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
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