SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

calvinnme ... with the unlikely Wes Craven as director. Brilliant scientist Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) is conducting experiments for the US government deep in the heart of bayou swamp country. The isolation causes a lot of turnover in employees at the lab, so new recruit Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) arrives as a replacement. She's just in time for the lab to be attacked by mercenary goons in the employ of the diabolical Arcane (Louis Jourdan). Holland is doused in an experimental substance and set on fire, left to die in the swamp. However, instead of dying, he is reborn as Swamp Thing, a tall, super strong humanoid made out of green plant material. He uses his new found strength to battle Arcane and his men.Barbeau makes a good, tough female hero, and Jourdan has fun with his villainous role. Veteran stuntman Dick Durock plays the title green guy, a role he would reprise in the film's sequel seven years later, as well as a TV show spin-off in 1990. Frequent B-movie bad guys David Hess and Nicholas Worth also have a lot of screen time as Arcane's chief thugs. The effects are a bit on the cheap side, but it adds to the film's charm. The whole enterprise has a comic-book vibe, and fits in with the late 70s superhero style; it's not as cheesy as the 60s BATMAN TV show, but keeps some comic touches, like the Christopher Reeves SUPERMAN films or the Tim Burton BATMAN films.It's also not quite clear who the audience for this was supposed to be. It has the aforementioned comic book style, and the story never gets more complicated than say a middle-school level. But it also features some gruesome violence and some nudity. It managed a PG rating (this was before PG-13), and you can tell there were some awkward edits to tone down the language. Based on the DC Comics characters.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com There's something about lesser-known comic book characters when it comes to being adapted to film. For odd reasons they don't receive as much critical or financial success. Yet it has been proved that these characters can become popular if done right. An example of this is James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Heck nobody even knew they were a Marvel property until the studio announced they were being put to the big screen. This only shows that the right people have to be involved with how the production is conceived and executed. The antithesis of that example is Man-Thing (2005), also produced by Marvel but in no way taken care of in the same manner. Like the character of Man-Thing, DC also had their version called Swamp Thing, which received its rendition way before Man-Thing's film was even thought of. But being that it was the second DC character to be portrayed on the big screen, one would think it would have done as well as Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) for being new and different.Instead, the film went underground and gained a cult following. It's not that it was bad but it certainly was not written anywhere near the same depth as Superman (1978) and its sequel. The story follows Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) who meets Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) in a new discovery where plant cells can be fused with animal cells in a solution. To Holland's dismay greedy man Dr. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) wants his findings for himself and destroys his lab. Attempting to escape, Dr. Holland accidentally collides with his experimental solution and mixes in with his swampy surroundings. This leads to him becoming Swamp Thing, a creature with super strength, regeneration and healing powers. Written and directed by indie horror fanatic Wes Craven, thankfully this feature does entertain on some level. It is surprising though that Wes Craven works with such a toned down picture. The violence is nothing compared to his works before like the dreaded The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977).The cast of characters isn't extremely unique but they do portray the proper emotion and do have their own personality. Ray Wise makes Dr. Holland sound very intelligent yet not bookworm-ish enough to be a total geek. Adrienne Barbeau as Cable is charismatic and even demonstrates some tough behavior, which is always encouraged for most female lead characters. Cable also meets a funny kid named Jude (Reggie Batts – which is his only film credit). It's weird how this actor didn't continue because he had some comical lines throughout the film. Playing the Swamp Thing character was Dick Durock and for the 1980s, his look is close to that of the comic. The only actor who isn't the most interesting is Louis Jourdan as Dr. Arcane. Besides being a jerk for his selfish reasons there really isn't much of a personality behind the character. I'll admit his voice is a bit captivating though.Aside from acting, the writing does miss in one particular area. This belongs to Swamp Thing's powers. The strength boost is explained, but how he knew what makes him regenerate and healing others is left unchecked. All Craven needed to do was add in one scene that shows how Swamp Thing discovered these abilities and that would at least cover half the problem. Sadly, the powers are just thrown in for the scenes that needed it. The ability is different but there's no development to how it came about. Also the middle section to the movie does drag because of a long-winded chase scene. Unfortunately adding to that are some standard action sequences. Most of the events that happen are very 80s era type tropes. That's not to say all of it is, but most and because of the rather underwhelming action, the pace of it slows. No reason to be too concerned though, that's it for the big issues. The visual style of the film is something to behold though.One of the most interesting visual techniques used is the transition editing by Richard Bracken. Not every change between scenes is different or the greatest looking but a number of scene changes involve comic book like transitions, which really help solidify the feeling like the viewer is watching a comic book movie. As stated for Dick Durock's Swamp Thing portrayal, the practical and special effects are dated in some areas but are also something to admire for at least having the ambition. One note being that the solution Dr. Holland develops has the same color and glow to that of the serum Dr. West would use in Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (1985). Robbie Greenberg's cinematography looks great too with wide shots of the swamp with plenty of sunlight and color. Lastly is composer Harry Manfredini's score. Unfortunately, due to him working consistently on the Friday the 13th (1980) franchise years prior, much of his music sounds reminiscent to that of those scores. That means tinkering keys and blaring horns for the tense moments. However, there is one musical cue that makes it worth while and that is the love theme for Cable and Alec. The theme uses a clarinet and harp and the tune is completely memorable. If it weren't for that, Manfredini's score would be considered unoriginal.DC's second original comic book movie isn't as smartly written and doesn't have the massive action spectacle to that of Richard Donner's Superman (1978) but it is still highly watchable. The leads can act, the music works, the effects are decent and Swamp Thing as a character is unique all by itself.

