Okay, "Squirm" is WILD - What Was Going On?

So, I finally got around to watching "Squirm" (1976). I'm trying to do a deep dive into obscure 70s horror, and, man, this one was...something else. I went in totally blind, only knowing the basic plot about killer worms. Honestly, it delivered on the creepy crawly factor, but what was that ending?? I'm a director-focused person, but whoever directed it, they had some serious ideas. The practical effects were pretty impressive for the time, especially the sheer VOLUME of worms they managed to use. But the whole transformation of Roger into a worm man? And the kind of ambiguous way it ends, with Mick just driving off and you see the worms still squirming...was that supposed to be hopeful? It felt super unresolved to me. Also, have to shout out Patricia Pearcy, as Geri Sanders, because she was just great. She played it with a certain vulnerability but also toughness that made her really believable. And what was up with Sheriff Jim Reston playing his fiddle while Rome, GA, was being overrun by worms? I felt like that added this layer of surrealness that I wasn't quite expecting and it ended up feeling almost more comedic than scary! Did anyone else find the ending as bizarre as I did? Is it just supposed to be bleak, or am I missing some deeper meaning here? I need to know what others think!