Swamp Thing [Blu-ray] [2 Discs]

Director: Wes Craven Wes Craven

Overview

Director Wes Craven, who went on to fame as the force behind blockbuster horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, departed from his favorite genre to film this unique cult classic -- a spoof on the mad scientist movies of the 1950s. Adrienne Barbeau stars as Alice Cable, a government agent sent to replace a man who has disappeared while guarding a secret experimental lab in the middle of the Louisiana bayous. Dressed in heels and a skirt, Cable professes unease at her strange new surroundings, but she is soon wooed by Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise). Holland is working on a concoction that combines plant and animal cells. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) is the criminal mastermind who is trying to steal the secret recipe for the potion. When Arcane and his mercenaries break into the government camp, they kill Holland's sister Linda (Nannette Brown) and the scientist is accidentally doused with his own formula and bursts into flames, then dives into the swamp. Arcane's men pursue Cable, but she is rescued by a mysterious green man. It takes several rescues for her to understand that the Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) is Dr. Holland, transformed by his own formula. ~ Michael Betzold

Product Details

Release Date:	08/08/2023
UPC:	0760137855484
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	PG
Source:	Mvd Rewind
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	12,341

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Adrienne Barbeau	Alice Cable
Ray Wise	Doctor Alec Holland
Louis Jourdan	Dr. Anton Arcane
David Hess	Ferret, Arcane's Commando Leader
Nicholas Worth	Bruno, Ferret's Henchman
Don Knight	Ritter
Al Ruban	Charlie
Dick Durock	Swamp Thing
Ben Bates	Arcane Monster
Nannette Brown	Dr. Linda Holland
Reggie Batts	Jude
Mimi Craven	Secretary
Karen Price	Messenger
Bill Erickson	Young Agent
Dov Gottesfeld	Commando
Tommy Madden	Little Bruno
Harry Manfredini	Composer

Technical Credits

Wes Craven

Wes Craven	Director,Screenwriter
Ted Duncan	Stunts
Benjamin Melniker	Producer
Michael E. Uslan	Producer
Al Ruban	Executive Producer
Tony Cecere	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Both an adaptation of a popular comic book and an homage to '50s sci-fi movies, Swamp Thing (1982) possesses more than enough slam-bang action and campy thrills to satisfy genre fans. Ray Wise (TV's Twin Peaks) plays Dr. Alec Holland, whose experimental infusing of vegetable cells with animal nuclei provokes an unexpected chemical reaction: After being doused with the formula, set on fire, and chased into the nearby swamp, he mutates into a half-man, half-vegetable creature. Living proof of his experiment's success, Holland is pursued by both villainous Louis Jourdan and government agent Adrienne Barbeau, each determined to secure the formula. Director Wes Craven (The Hills Have Eyes) choreographs numerous fights and chases with panache, although he's less successful in restraining Jourdan, whose tongue-in-cheek performance is even broader than Barbeau's bustline. Scenery-chewing notwithstanding, Swamp Thing still holds up, nearly 20 years after its theatrical release, as a perfect popcorn movie: fast, furious, and funny.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Although Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben's masterful reworking of the DC Comics Swamp Thing mythology didn't begin until after the film was completed, writer/director Wes Craven still had the original 1970s comic to work with. The moody tale of an outcast plant man, the book featured the broodingly beautiful artwork of horror mainstay Berni Wrightson. Instead of going for gothic atmosphere, however, Craven and company opt for a slightly campy riff on '50s horror matinees. The results are watchable enough, but they lack both the fiendish glee of Creepshow (another 1982 horror throwback starring Adrienne Barbeau) and the Grand Guignol power of the comic book. Arcane, the grotesque scientist villain of the comic, is transformed into a debonair millionaire arch-fiend, while Abigail, his put-upon niece, becomes ass-kicking government agent Alice Cable, who has no ties whatsoever to Arcane. The interplay between Barbeau's no-nonsense Cable and deadpan teen sidekick Jude (Reggie Batts) is a lot of fun, but the actual monster-mash elements of the film fall flat, thanks to cheap makeup effects. There's never any doubt that Swamp Thing is a guy in an ill-fitting rubber suit, and Craven doesn't do enough to transform such anachronisms from a liability into a strength. The tongue-in-cheek production design -- from knowingly cheesy wipes to gorgeous exteriors of the swamp itself -- looks great, especially on DVD, but as soon as the title character turns up, this is basically a hokey-looking nostalgia exercise.

All Movie Guide - Brian J. Dillard