My Review of The Return Of Swamp Thing (1989)

 

Written by Neil Cuthbert And Grant Morris

Directed by Jim Wynorski

Swamp Thing: "Me? Your Boyfriend?"

Abby: "Why not?"

Swamp Thing: "You said it yourself: I'm a plant."

Abby: "That's okay, I'm a vegetarian."

Having enjoyed Wes Craven's written and directed debut movie for the titular character (Dick Durock), it was time to see what the sequel involving another team could come up. It's something of a mixed bag to be fair.

First of all, our Swamp Thing isn't exactly skulking around in the shadows. If you're stupid enough to be doing bad things near his swamp, he'll make sure you regret it big time. However his infamy also meant that others were desperate for his attention.

On the harmless end of the scale, you've got two kids named Darryl (Daniel Taylor Emery) and Omar (RonReaco Lee) who are determined to get a photo of Swamp Thing in the hope of winning $10,000. This naturally put them in danger but also had them meeting Swamp Thing. Getting a photo of him on the other hand was more of a challenge than they'd hoped.

As for the other end of the scale, Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) was back to be the main villain for a second movie in a row and he had assistance with fellow scientists Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas) and Dr Rochelle (Ace Mask) as well as security thug, Gunn (Joey Sagal). His aim was immortality and the arrival of estranged stepdaughter, Abby (Heather Locklear) was a key to that particular goal.

In the first movie, the writing for Alice Cable had been very hit and miss. It's not much better for Abby Arcane either. I mean she talks to plants, hates Anton and her romance with Swamp Thing was a tad rushed too. On the other hand, she's kind of humourous in certain scenes when she's not relegated to being a damsel in distress.

I'll admit having Anton as the villain for second time didn't work quite as well as it did for the first movie. There's more monstrous experiments with the Un-Men, some backstabbing between scientists while the final scene indicated that Abby might have more in common with Swamp Thing than previously believed.

- A post credit scene with Omar and Darryl just showed their efforts to get a photo were for nothing.

- Sarah Douglas previously played Ursa in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies.

- The novelisation for this movie did a lot of rewrites. 

- Chronology: Not long since the events of the first movie, though many years have passed since Abby and Anton were in a room together.

The Return Of Swamp Thing upped the comedy element (as well as a psychic sex scene) with hit and miss results. I didn't hate it but it's certainly lacking compared to the first one. 

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Swamp Thing (1982)

 

Written And Directed by Wes Craven

Swamp Thing: "Much beauty in the swamp, if you only look."

Back in the 1980s, Wes Craven was on the cusp of creating an iconic horror franchise but before Freddy Krueger, he actually ventured into the world of DC comics. Yup, one of the best horror directors of all time directed a DC movie. Let me geek out a little about that. 

Of all the DC characters that Wes Craven could've adapted, there's something very fitting about Swamp Thing being that character. He's such a perfect character for someone like Craven and with this effort, he got things off to a great start.

Focusing on a government worker named Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau), you've got a woodland area near a swamp where secret research had Alice coming into contact with scientist sibling duo Linda (Nanette Brown) and Alec Holland (Ray Wise) as the latter was on the verge of a scientific breakthrough. It's the type of breakthrough you wouldn't want getting into the wrong hands.

Those hands being Anton Arcane (Louie Jourdan) who wanted that formula for himself. He had no problem in killing poor Linda and Alec's attempts to escape ended up in him becoming the titular Swamp Thing (Dick Durock). Can I just say that the look for Swamp Thing was great by the way?

Anyways when Alice wasn't getting repeatedly terrorised by Arcane's men (one of them taking an overzealous delight in trying to kill her), she formed an alliance with Swamp Thing. It took her a bit to realise he was Alec but once she did, the pair teamed up to stop Arcane from creating havoc with that formula.

Unfortunately for poor Bruno (Nicholas Worth), he took became a monster because of Arcane's need to further test things. Arcane even tested it on himself, giving a decent final act swamp fight between his hideous visage and Swamp Thing himself. With Arcane eventually defeated, the movie ended with Swamp Thing leaving Alice but promising to return.

- There's a nice supporting role for Reggie Batts as Jude. He popped up in the second half of the film.

- In the comics, Linda's the wife of Alec instead of his sister while Anton's role was similar to Nathan Ellery from the story this movie was based on.

- A sequel titled, The Return Of Swamp Thing was released in 1989.

- Chronology: I'm guessing the same year it was released.

For a first live action adaptation of Swamp Thing, I really liked a lot of Wes Craven set out to do here. The title character looked brilliant, we got to know enough of Alec Holland before his transformation and Anton Arcane made for a good baddie. I do think Alice Cable could've been better handled as a character but she's a sympathetic and likable enough lead.

Rating: 7 out of 10