utgard14 In his swamp-based laboratory, scientist Alec Holland develops a formula that stimulates plant growth (or something like that). When evil Arcane and his mercenaries try to take the formula, Alec resists. In the ensuing fight, he's set on fire and jumps into the swamp water. When he emerges, he's transformed into a hulking creature unlike any ever seen before. Oh yeah and there's Adrienne Barbeau naked.I was a teenager when I first read Alan Moore's Swamp Thing comics. I quickly became a fan and sought out the Len Wein and Berni Wrightson comics that preceded Moore and enjoyed them, as well. When I found out that there had been a Swamp Thing movie made years before, directed by Wes Craven no less, I eagerly rushed out to the video store and rented it. To say I was immensely disappointed would be an understatement. The intelligence, creativity, and atmosphere of the comic stories was replaced by cartoonish characters and TV-quality action, not to mention a man in a rubber suit. The bulk of the story is the bad guys chasing Adrienne Barbeau around the swamp. Not that watching Adrienne Barbeau run (and bounce) around in a wet t-shirt is a bad thing. As a matter of fact, her topless scene is the best part of the movie. Reggie Batts is also fun as the kid who helps Barbeau. He gets the movie's best lines. Louis Jourdan is the limp-wristed villain Arcane. Ray Wise is likable enough but disappears early, replaced by stuntman Dick Durock in the Swamp Thing suit. To his credit, Durock does surprisingly well emoting behind the costume. The action scenes barely qualify as such. Mostly just Swamp Thing throwing around guys in army surplus outfits. The special effects are cheap. Harry Manfredini scores the movie and just reuses music from Friday the 13th.It's not a very good movie but it is watchable. There's a certain camp quality about it, I suppose. Perhaps if I had never read the source material I might view it differently but I can't imagine ever thinking it was more than a middling B movie. Fans of Craven and 'Boom Boom' Barbeau will want to give it a try. Followed by a crappy sequel with Heather Locklear and a TV series that wasn't terrible for its time. Hopefully the day will come when Swamp Thing will get a proper movie adaptation that captures some of the creativity and magic of the comics. For now, we'll have to make do with this.

tomgillespie2002 Sat somewhere between Wes Craven's disturbing yet interesting The Last House on the Left (1972), and his uber-popular, icon making A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), is this low budget adaptation of a semi-popular DC comics character, Swamp Thing. During this shift from gritty, cinema verite style of Last House, to the more fantastical, "polished" Nightmare, Craven seems to have been trapped within the confines of a television aesthetic. This films action sequences often feel like (and look like) an episode of The A-Team (1983 - 1987). Craven did work on a few TV shows during this period also, so I'm guessing that this film probably had technicians (and particularly), and a similar budget to a TV movie.Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) arrives in the swamps where secret science experiments are taking place. Doctor Holland (Ray Wise) heads the team researching a chemical that has an effect on organic life. Unfortunately, a group of "villains" want the formula for evil purposes (one of the hoods, Ferret, is played by star of Last House, David Hess). After an explosion, Dr Holland disappears, only to turn up as human/plant hybrid monster of the films title.This is a pretty lacklustre film. As I mentioned, it has that oh-so distinctive TV aesthetic. It is not altogether bad. It has some fun, and funny moments, and the make-up/costume for the Swamp Thing is not too bad for the time. It makes good use of its source, in the sense that it uses it's comic-book devices such as dramatic editing, and sequences where the screen is masked with action shapes. However, this technique was used to greater effect in the same year in George A. Romero's and Stephen King's underrated Creepshow (1982 - a film that also starred Barbeau - who was married to John Carpenter at the time) that used EC horror comics as it's source.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com