Swamp Thing!

Richard Hescox
I've owned Swamp Thing on video for years, but my copy is very dark and it made enjoying the movie rather difficult. I've noticed the same problem on television. I found the flick on DVD combined with some other horror flicks, none of which I own, so I took a flyer on it.

This widescreen version is much brighter, and much easier to see. That alas doesn't necessarily make the movie better. I am now able to detect the weakness of the Swamp Thing suit through most of the flick and that really pulls you out of the movie a bit.

As a movie, I've always thought this one was just okay. It does a decent job of translating the comics story to the screen but alas it must do so with a meager budget. The monster suits were marginal in their own time, and look downright cheesy today. There is a smidge of that old-fashioned movie-making charm, but it's minimal unfortunately.

Adrienne Barbeau is fine in her role as Cable, she bounces around the swamp sufficiently to keep my interest up when little else seems to be going on. The kid who plays Jude, a smarmy teen sidekick for Cable is pretty annoying throughout. Louis Jourdan as Arcane is pretty much stock Jourdan, a reliable villain. The other actors perform their functions adequately, and that says it for me.

This is merely an adequate flick, with a decidedly A-Team feel to the action sequences. There's nowhere near the level of mystery and weirdness needed to really give the movie a Swamp Thing feel. Part of that is the relentless daytime shooting which magnifies the flaws.

Wes Craven really tries to stretch here and comes up quite short in my opinion. I'd have loved to see more of the classic Craven suspense.

Swamp Thing is a diverting flick and a relic of the time, but little else. I do love the poster by Richard Hescox though.



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