The Return of Swamp Thing

After Wes Craven churned out the DC comic "Swamp Thing" into a 1982 feature length, film-maker Jim Wynorski would couple year's later helm the low-budget sequel "The Return of Swamp Thing" and take it down a totally different path.

Wanting to solve the mystery of her mother's death, horticulturist Abigail Arcane goes to stay with her stepfather Dr. Anton Arcane. However he has plans for her, which involves stealing her DNA to achieve immortality. Finding out she escapes into the swamp where she is rescued by Dr. Alex Holland, who now finds himself half-plant, half-man known as Swamp-Thing.

For better or worse, he camped it up and played it for laughs. However that's not taking anything away from it, while it can get silly. It still was rather enjoyable and the make-up FX (involving the mutants) was very well pulled off. The opening sequences involving comic inserts and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born in the Bayou" used as its theme song do set the mood. I think it actually starts off rather strongly, then if anything kind of falls away when Swamp Thing and Heather Locklear's character come together (the sweet love-story) mid-way through.

The script is very tongue-in-cheek and the performances are rather self- knowing… even Dick Durock as Swamp Thing. Louis Jourdan returns as Dr. Arcane and does a wonderful job bringing this sly character to life. Locklear is looking great, but her character was somewhat an annoyance. The support fair better with the likes of Sarah Douglas and Ace Mask. Wynorski doesn't hold back as he eccentrically seems to pile on the set- pieces and effects with very little story holding it together, but he sure does make it feel like a live-action comic strip with some imaginative brushes, bang-up action and good use of the atmospheric swamp terrain. The tone did feel uneven as there are kiddy elements mixed with adult themes. Too bad I found the ending to be terribly anticlimactic.

Colourful, if ridiculous sequel.

This the sequel to "The Swamp Thing," where the evil Dr. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) returns and has a new science lab full of creatures transformed by genetic mutation. In order to gain immortality, he chooses his stepdaughter, Abby Arcane (Heather Locklear), as the key in his immortality experiment.

The movie attempted to blend in comic relief, a superhero feel, and sci-fi action. What resulted, is a very campy film with average acting, forced humor, and silly action scenes. But, if you look at the video/DVD cover graphic of the Swamp Thing carrying a smiling Heather Locklear, it tells you that this film is meant to be a fantasy campfest - not the foreboding, serious, doom and gloom story like its prequel.

I could do without the two annoying kids in the movie, but the rest of the characters were quite hilarious to watch, especially that of Heather Locklear (loved her deadpan delivery and witty humor). The monster action starts almost right away, with the Swamp Thing fighting one of Dr. Arcane's mutated creatures in the swamp. And, the action continues on with the Swamp Thing battling incompetent bad guys left and right.

Not a scary film at all, just full of creepy looking creatures. The plot was rather fast-paced, but the story was the basic mad scientist story-line. Not much suspense in the film, but full of campy fun and humor that isn't all bad.

Grade C+

Every once in awhile, a sequel is a million times better than the original. This is just such a sequel! If you look up my review for Swamp Thing, you'll see that I didn't care to much for it. This, on the other hand, was great! They decided to go with the over-the-top comic-book style that the original skirted, which made the movie a lot more enjoyable. The effects improved greatly, the creatures in this actually looked like some effort was put into them! I especially liked the updated Swamp Thing costume, made him look a lot better and more intimidating. Louis Joudan was thankfully back, and his character, Dr. Anton Arcane, was even better than ever! His step-daughter Abby, played by Heather Locklear, was one of many great comic relief characters, along with the bumbling head of security named Gunn, and many others. The side plot with two kids trying to get Swampy's picture was a tad annoying, but it had it's amusing moments. Overall, this was a great intentionally cheesy B-movie, that you really should check out!

8/10

I've been reading swampthing comics for a while now and although this movie looks like a pile of puke in comparison to the legendary alan moore run, it a really fun way to kill 90 minutes. honestly, what this movie lacks in respectability, it more than makes up for in charm... you can tell they had a blast making this movie. the action scenes are simple but well executed (the fight with the leech man amongst all those exploding cars... awesome!) the cutesy comic relief parts with the to kids are hilarious (especially when they're scrambling around the living room trying to hide a mountain of porn) and the special effects are more than satisfactory...i don't know what all these other reviewers who think otherwise are talking about. its not a movie that you can just expect to dazzle you without any effort on your part. you have to want to like it. c'mon participate in life a little bit..you're invited.

In regard to some of the other reviews of this film posted here on IMDB, I would like to say: lighten up! Does this film capture the quaint Cravenesque sci-fi ambiance of the first movie? Of course not. Nor does it capture the dreary, macabre vision of the Alan Moore comic books. What we have here is a perfect lovely late 80's fantasy/comedy about a seven foot plant man. If you look at it objectively, perhaps your vision would not be so skewed.

Now, you may think that I (Daniel Emery Taylor, featured in the film as "Darryl") might be slightly biased. I assure you, it's a possibility. However, you must know that the movie was filmed in fun and meant in fun. From every one-line groaner to every silly sexual innuendo, it was all planned and perpetrated. To see how serious we were, take a look at the video/DVD cover art.

To give a summary of the movie: Swamp Thing returns to thwart Dr. Arcane's plot for immortality. It's a basic semi-superhero movie plot. From there, Swampy falls in love with Arcane's daughter, has some great fighting sequences, comes through a faucet, drives a jeep, takes pictures with these two ADORABLE kids (and they're really terrific actors, too ... honesty!), and blows stuff up.

If you're a fan of B-movies, as I am, you're likely to enjoy this. There are plenty of laughs, both intentional and unintentional. The acting is what you would expect, and the effects are really quite good for its day. This is not a movie you have to ponder or concentrate on. Its subtle social messages and troubled postmodern imagery will not haunt you for days. It's simple fun.