I know I’ve defended some dubious films since I initiated this column. Admittedly, some are for purely sentimental reasons. I believe others have been unfairly maligned or overlooked upon their original release. This one is a combination of both.
Back in 1982, aside from Superman, there wasn’t much going on theatrically in the live-action superhero landscape. We were nearly a decade away from Tim Burton’s Batman and two decades away from X-Men and Spider-Man. The technology simply did not exist to render their fantastic powers (as I’ve already discussed in my prior defenses of The Rocketeer and Dick Tracy).
However, two forward thinking producers – Ben Melniker and Micheal Uslan optioned two DC properties they believed had franchise potential (and that could be budgeted within reason). The first, of course, was Batman. Uslan fought for nearly 10 years to get the film made. Eventually his perseverance paid off with the highest grossing superhero film (up to that point) with Tim Burton’s Batman.
The other property was DC’s Swamp Thing, originally conceived by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. The character was a cult hit when originally introduced in the early 70s but had fallen on hard times. He suffered in the hands of lesser creators and the series was canceled. However, for whatever reason, studios were quicker to option this property than the much better known caped crusader.
Horror auteur Wes Craven was selected to direct, eager to prove he was viable outside the confines of the genre that made his career. Embassy Pictures set the film up as a low budget affair, and it shows. The more horrific elements of the comic were jettisoned in favor of science gone awry.
The film stars ‘50s matinee idol Louis Jourdan as Swampy’s nemesis Arcane, and Adrienne Barbeau, who had already starred iconic genre pieces such as Creepshow, The Fog and Escape From New York played love interest Alice Cable. A young Ray Wise played the ill-fated Alec Holland (and I’ve enjoyed him ever since), and with this film, stuntman Dick Durock embarked on a long career playing the muck-encrusted monstrosity. David Hess (a veteran of Craven’s Last House on the Left) played Arcane’s principal henchman Ferret.
Characters like Arcane bore no resemblance to their comic counterparts, but the skeleton of Swamp Thing’s origin remained somewhat intact. Holland is working in the Louisiana bayou on a “bio-restorative” formula that once perfected, could eliminate many of the world’s ills.
Arcane, a rival scientist who wants to get his hands on Holland’s formula, launches an attack on the secret lab. In the commotion, Holland is set on fire after being doused with the formula. He emerges from the swamp transformed into a creature possessed of great strength and the restorative properties of plant matter.
I vividly remember cool ads for Swamp Thing appearing in the DC Comics of the time. They relaunched the series in anticipation of the film, and although I wasn’t necessarily a fan of Swampy (at the time) a live-action comic property coming to the screen was always cause for excitement. I had high hopes I would see it in the theatre.
Released in February 1982, the film sank like a stone upon initial release. It was a critical and commercial failure. My parents had no interest in seeing it and it wasn’t playing anywhere near my house, and I remember being disappointed I couldn’t see it. I would be forced to wait nearly a year, and despite the reviews I was still eager to see it.
When I finally did catch Swamp Thing on cable I liked it. The fact that I was 12 years old and not a fan of the original comic probably helped. The film straddled the line between horror, action and camp, and while there a few laugh out loud moments I think it gets a raw deal.
Jourdan brings a certain effete quality to Arcane. He is so taken with himself he cannot conceive of anyone with a superior intellect. It really is a hamfisted performance. He barely tolerates the minions surrounding him and is quite simply a megalomaniac in the vein of a Bond villain (which ironically, he would portray a year later in Octopussy).
Adrienne Barbeau is a hard-nosed damsel in distress who, despite her obvious assets, forges a loving rapport – first with Wise as Holland then with Durock as Swamp Thing. She’s a much better actress than she ever got credit for. She plays tough and feminine equally well. Ray Wise really made the most of his brief screen time, establishing Holland’s heroic, charming persona.
Much was made about Durock’s ill-fitting Swamp Thing costume, which was vastly improved for the horrific sequel and subsequent TV series. As home video resolution has increased over the years, the costume’s seams and zippers have become obvious.
Why I am so sentimental about Swamp Thing? It’s the first film I ever recorded on the Quasar VCR my parents purchased as a gift for my grammar school graduation. I had delusions of amassing a huge collection of films taped from cable, but my parents dropped HBO shortly after I recorded ST. Subsequently, I was forced to record movies off network television that were edited, had commercials, etc. That changed after I got my second VCR!
It’s one of a handful of movies that I watched endlessly during those years, ignoring its’ obvious flaws. The fact it was based on a comic didn’t hurt. The fact I wasn’t very discerning (and some may say still aren’t) also didn’t hurt. I watch it now with a sense of nostalgia, and quite frankly it’s a lot of fun. That bizarre recipe of horror, action and comedy somehow works for me.
Seven years later, the film spawned a sequel which fails on every level. The plot (such as it is) makes the original seem like Citizen Kane by comparison. The writing is laughable, the humor is juvenile, and the acting is horrific. I never got into the TV series that followed.
Ironically, as a result of my love for the original film, I started reading the comic just when Alan Moore started writing it, and it was my first exposure to truly adult material. The writing was beyond anything I was ever exposed to, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities inherent in the format.
Swamp Thing suffered from the same fate as so many of those early comic-to-screen adaptations. It strayed too far afield from the original source material (which was brilliant), but it hit me just at the right time. Who knows how I would’ve felt about it if I was five years older? It has developed into something of a cult film, and it’s not quite the spectacular failure it was made out to be at the time (Wes Craven certainly bounced back!)
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