Wes Craven had been slumming in made for television flicks for a while, but would DC's Swamp Thing be enough to put him back in the cinema?
Funny aside, this was the first film to made on a DC character that wasn't Superman. The Swamp Thing first showed up in House of Secrets#92 (June-July 1971), with the revamped take Swamp Thing (October-November 1972) published a year later. The scientist mutated into a muck encrusted mockery of a man proved to be fairly popular, but was finally canceled in 1976. The second series, the Saga of the Swamp Thing, came out on the heels of this film.
Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) is a government agent assigned to a top secret research base hidden deep within the Louisiana bayou. The head researchers, Doctors Alec Holland (Ray Wise) and his sister Linda (Nanette Brown) are behind the project, seeking to grow vegetation in hostile environments. They've had some success, but there is some concern. A formula that could make the Sahara a jungle? In the right hands that could be worth quite a bit, and all the agents have to make sure those hands don't belong to Anton Arcane. Agent Ritter (Don Knight) doesn't see much point in the project, or Cable's presence.
Unseen by the agents and scientists, a group of thugs, led by Ferret (David Hess) sneaks into their compound and slaughters the other agents. Entering the lab, it seems that Ritter, poor fellow, hasn't betrayed the team. No, he's been dead for some time. Under a latex mask and oversized glasses, Anton Arcane (Louis Jordan) introduces himself to the stunned scientists. One mishap later, Linda is dead, Alec has been doused in his formula and set on fire, and the lab is ablaze.
Cable manages to escape and hides out in the swamp, unaware that Ritter and Arcane are the same. After grabbing Alec's notes, she hightails it through the mud and muck until she finds a general store. The only employee is Jude (Reggie Batts), and he's the only thing that works outside of the payphone. Cable makes the call, but Arcane's limo and troops show up. She manages to flee again into the swamp, but as she's cornered a thing from the swamp (Dirk Durock) rises from the muck and saves her.
From there, Arcane switches focus. Sure, a formula that grows anything is nice, but a swamp monster? That's way better.
Not terrible, although it does take some liberties with the source material. Here, Jordan's Arcane is cultured, urbane, and ruthless. In the comics? He was a mad scientist who once turned his brother into a patchwork zombie, seduced his niece (after possessing her husband's body first), and generally tried to bring about the end of the world on a regular basis. A smooth talking European isn't quite the same.
The other actors are all decent and give it their best, but the film just doesn't quite measure up to Craven's earlier work, and honestly not even to Superman. The effects are good, despite Durock looking a bit rubbery in parts.
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