Earthworm | An Unsettling Short Film about the Mundane Horrors of Abortion

When twenty-year-old Claire finds out she’s pregnant, she knows she wants to have an abortion, and is fortunately in a position to do so. But even the best of circumstances can’t protect her from the mundane horrors of what should be a straightforward medical experience.

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Earthworm
Dir. Grace Gregory
https://www.earthwormshortfilm.com

Not all horror movies need horrifying monsters, excess gore, or jump scares to unsettle an audience. Sometimes all you need is a good hard look at reality, specifically the female experience… and maybe a few worms. A physical and psychological exploration of unwanted pregnancy and abortion, Grace Gregory’s Earthworm follows a twenty-year-old woman who is fortunately in a position to receive care, but unable to escape all that it entails. Giving a relatable glimpse at common procedures not often seen in cinema, Gregory perfectly captures the kind of suffering that so many women must face alone.

Admittedly, some scenes in Earthworm might feel a bit mundane: A young woman who finds out she’s pregnant and is instantly welcomed and supported by her loving parents as she comes home to take care of herself isn’t exactly the most compelling premise. But that’s not what drew us into the film. Earthworm is incredibly nuanced and so is the filmmaking itself. There are a lot of moments that are traumatic, but are utterly downplayed. Like Claire’s cramping or finding out she was pregnant in the first place. Everything sort of rolls off of the character’s shoulders and when Gregory introduces unexplained dirt and worms on the character’s body, we as audience members, accept it and move on even if it makes us uncomfortable. And that’s the point – everything Claire, played by Charlotte Foley (who also wrote the script), experiences is uncomfortable and painful, but she’s expected to endure.

Just a “quick” uncomfortable procedure followed by statements like, “you’ll feel some light cramping, here we go”, “you’ll experience bleeding for five to ten days”, and “the worst is over” are lines that will stay with you long after watching Earthworm. While no medical professional is impolite or doing anything wrong, it’s hard to not be cynical about how much of an ordeal having an abortion is, no matter how quick and simple. That last scene will make anyone’s blood boil.

Earthworm is about enduring as much as it is about the often lonely and painful process of handling an abortion. Foley’s script was based on real experience, after her own abortion spiraled into a traumatic surprise procedure when her gyno discovered she had already started miscarrying before she could even get the pills, and echoed many of the feelings the director was unable to grasp after her own abortion. “In the fall of 2020, I had a medication abortion (an abortion using Misoprostol and Mifepristone),“ Gregory recalls. “The experience was more painful and upsetting than I had ever anticipated, but more intense than the physical pain was how creepy and unsettling it was: I felt powerless against the force of my own body.“ - S/W Curator, Chelsea Lupkin

CAST & CREW

"Claire" - Charlotte Foley
"Mom" - Michelle White
"Dad" - Rob Nagle
"Dr. Blythe" - Rodney To
"Nurse Rita" - Elizabeth Frances
"Receptionist" - Elisa Nixon
Director of Photography - Riley Hanyue Shen
Production Designer - Lena Hindes
Editor - Joe Metcalf
Composer - Henry Hall
First Assistant Directo - Jessica Dho
First Assistant Camera Ali Arminio
Second Assistant Camera - Arman Heinecke
Additional Second Assistant Camera - Lucie Plasse
Gaffer - Kishan Patel
Additional Gaffer - Antoine Combelles
Key Grip - Jake Harbour
Additional Key Grip - TJ Thickett
Swing - Jesse Newman
Sound Mixer - Paul Wells
Boom Operator - Sam Sylvester, Jake Bastian
Set Production Assistants - Milo Borsuk, Simone Rembert, Josephine Fite
American Humane Representative - Maria LoTempio
Worms Provided By - Will's Worms
Graphic Designer - Lena Redford
Sound Designer/Re-recording Mixer - Hansdale Hsu
Score Mixed by - Dylan Bostick
Colorist - Philips Shum
Camera & Lenses Provided by - Old Fast Glass
Grip & Electric Provided by - The Fun Ton Grip & Lighting

Reproduced on this channel with the permission of the filmmakers.

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