Rating: 3/5
Not long ago, in the unexplored reaches of an unmapped swamp, the creative genius of one man collided with another's evil dream, and a monster was born. Too powerful to be destroyed, too intelligent to be captured, this being still pursues its savage dream
Alex Holland (Ray Wise) is a scientist working on a top-secret formula that will allow plants to grow in inhospitable places. After a group of paramilitaries — led by Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan), intent on hijacking the project for their nefarious plans — kill one of his researchers, Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) takes the researcher’s place in the bog lab
I’m watching this movie because:
- Adrienne Barbeau
- Ray Wise
- Wes Craven’s daughter hated how passive the final girl is in this, which motivated him to make a more complex and decisive lead for A Nightmare on Em Street
Once one of the researchers pulled off his face Mission Impossible-style, I felt like this would be up my alley. The film leans into the rubber suit, Creature from the Black Lagoon qualities
Unfortunately, once (spoiler alert) Alex turns into the Swamp Thing, the movie becomes a long set of repetitive set pieces. The heavy action is intentional — Wes Craven wanted to prove to Hollywood that he can handle action and stunts
The third act redeems the movie with its Bond villain speeches and gross-out effects and transformations — without this, I wouldn’t have enjoyed this as much
I’ll be interested to see how DC handles the inherently campy nature of this story in their remake — lots of potential to make similar mistakes made in the Hulk movies
Overall, I like the setup more than the payoff, but there’s some fun cheese in the mix
Stray Thoughts
- How are Ray Wise’s lips even poutier in this than anything else I’ve seen him in?
- Walking through a swamp picking orchids — what is this, The Orchid Thief?
- I love the neon green substance
- The henchman trying the formula is pretty wild
- “Sorry, Bruno — it’s every man for himself, and God against all.” Brutal