The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)

Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Brilliant and touching

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Long before the Marvel Universe took movies by storm and before the DC Universe took us into dark costumes and gritty reality based films made from comics (that still doesn't make sense to me) DC allowed one of its more popular underground characters come to life on the big screen. In 1982 they released SWAMP THING from who'd only made a few cult films by this time named Wes Craven. The film was released to mixed reviews but developed a bit of a following mostly due to the source material and the campiness of the film. After it was released on video it gained enough interest for them to make a sequel, aptly titled THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING.This time around the movie was definitely played more for laughs and movie audiences than it was the comic fans hoping for more of their hero. The movie revolves around Abigail Arcane (Heather Locklear), a young woman with a natural ability to take care of plants who's curious about the death of her mother and why there was no funeral. To find out she leaves her home and heads to the where her mother was and to talk to her step-father.The man in question is Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jordan) who we know from the previous film is the quintessential mad doctor/bad guy. Resurrected from his passing in the first film he's set up base on the bayou and is still seeking a restorative formula for immortality. Aiding him in this is his assistant and lover Dr. Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas). Combining genes from various animals and mixing them with human beings he's had no luck but in the process created his own group of un-men, half mixed creations of man and beast. Thinking that perhaps there is something about his step-daughter's genetics that will provide the answer he treats her kindly at first with plans of using her in his experiments. On a walk one night she is grabbed by his henchmen led by Gunn (Joey Sagal) only to find a rescuer in the form of Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) who is still trying to defeat Arcane. But her safety doesn't last long after she returns to the house. Can Swampie save her in time?As I said earlier the movie is played for laughs with some tremendously over the top acting by all, even Jourdan. Locklear looks great and is a good actress but this movie wouldn't convince you of that. Durock, an actor and stunt man who originated the role and continued to play the character in the TV series, gets to speak more in this film and does a great job of it. Added to the cast for laughs are two little boys who get themselves into various predicaments mostly while trying to get a picture of Swamp Thing to sell. Perhaps the best thing about the movie are the sets that look fantastic even though the budget was on the low end. The film was directed by Jim Wynorski, a prolific director with over 100 movies he's directed to his name but whose output leaves much to be desired. Wynorski is one of those directors who absolutely loves movies and does a great job of putting something together from nothing with a miniscule budget. It doesn't mean the movie will be memorable but it will entertain and odds are it will be campy. That's what he has to offer here.The movie is being released on blu-ray as part of the MVD Rewind series that I've talked about before. Packaging will once more look like an old VHS box from the shelf of some long lost video store. The movie itself will be offered in both a 2k hi-def blu-ray version and standard DVD version in the package. Extras are over the top this time around. Included are a new audio commentary track with Wynorski, composer Chuck Cirino and editor Leslie Rosenthal, an audio commentary by Wynorski from the DVD release in 2003, a new interview with Wynorski, a new interview with Cirino, a new interview with Rosenthal, a new interview with Lightyear Entertainment executive Arnie Holland, the original theatrical trailer transferred from original 35 materials, 2 TV spots, 6 promotional TV clips, 2 Greenpeace public service announcements, a 1989 promo reel, a photo gallery accompanied by Cirino's film score, reversible artwork for the disc sleeve and a collectible mini-poster. In the end the movie is a fun romp and not to be taken seriously. Only those who would do so would be disappointed. If on the other hand you enjoy a good laugh, have fun with movies that feature their lead character in a rubber suit and appreciated the practical effects that film makers had to work with when the film was made odds are you'll have fun with this one. I know I did.

THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING is a sequel to the Wes Craven original, directed by Jim Wynorski this time around. Given that Wynorski has never made a decent movie, the odds are stacked against this one too, and so it proves. This is silly, campy film throughout, one which is bogged down by awful overacting from the supporting players and a general lack of coherence.The story sees the titular character returning to fight villain Louis Jourdan once more, after he somehow survived at the end of the last picture. There's some rubbery action and lots of posing from starlet Heather Locklear, but the whole thing's a cheese fest along the lines of the TROLL movies. I always found Swamp Thing one of the silliest comic book heroes (sillier even than the Toxic Avenger) and so it proves here.

