Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing (1982)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Wes Craven

Starring: Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Wise, Dick Durock, David Hess

From: The greatly named Swampfilms

Here is yet another movie I saw as a kid but the last viewing was many years ago; thus, I couldn't turn down the chance to see it when it was shown on the El Rey Network last night. Well, it's only an average film but at least there are certain elements that are hysterical, although unintentionally so. My Letterboxd review is below:

This is yet another one of those movies that I saw as a kid but the last viewing was many years ago. Certainly, when I saw it I did not know who Ray Wise was, so I was surprised to see that he was Alec before he became the title creature. I did not remember the Jude character, that is for sure. I am not sure about the acting but everything about that kid role is so goofy (such as how he managed to conveniently pop up more than once) I just have to laugh. Although it wasn't the biggest unintentional laugh I had while watching this; I'll get to that later. I noticed this was on the El Rey Network last night so I had to check it out.

The plot is set in the swamps of Georgia (although it was filmed in nearby South Carolina) and deals with a scientist in the woods who creates a wacky liquid that combines animal and plant DNA. This is done to try and feed all the people of the world; I laughed because I was reminded of Godzilla vs. Biollante and it makes that crazed movie even crazier in my eyes knowing they were also likely inspired by Swamp Thing. Anyhow, a villain known as Arcane whose backstory isn't really explained in the film (I guess you had to be familiar with the comics, which I never was) wants that research; an accident happens and Alec becomes Swamp Thing. He falls for Adrienne Barbeau-understandable, in my eyes-and thankfully she's helped by that wacky child known as Jude.

I can say that the direction from Wes Craven is fine. The score from Harry Manfrendini is serviceable. The setting is nice and the swampy area does set the appropriate mood. The late Louis Jourdan gave an appropriate as the bad guy in this cheesy picture. I did have a number of questions as I watched this, from wondering why Jude was in a middle of nowhere ga station by himself to who those people were that Dr. Arcane was having that dinner with at his place. Then, there's such things as all the scenes where Swampy tosses people (that's pretty much his main offensive maneuver) and various issues I had with the plot and things making logical sense.

At least I was amused by how you often get scene transitions that were like you advancing to the next panel in a comic book; that was definitely appropriate. As for the costume of the titular Swamp Thing, I imagine it would have looked OK in a 50's creature feature. In the early 80's, I am not so sure. Then again, it looks great compared to another monster that we get to see in the film's final act. That looked so silly I just about howled with laughter. It looks to be some sort of hybrid creature but it's hard to tell; I know that it's a goofy looking piece of crap where the eyes appear to be glued on, as they certainly don't move at all, let alone blink. It doesn't deliver any sort of frights or terror, that is for sure.

While the movie is not great, at least it is average and it is watchable. It just should have been better, even with a low budget.