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''Swamp Thing'' is a 1982 American
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...
written and directed by
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
, based on the
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
/
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
character of the same name created by
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ...
and
Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...
. It tells the story of scientist
Alec Holland Alec Holland is a fictional character in comic books published by DC Comics. He is most notably a character in the various ''Swamp Thing'' series. Holland appeared in his first live adaptation in the 1982 film played by Ray Wise. Dick Durock t ...
(
Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...
) who becomes transformed into the monster known as Swamp Thing ( Dick Durock) through laboratory sabotage orchestrated by the evil
Anton Arcane Anton Arcane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by DC Comics. the character first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #2 (January 1973), and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson. He is the archenemy of the Swamp Thin ...
(
Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Lette ...
). Later, he helps a woman named Alice Cable (
Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
) and battles the man responsible for it all, the ruthless Arcane. The film did well on home video and cable and was followed by a sequel, ''
The Return of Swamp Thing ''The Return of Swamp Thing'' is a 1989 American superhero film based on the DC Comics' character of the same name. Directed by Jim Wynorski, it is a sequel to the 1982 film ''Swamp Thing'', having a lighter tone than its predecessor. The film h ...
'', in 1989.


Plot

After a scientist is mysteriously killed while assisting a top-secret bioengineering project, government worker Alice Cable arrives at the bogs to serve as his replacement. Alice immediately notices that one of the team's swamp sensors has malfunctioned, Harry Ritter reveals that her predecessor was attempting to repair it when he was killed. Charlie tells Ritter a rumor about an evil paramilitary leader named
Anton Arcane Anton Arcane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by DC Comics. the character first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #2 (January 1973), and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson. He is the archenemy of the Swamp Thin ...
, who intends to hijack their operation. Alice introduces herself to Dr. Linda Holland and her brother, lead scientist Dr.
Alec Holland Alec Holland is a fictional character in comic books published by DC Comics. He is most notably a character in the various ''Swamp Thing'' series. Holland appeared in his first live adaptation in the 1982 film played by Ray Wise. Dick Durock t ...
, who takes her on a tour and encourages her to admire the beauty of the swamps. After noting the disappearance of one of their workers, the group hears a loud bang and returns to the laboratory, where Linda shows off her recent breakthrough: a glowing, plant-based concoction with explosive properties. Sometime later, Alec notices that droplets of Linda's formula spawned rapid plant growth on the surfaces they touched. Suddenly, a group of paramilitary agents attack her and raid Alec's laboratory. A man resembling Ritter steps forward, but pulls off his mask and reveals himself as Arcane. When Arcane shoots Linda for attempting to escape with the formula, Alec grabs the beaker, but trips, causing the spilled chemicals to set him on fire. He runs outside and dives into the swamp to extinguish the flames as a series of explosions burst from the water. Overnight, Arcane's henchmen destroy the premises and remove all evidence of the team's work. At dawn, a henchman captures Alice and attempts to drown her in the swamp, but a green, humanlike creature rescues her. Meanwhile, in his mansion, Arcane and his secretary realize that Alec's most recent notebook is missing. Alice runs to a nearby gas station to telephone her employers for help; the operator connects to Ritter, who claims to have been called away from the site before the attack. After revealing she stole Alec's last notebook, Alice waits for Ritter's return alongside the young gas station attendant, Jude, but Arcane's men arrive and chase her through the forest. Suddenly, the green humanoid creature, referred to as the
Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
, appears and again scares the pursuers away and Alice escapes. Alice and Jude boat around the swamp until they reach the dock near the laboratory wreckage. Multiple boats of Arcane's men close in on Alice and Jude, luring the creature from its hiding place among the reeds. Despite their bullets and grenades, the Swamp Thing engineers an elaborate boat crash. Moments after instructing Jude to escape with Alec's notebook, Alice hears the boy cry out in distress, but she is kidnapped before she can reply. The Swamp Thing finds Jude's lifeless body and presses a hand against his head, creating a greenish glow which instantly revives him. Regaining consciousness, Jude realizes the creature is a friend of Alice's and gives it the notebook for safekeeping. On Arcane's boat, Alice throws her kidnapper, Ferret, overboard, then dives into the water and swims ashore. Once on land, Alice bumps into the Swamp Thing, which calls out her name. Ferret chops off the Swamp Thing's arm with a machete, but the creature easily snaps Ferret's neck, causing Alice to faint. She awakens in the monster's embrace. The Swamp Thing speaks to her, and she recognizes it as Alec. Arcane's men follow her, capture the Swamp Thing in a net, and retrieve the final notebook. That evening, Arcane invites Alice to a formal dinner party celebrating his duplication of the Hollands’ formula. Moments after giving a toast to prospective immortality, Arcane reveals that he secretly slipped the first dose to Bruno, who begins to convulse. The hulking man's body shrinks to half its size as he grows pointed ears and a misshapen skull. Arcane locks him in a dungeon alongside the Swamp Thing, asking the latter creature why the experiment failed. The Swamp Thing reveals that the formula does not produce strength, but instead amplifies a person's natural qualities, explaining that Bruno's timidity caused his diminished stature. After locking Alice in the dungeon with them, Arcane returns to his study and drinks a glass of the formula. A beam of sunlight emitted through the door re-grows the Swamp Thing's missing arm, allowing the creature to free itself, Alice, and Bruno. Upstairs, Arcane transforms into a hairy, boar like beast, and descends to the dungeons. There, he discovers that his captives have escaped through an underwater tunnel leading back to the swamp. Sometime later, Alice and the Swamp Thing emerge from the water, followed closely by Arcane, who stabs Alice with a sword. The Swamp Thing revives Alice then kills Arcane. The creature turns to leave, but Alice pleads for him to stay so that she can help him rebuild his work. He refuses, but promises to return to her soon. Moments later, Jude emerges from the trees and embraces her as they watch the Swamp Thing lumber away through the marsh.


