Swamp Thing (1982)

Review by Tim-O



Starring: Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Wise, David Hess, Dick Durock
Directed by Wes Craven
Dr. Alec Holland is experimenting with a plant growth formula in the southern swamps at a government research facility. His work draws the attention of mad scientist Arcane (Louis Jourdan) who covets Holland's formula and will stop at nothing to get it. Arcane and his henchmen invade the research facility, kill everyone in sight, and attempt to steal the formula from Holland. During the skirmish, an accidental chemical explosion occurs and Holland is presumed dead. Government operative (Adrienne Barbeau) –and lone survivor of Arcane's attack- snatches the formula's recipe and flees into the swamp and seeks help from a hilarious adolescent gas station attendant Jude. Jude attempts to lead Barbeau to safety through the swamp to find help while being chased by Acrane's goons and followed by a strange creature. The creature turns out to be Holland and he has become Swamp Thing as a result of the effects his formula has on humans. Not to be outdone, Arcane attempts to capture Swamp Thing to learn the secrets of the effect the formula has on humans so he too can become a super cool genius monster and rule the world!!!!

"Swamp Thing" was released to theaters in 1982 during what I consider to be the "Golden Age of Horror"-between 1973 and 1984- starting with The Exorcist in '73 and ending with Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter in '84. Back then, the effects and make-up were all practical real world stuff and not CGI (of course)… the monsters were mechanical, stop-motion, or guys in rubber suits…and every movie had a place that gave characters "the creeps" but nobody had a cell phone that could die or lose a signal.

"Swamp Thing" is a wonderful, albeit PG, time capsule of horror/fantasy films made in its era. It's creepy, funny, well paced but easy to follow, and HEY! …the camera is held still and not swung around on a rope while filming nausea inducing scenes!!!!! It's also really campy, which is odd because it's based on a DC comic which was anything but. The film wasn't big budget but was made well for it's time. Although I have to admit the monster suits haven't aged well over the years. Swampy looks OK but Arcane's monster looks hilariously bad these days. He kind of looks like a weird cross between Creature from the Black Lagoon and Rawhead Rex. There is also a shot of Barbeau boobies(!) and some mild gore thrown in the mix to spice things up a bit. Had the film been made a few years later it would have definitely garnered a PG-13 rating.

The character Jude is a high point of the movie (hilarious!!) but nothing can compare to Jourdan's over the top and hammy performance as Arcane. He's such an arrogant, smarmy, megalomaniacal euro-snob that I can't help but to laugh almost every time he delivers a line. Dick Durock is pretty good as Swampy but please take note; although Durock played the role in "Return of Swamp Thing" and in the TV series, this is a much more dark and realistic performance of the character than he ever gave again.(unfortunately)

In my opinion, "Swamp Thing" is one of Wes Craven's three most fun and entertaining films. (Along with "Scream" and "The People Under The Stairs") It's a great way to spend an evening when you need to give your brain a rest from the stresses of every day life. Currently, as I write this, the movie is streaming on Netflix in HD. (Although I found the transfer to be pretty poor for HD and ended up watching my DVD of the film-which I found to look much better- after being disappointed with the quality of the stream) So, queue it up, sit back and relax, and enjoy "Swamp Thing" before some clown ends up realizing it hasn't been remade yet. I can see it now; "Rob Zombie's ‘Swamp Thing', Produced by Michael Bay, Starring John Cena..." Don't you dare, Rob! 9/10