Government agent Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) has received a
new assignment, placed on the security detail of a hush-hush science experiment
that’s located deep within the swamps. She won’t be there long, for Washington
has ordered the entire project to be moved out of the sticks and close to where
the suits can keep an eye on it. Word has gotten out that evil genius Arcane
(Louis Jourdan) has heard about the project, and Washington is paranoid that it
might fall into his hands. Meeting Dr. Alex Holland (Ray Wise), the head of the
research for the project, Cable learns that he’s working on a way to make plants
invulnerable so that they can grow in harsh conditions like the desert.
But Arcane has already moved further than anybody suspects, and soon the gang in
the swamp research facility are overwhelmed by mercenaries (some of whom look
about as tough as Porky Pig). Arcane, seizing Holland and his sister (who's
also working on the project), demands that they hand over
all research materials relating to the project. In the melee that follows, Alex Holland gets
doused by chemicals in the lab and is left for dead by Arcane. But what the good
doctor Arcane
does not realize is that he has inadvertantly created a new warrior for swampland justice, a
new fighter for all things good and slimy--yes, my friends, I speak of the
mighty Swamp Thing!
Written and directed by Wes Craven, Swamp Thing is a corny, yet fun 90 minutes
that’s based on the DC Comic book character. If you think having horror master
Craven direct a
movie based on a comic is a strange state of affairs, bear in mind that Swamp
Thing was never your normal superhero comic book to begin with. Unlike the rest of the DC
universe, Swamp Thing was always more like a horror film in tone. Yet Craven
still pulls back on the gore and the gruesome aspects that one might expect to deliver a bouncy,
PG-rated action film with Swamp Thing taking on Arcane’s army of mercs and
saving the lovely agent Cable, always right in the nick of time.
Adrienne Barbeau shines in this film, which--released in 1982--came out long
before Hollywood became fascinated with female-empowerment stories, thanks to
such popular fare as Xena: Warrior Princess. Throughout the film, Cable always
gives as tough as she gets, beating up bad guys whenever she can--but, oddly,
she doesn’t carry a gun. Another misstep is the goofy-looking bad-guy monster
costume that’s seen in the climax of the movie, which looks like a cross between
the Creature From The Black Lagoon and a plush toy. The DVD is very sparse, with
no special features at all. Still, if you don’t take Swamp Thing too seriously,
it can be loads of fun. And there are worse ways to pass 90 minutes than seeing
the lovely Adrienne Barbeau in action. --SF
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