Man took quite a battering from nature in the cinema of the Sixties and Seventies, what with The Birds, Willard and Ben (rats), Sssnake and Phase IV (ants). In Squirm even the worms got nasty. Here, it's the turn of the slimy brigade, in a very stylish and superior horror film. The air of menace hangs as heavily over proceedings as the atmosphere over the swamplands mansion in which Ray Milland and company find themselves under siege from a slimy army of frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, alligators, salamanders and even leeches. Skilful direction by George McCowan - which makes the most of a sharply satirical script and weaves the animal footage into the rest with complete conviction - complements some especially good night-time camerawork by Mario Tosi. There's a startling soundtrack, too, which comes up with a terrifying cacophony and rustling, slithering, hissing and croaking. The final scene in which one of the characters gets croaked by his attackers, is a masterpiece of montage.

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