Cast

*
Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...
as
Alec Holland Alec Holland is a fictional character in comic books published by DC Comics. He is most notably a character in the various ''Swamp Thing'' series. Holland appeared in his first live adaptation in the 1982 film played by Ray Wise. Dick Durock t ...
*
Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
as Alice Cable (a female version of
Matt Cable Matthew Joseph Cable is a character appearing in DC Comics' '' Swamp Thing'' series. Introduced in ''Swamp Thing'' (Volume 1) in November 1972, he dies and is later resurrected as Dream's raven in Neil Gaiman's rendition of '' The Sandman''. H ...
in place of the Swamp Thing's comic book love interest Abby Arcane, who appears in the
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
) *
Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Lette ...
as
Anton Arcane Anton Arcane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by DC Comics. the character first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #2 (January 1973), and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson. He is the archenemy of the Swamp Thin ...
* Dick Durock as the
Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
* David Hess as Ferret * Nicholas Worth as Bruno * Don Knight as Harry Ritter * Al Ruban as Charlie * Nannette Brown as Dr. Linda Holland * Reggie Batts as Jude * Karen Price as Karen


Production


Filming

Filming occurred primarily on location in
Cypress Gardens Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida. History Billed as Florida ...
, Monks Corner, South Carolina.
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
was very proud in delivering the film on time and on budget at $2.5 million.


Writing

In writing the film, Wes Craven referenced Werner Herzog's 1974 film '' The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser'' which was originally called ''Every Man for Himself and God Against All''. Another mercenary says the line to the character named Bruno. In ''Enigma'', the lead character was played by
Bruno Schleinstein Bruno Schleinstein (2 June 1932 – 11 August 2010), often credited as Bruno S., was a German film actor, artist, and musician. He is known internationally for his roles in two films directed by Werner Herzog, '' The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser'' ...
(credited as Bruno S.).