The Swamp Thing returns to battle the evil Dr. Arcane, who has a new science lab full of creatures transformed by genetic mutation, and chooses Heather Locklear as his new object of affection. The Return of Swamp Thing was mostly made for 2 reason the first 2 Superman movies were a huge success the later 2 not that much but also 1989 was the year that the very first and best Batman movie was released in theaters so the studios said why don't we make a sequel to Swamp Thing from 1982? and they said why the hell not and so they made Swamp Thing 2 and the reviews for this movie have been awful and it has a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes higher than Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad yeah that happened and lower scores in IMDb than Superman III and Batman Forever. Is this movie campy? yes. Is it a bad movie? Nope sorry it's not Swamp Thing in this film looks amazing whatever you think in the Wes Craven version he looked like Christopher Lloyd meets The Grinch of Jim Carrey here he is muscular and looks kinda closer to the comics the acting is fine for a movie of this scale and the comedy it works far better than both Batman Forever and Robin and Superman III & IV way way better. Then there's this character called Gunn by Joey Sagal who is this campy, goofy character but he isn't as annoying as Richard Pryor was in Superman 3 not even close although his scene with that girl where they were showing each other their scars was kinda weird but not bad or anything. My biggest complaint was the scene where Abby thought she was kissing Alec Holland with his human form and felt like a porn movie really i didn't like that but overall this movie was way better than the first, it was campy but it was good, it had nice action, dialogue was fine, acting was fine, the 2 little kids were great and better than the kids in Jurassic World and there is even 2 fight scenes with a monster and the Swamp Thing and it was cool very cool i loved those scenes. Overall a great movie for what it is 10/10.

The Return of Swamp Thing sees evil scientist Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jordan) trying to reverse the extreme ageing that he is undergoing as a result of his experiments. Meanwhile in Los Angeles his stepdaughter Abigail (Heather Locklear) decides to visit him to find out more about her late mother & the events surrounding her sudden death. It turns out that Abigail has the exact genetic make-up that Arcane needs to complete his experiments & give himself eternal life. Arcane also needs a sample of Swamp Thing's (Dick Durock) DNA to complete the process but getting a sample isn't going to be as easy as Arcane hoped for as Swamp Thing sets out to put an end to Arcane's evil experiments...Directed by Jim Wynorski whom I consider one of the worst genre filmmakers of all time I have to say that I really liked The Return of Swamp Thing & for my money just about the best thing Wynorski has ever done (which isn't saying much in itself). A direct sequel to Wes Craven's Swamp Thing (1982) it is never actually explained how Arcane survived the events during the climax of the original although it turns out he is suffering from the process that saved him which forms the basis of the plot as he sets out to find a cure & doesn't care how many people he kills to do just that. Based on the dark Gothic DC comic book character the script by Neil Cuthbert & Grant Morris hasn't got too much to it & is rather simplistic & underdeveloped but is good fun all the same & you suspect that what the production team were aiming for, a good solid entertaining light hearted fun comic book superhero flick which I think it succeeds at being but like most things in life it's down to personal opinion. At a little over 90 minutes it's relatively short, it moves along like a rocket & I was never bored with it which is always a good thing to be able to say. There are one or two half decent action set-pieces but considering the production team had a budget smaller than the Wes Craven original you could say they worked minor miracles. The character's are fun although not particularly deep, the dialogue is often amusing & packed full of one-liners & doesn't take itself too seriously either with Locklear's character referring to the TV show T.J. Hooker (1982 - 1986) in which she starred. All in all much, much better than I expected & a film that I really liked. Keep watching after the end actor credits as the two kids get an extra little scene.Director Wynorski does a decent job & the film looks reasonably good although you can tell there wasn't much money with which to make it. One very impressive aspect of The Return of Swamp Thing is the special make-up effects which are of a very high standard. The Leechman in particularly looks great although he disappears about halfway through, there's a elaborate Cockroachman & an Elephantman. The Swamp Thing suit is also much better than seen in the original, it's far more leafy & slimy & more representative of a what a half man half Georgia swamp creature may look like. The Dr. Rochelle mutation at the end also looks good but is dispatched too easily by Swamp Thing & doesn't put up much of a fight. There are some good fight scenes as well along with a couple of impressive explosions.Technically the film is good, it's well made with the already mentioned special effects impressing. Shot in Savannah in Georgia. The acting is pretty camp & over-the-top but the material demands it, Louis Jordan is somewhat restrained, Dirk Durock's voice was dubbed in post while Heather Locklear looks nice enough.The Return of Swamp Thing is a film which I admit that I throughly enjoyed, that's my opinion & I am sticking with it. Followed by the made-for-TV live action series Swamp Thing (1990 - 1993) & the short lived made-for-TV animated series Swamp Thing (1991).