‘They Crawl Beneath’ Ending, Explained: How Did Danny Survive? What Was The Origin Of The Worm?

Dale Fabrigar’s “They Crawl Beneath” is a survival thriller filled with scary creatures crawling from the earth’s surface. We get a hint of the survival instinct of human beings against the superiority of nature. But even though the film brings something new to screen, the narrative overall lacks persuasive writing. Let’s now analyze what happens in the film.

Spoilers Ahead


‘They Crawl Beneath’ – What Happens In The Film?

The film starts with Danny experiencing a nightmare where his mother is calling  him out for help. She has noticed a huge creature in the cupboard and seeks assistance from her son. Danny comes rushing in and finds nothing of that sort. However, soon he finds himself locked up in the closet and notices his mother being taken away by some enormous creature. The nightmare ends with Danny waking up suddenly feeling the tremors of an earthquake. He was spending his weekends at his Uncle Bill’s house. We see Gwen, Danny’s girlfriend/wife, come the following day to pay a visit. In between, some worm bit Uncle Bill on his right foot. Gwen was an anthropologist, and Danny thought an insect of that size might interest her.

Later, she took the insect to one of her acquaintances, Doctor Wu, a microbiologist, who confirmed that the insect could be a new species of nematode. She added that the worm carried an unusual bump at the end of its body. These worms should not be found on the surface as they live very deep in the soil and could survive extreme temperatures. Doctor Wu later called and informed Gwen that the worm was extremely dangerous. If it bit someone, they would only have two to three hours before suffering severe neurological damage, if not death. She also was advised that if anyone had been bitten by it, they must get to the hospital immediately and ask for a shot of an antivenin, Crotalidae polyvalent.

Later, we find Uncle Bill suffering from the consequences of the worm’s bite. While they were fixing a car, lying underneath the vehicle, another earthquake happened, and the vehicle fell upon them. Bill died on the spot, while Danny’s left leg was severely injured. From that point onward, we see Danny uses all his zeal to survive through the situation. In between, we see the worms coming through the holes created on the surface by the earthquake. Danny fought against them as well. However, he was bitten by them a couple of times.

Between these events, Danny found a picture of his mother and Bill together in Bill’s wallet. Later, he found out that Bill was his biological father. Anyway, Danny was saved by Gwen and her colleagues at the police department. Gwen was carrying Danny’s child at that time. Danny was taken to the hospital and saved from all the venom the worms had put into his body. But even though it looked like the nightmare had ended, in the last closing shot we saw the worms still coming out of the holes.


‘They Crawl Beneath’ Ending, Explained: What Was The Worm’s Origin? How Did Danny Survive?

When Gwen talked to Doctor Wu about the worm, she had said that, generally, these worms are microscopic. But what she had brought with her was about 7–10 cm in size, which was theoretically absurd. It also had a bump at the end of its body. Everything about the creature was unusual. It also grew in size with time. So, the theory is that when the first earthquake took place, a hole was created that left an opening for the worms to come out on the surface. However, the most recent tremors were only felt in the vicinity of Danny’s garage. So, it wasn’t other earthquakes; instead, it was the movement of the giant worms in that place that shook the surface. There is a possibility that these kinds of worms were not known to the scientific world. They weren’t microscopic, but they could molt and get even more significant in size. But one thing is certain: its venom does not defy scientific explanation. Danny was saved by a pre-discovered cure, so even though they did not know much about the worm, they had already discovered the cure.

in “They Crawl Beneath” Danny had tried many things to get himself out of the mess. His leg was under the car, and he was severely injured. He tried calling, but there was no network. Danny’s mother called on Bill’s phone and he asked his mom to call Gwen. Gwen then called him and spread the news to the police department. They all came to help Danny. The garage door was stuck, and they could not get him out. The worms were afraid of light, so Danny asked them to turn on all their vehicle lights at the garage. After a considerable struggle, the garage door was finally held open, and Danny was removed. Later, he was taken to the hospital, and he was saved. In between the events, he learnt that Bill was his biological father. When he questioned his mother regarding Bill, she told him that when she got pregnant, Bill had run away. Danny was taken care of by another man, who he always thought was his father. He was a cop, too, and just like Danny, he was a good cop who used to help people often. Before all of this, Danny and Gwen had a difficult relationship. Danny was once reckless on a mission as a result Gwen urged him to leave his job. When he refused Gwen had left him. But, when everything was over, and Danny was saved, Gwen decided to remain with him. Danny even thought of leaving the police job, but Gwen told him to remain as they were before.


It Was Either The Worms Or The Earthquake That Failed The Movie

When the story of “They Crawl Beneath” primarily deals with  man’s Survival, one must use perfect writing. The audience should not get a chance to yawn while watching a survival thriller. There is a 2016 South Korean film named “Tunnel” where we see a man getting stuck in a tunnel and unable to get out for days. He survived with his intelligence and will. It was one of the most prolific survival films I have seen. In “They Crawl Beneath,” there was no need for the worms. An earthquake occurred as a result of which Danny was stuck under a car; his cell phone went off, and the garage door couldn’t be  opened. Nowhere the story of the worm was required. At the film’s end, we find that Danny had to get out of there as the worms became more prominent in numbers. Introducing the worms to make the survival drama look more vibrant; however, seemed a bit excessive. Furthermore, the budget issue is majorly visible throughout the film. It is a very average thriller with a vastly disappointing cast.


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Shovan Roy
Shovan Roy
Shovan Roy is a creative content writer. Formerly he used to write film reviews on an international film festival website named Beyond the Curve International Film Festival. He also interviewed global directors. He also interviewed one of the characters from the show 'Trailer Park Boys', Mr. Bernard Robichaud, platformed in Netflix. Shovan tends to write through the third person narrative and he loves to do psychoanalysis. He can't say that he has mastered it but that is some sort of hobby of his. Film is a platform where he loves to spend most of his time learning.

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