Release


Home media

''Swamp Thing'' was released on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. In August 2000,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
released the film on DVD in the United States. Though the DVD was labeled as being the PG-rated, domestic cut of the film, MGM had inadvertently used the 93-minute international cut of the film which contained more nudity and sexual content than the US theatrical cut. This DVD edition also erroneously lists the release date as 1981, instead of 1982. In May 2002, a
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
woman rented the disc from a
Blockbuster Video Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...
store for her children and reported this discrepancy. MGM recalled the disc and reissued it in August 2005, with the US theatrical cut as originally intended. ''Swamp Thing'' was released in a
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
/DVD combo pack by
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
on August 6, 2013. The set features the 91-minute cut of the film presented in high definition
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...
format, along with bonus content including interviews with
Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
,
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ...
, and Reggie Batts, as well as commentary tracks with Wes Craven and makeup artist Bill Munn. In the UK the 93-minute cut was released on Blu-ray by 88films on March 25, 2019.
MVD Entertainment Group MVD Entertainment Group, (previously Music Video Distributors, Inc.) is an American production company and film distributor based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, consisting of three main departments MVD Visual, MVD Audio, and MVD Distribution. Th ...
is planning an
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
release of ''Swamp Thing'' for 2023.


Reception


Critical response

''Swamp Thing'' received mixed to positive reviews from critics. On the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "Unabashedly campy -- often to its detriment -- ''Swamp Thing'' is not without its charms, among them Adrienne Barbeau as the damsel in distress".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film three out of four stars. Author
John Kenneth Muir John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres. Biography Bo ...
notes that ''Swamp Thing'' differs in many respects from Craven's usual work, in that Craven's intent was to show the major Hollywood studios that he could handle action, stunts and major stars. Craven substituted his usual focus on the problems of family and society for pure entertainment. Nevertheless, Muir points out, some of Craven's usual themes and images do appear in ''Swamp Thing''. For example, as in ''
The Last House on the Left ''The Last House on the Left'' is a 1972 American exploitation horror film written, directed and edited by Wes Craven in his directorial debut. The film follows Mari Collingwood ( Sandra Peabody), a hippie teenager who is abducted, raped, and ...
'' (1972), and ''
The Hills Have Eyes ''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. T ...
'' (1977), Craven shows a close connection between the landscape and his characters. The film was adapted in comic form as ''Swamp Thing Annual'' #1.
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television ...
journalist J.C. Maçek III wrote: "As much fun as this film can be (and it often is), it's equally often difficult to ignore that ''Swamp Thing'' ultimately is, at core, a rubber-suit monster movie".
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
rated the film as 3 stars of 5 stars as "Recommended".


Other media


Sequel

A sequel entitled ''
The Return of Swamp Thing ''The Return of Swamp Thing'' is a 1989 American superhero film based on the DC Comics' character of the same name. Directed by Jim Wynorski, it is a sequel to the 1982 film ''Swamp Thing'', having a lighter tone than its predecessor. The film h ...
'' was released in 1989.


Television series

In July 1990,
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...
premiered the ''
Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
'' television series. This saw Dick Durock reprising his role using a modified version of the ''Return of Swamp Thing'' costume. The series took a deliberate turn away from the campy themes of its 1989 film predecessor and leaned toward the darkness of
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
's version. It lasted into 1993 with a total of 72 episodes.


Animated series

A short-lived animated series was also produced concurrently. It does not share continuity with either the films or live-action series.


Reboot

In 2009,
Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...
announced plans to produce a reboot of the ''Swamp Thing'' film franchise from a story written by
Akiva Goldsman Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes '' The Client''; '' Batman Forever'' and its sequel '' ...
. In April 2010,
Vincenzo Natali Vincenzo Natali (born 1969) is an American-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, known for writing and directing science fiction and horror films such as '' Cube'', ''Cypher'', '' Nothing'', and '' Splice''. Early life and education Nat ...
was confirmed to direct, but in May he decided to delay the ''Swamp Thing'' reboot to pursue other projects.Vincenzo Natali says no Swamp Thing 3D movie anytime soon
, "Beyond Hollywood", May 12, 2010.


Other appearances

Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
made a guest appearance in the episode "Long Walk Home" of
DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green L ...
's 2019 ''Swamp Thing'' series.


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swamp Thing 1982 fantasy films 1980s monster movies 1980s science fiction comedy films 1980s superhero films 1982 films 1982 horror films American action horror films American monster movies American science fiction comedy films Embassy Pictures films Films based on DC Comics Films based on works by Len Wein Films directed by Wes Craven Films scored by Harry Manfredini Films set in Louisiana Films shot in South Carolina Live-action films based on DC Comics Mad scientist films Superhero horror films Swamp Thing in other media 1982 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films