Return of Swamp Thing (3 Stars)

Amazon Friday #5

This film was released in 1989, and it's a direct sequel to "Swamp Thing" (1982). I vaguely remember watching "Swamp Thing" on television about 20 years ago, and I was moderately impressed. I almost certainly recorded it on video tape, but I stopped watching videos after I moved house in May 2008. I didn't even unpack the boxes they were stored in, and I finally dumped them in the trash about five years later.

Wes Craven directed the original film. Jim Wynorski directed the sequel. I'm a big fan of Jim Wynorski, but I still think he's a strange choice to direct a film like this. He's not someone I would expect to make a super-hero movie. Admittedly, Swamp Thing is a monster, and Jim Wynorski makes excellent monster movies, but does Jim have a feeling for super-heroes, even super-hero monsters?

Based on the evidence of this movie, the answer is No. Swamp Thing is just an ugly green creature who walks around like a man, i.e. his motions are like a man and he talks like a normal man. No attempt is made to develop his character. He's just there. He climbs out of the swamp, he beats up the bad guys, and he jumps back into the swamp.

The film's villain is Dr. Anton Arcane, who also appeared in the first film. He's attempting to create a cure for ageing by splicing human DNA with animal DNA. This isn't for the good of mankind, he just wants the cure for himself so that he can live forever. He injects animal DNA into men that he's captured, turning them into misshapen monsters. When he's visited by his step-daughter Abby for the first time in 10 years he shows a few minutes of emotion, but this changes as soon as he realises she has pure DNA (whatever that is) and is the perfect subject for completing his experiments.

Judging by the visuals, Jim Wynorski had a bigger budget available than in his usual movies. He's invested the money in big explosions that take place at various points in the film. He should have put more money into getting a better script.