movie to check out.

You can hardly believe what this movie and its lead actor pull off logistically, and beyond that it is a great story with great acting. Part drama, part action thriller, there is no comic relief to this hard hitting tale of an underdog in a race for his life. Highly recommended.