My Girlfriend Turned Into a Worm

By Justin D Williams

My Girlfriend Turned Into a Worm is the kind of short film that immediately gets your attention just from the title alone. Written, directed, and edited by Alex Herz, the 14 minute HollyShorts selection takes an absurd premise and tries to turn it into a story about love, grief, and holding on. There is a lot I admired here, especially the performances, the miniature production design, and the cinematography, but the film ultimately left me a little unsure about what tone it wanted to settle into. The story follows Arthur, played by Rohan Padmakumar, whose girlfriend Annalise has somehow turned into a worm. Rather than treating the situation like a bizarre joke, Arthur is completely devoted to taking care of her. He has built an entire miniature world for Annalise, hoping that familiar surroundings might make her feel more comfortable or possibly trigger some kind of recognition. One of the strongest ideas in the film is Arthur's attempt to communicate with her. He creates a board filled with different emotions and needs, including happy, sad, love, eat, drink, and listen.

The idea is that Annalise can crawl toward one of the options and use the recordings to express what she feels. The scene starts off almost funny because of how seriously Arthur has committed to this system, but it quickly becomes sad when Annalise does not respond. Arthur has done everything he can to create a connection, but he has no real way of knowing whether she understands him at all. The miniature world is also one of the best parts of the short. Rachael Ferris' production design gives the film a lot of personality, and Jared Levy's cinematography makes great use of the smaller scale. The shallow depth of field and low angles help make Annalise's world feel larger and more immersive, and those shots give the film a visual identity that stands out. The supporting characters also help show how differently everyone reacts to what has happened. Annalise's best friend Ramona still spends time with her and treats her like the same person she has always known. At one point Ramona hangs out with Annalise while Arthur goes off to catch up with his friends, and I liked how naturally the film plays that situation. It is strange, but everyone is trying to continue their relationships as if some version of normal life can still exist. Arthur's conversation with his friends is where the comedy comes through the strongest.

Things get awkward once Annalise comes up, and some of the guys clearly seem skeptical about whether they should even believe what Arthur is saying. The conversation eventually becomes so uncomfortable that someone starts wondering whether Arthur has had sex with the worm. It is ridiculous, and the scene is funny because of just how uncomfortable everyone becomes, but Arthur eventually gets upset and leaves. That scene also highlights my biggest problem with the film. My Girlfriend Turned Into a Worm keeps moving back and forth between absurd comedy and very serious drama, and I never felt like those two sides fully came together. That becomes especially noticeable when Arthur returns home and the film turns much heavier. Ramona breaks down emotionally and says that Annalise should not have to live like this. It is a strong scene, and the acting is genuinely good, but the movie has gone from people awkwardly joking about Arthur's relationship with a worm to a very serious conversation about whether Annalise should continue living in her current state.

The biggest question I had was whether Annalise turning into a worm is supposed to be completely literal or whether the entire situation is really an allegory for grief and the difficulty of letting go. If she literally became a worm, I think the film could have leaned further into the comedy and absurdity of that concept. If the worm is primarily meant to represent grief, then the dramatic direction makes more sense. The film seems to want both ideas at the same time, but I never fully understood how I was supposed to read it. That does not mean the emotional material fails. In fact, the acting is one of the strongest aspects of the short. Rohan Padmakumar gives Arthur enough sincerity that the character never becomes a joke. You believe that he loves Annalise and genuinely thinks he can still reach the person she used to be. The supporting cast also commits completely to the material, which helps some of the more dramatic scenes land even when the tone around them feels uneven.

There is a lot of creativity in My Girlfriend Turned Into a Worm. The miniature world is memorable, the communication board is a clever and surprisingly emotional idea, and the cast treats the story with more sincerity than you might expect from a movie with this title. I just wish the film had found a clearer balance between its humor and its drama. I could see what Alex Herz was going for, and there are moments here that absolutely work. For me, though, the shift from absurd comedy into full drama made the story feel tonally uneven, and I never completely connected with what the film wanted me to take away from Annalise's transformation. I was going to give a Half-Reel but the acting, and everything else is strong enough to give it a Full Reel.