Alcoholic man-child Cal McCarthy wants to stay sober long enough at his ten-year reunion to win back his high school sweetheart. But reconnecting with old friends reveals he isn't the only one pretending to be someone he's not—almost everyone in town seems different.
Something has infiltrated Cal's tiny Adirondack village and found its way inside the residents, altering their minds and taking control of their bodies. After a decade apart, Cal must rely on fading memories of his friends to figure out who's been infected, who's simply lying—and who's just grown into someone he no longer recognizes.
This was a really fun and likable enough story with a lot to like about it. The multifaceted storyline, bringing a special touch to the prototypical story about a typical small-town being infected by these strange creatures and forcing this problematic guy returning home the chance to rectify everything to save everyone and win the heart of the woman he wants to get together with, gives this a great feeling to the later sense of paranoia that develops over the course of the invasion. That this goes to great lengths to paint the hero and his troubled past, from his alcoholic stupors, memory loss, and general disharmony in life, is a solid time that makes everything more sympathetic and capable, so that his hinted-at redemption angle as he starts to deal with the growing threat posed by the worms.
That serves this one well enough so that the interactions with the possessed individuals, under the control of the deadly worms, pick up considerably. Since there’s great pains to reveal that they’re totally normal until the time of reveal that the victim is unaware of what’s going on and that they can’t be removed in that state, there’s some fun to be had with how to operate without letting anyone in on their plans. This escalating panic and paranoia as a result is immensely fun, keeping it unsure who’s been taken over and who’s normal, with a great bit of gore in the various kills and a self-deprecating sense of humor to overcome the fact that the lead characters are really hard to get behind once the series of secrets and background relationships. It makes the first half a bit hard to get into, but it’s not too detrimental overall.
4.5/5
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