The Return Of Swamp Thing Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

This sequel arrived seven years after the first film. Seven years! The only returning cast members are Dick Durock, once again rocking out as Swamp Thing, and Louis Jourdan reprising his role as the villainous Anton Arcane. Wes Craven has been replaced by longtime director Jim Wynorski, and screenwriters Neil Cuthbert and Grant Morris. So, does a belated sequel still work when most of the folks involved with the first don’t return?

 

The story is a slight retread of the original, but there are a few new elements:

Abby Arcane (Heather Locklear) is heading to see her stepfather Anton, as he did not invite her to her own mother’s  funeral; whom died quite mysteriously. When she gets there, Abby becomes immediately suspicious of the strange goings on throughout the compound, and the odd animal like noises she hears at night. After uncovering the truth- two   scientists brought Anton back to his human form from near death, but his new human form will only last a short time- that  Anton is trying to combine animal and human DNA in an effort to save his life, Swamp Thing saves her from becoming the latest victim of Anton’s crazed experiments. As our heroes are being chased through the swamps, they fall in love. Meanwhile, two best friends try to find and get a picture of Swamp Thing to sell to a newspaper.

 

Right off the bat, we see some issues with the story. Shoehorning Anton back in, especially in human form (no matter how fun Mr. Jourdan might be) feels forced and shows a lack of creativity. Having Swamp Thing fall for, and make love to (!) Abby, with nary a mention of Alice Cable seems awkward, like the filmmakers just wanted a love interest, continuity be damned. The two best friends, ten year olds mind you, and their story just feel like padding. It never goes anywhere or amounts to much, and at only eighty minutes long, that isn’t a good sign. In terms of real, forward momentum story moments, I am betting there is only an hour or so here.

 

A thing that massive fans of the first one might be annoyed by, but I am okay with, is the dramatically different tone. The first one took itself seriously, but had some nice comedic moments, with some nods to low budget 1950s sci-fi films. The sequel, though, is all tongue- in-cheek camp. Just about everything is winking at the audience, and over the top on purpose. Most of the time, these jokes hit the spot with solid timing, and make for a fun, lighthearted watch. On the downside of that, since the movie never takes itself too seriously, the stakes never seem to be all that high.

 

Dick Durock is once again amazing under all that heavy makeup and the rubber suit. He emotes quite well and believably behind the layers, and brings a gravitas to the role that is sorely lacking in the script department. Heather Locklear has solid chemistry with Durock, but some of her dialogue sounds like line readings, which makes for some frustratingly odd scenes (sound angry, not like you are reading a damned report!). Jourdan is creepy and fun once again, but his arc is so similar- he wants the formula, only for a different reason this time around- that even his smarmy turn can’t save the staleness.

 

Ron Reaco Lee as Omar, and Daniel Taylor as Darryl, the two young best friends, are a lot of fun, and play off each other well. But, they fare less well in the more slapstick moments, as it is obvious their stunt doubles were being used. The rest of the supporting cast do an adequate to good job.

 

Wynorksi keeps the movie’s action scenes lively and engaging. Unfortunately, he is less well equipped to handle the romantic moments. As a director of some gazillion softcore porns, his idea and handling of tender moments seems very informed by that style, which causes many of the more romantic moments to be even sillier than the campiness the movie intends. The film still looks lush, with lots of popping colors and textures. Cinematographer Zoran Hochstatter gives the swamp a solid depth of field, without making it look like a home movie.

 

Now we come to the one thing this film does better than its predecessor… the suit, make-up, and creature effects. This film has a wider array of monsters and creatures than “Swamp Thing”, and each one of them looks awesome! From a man whose head is literally half elephant, to a sort of boar/ fly/ man thing, the make-up looks organic and real. The suits move realistically (considering what we are seeing), and are nicely varied. More importantly, Swamp Thing looks way, way better. Covered in more foliage, vines, and such- which is a nice way of showing how he has aged since turning into this creature- the suit looks more swamp planty. It is also more fitted to Durock, so it moves far more naturally with him, and no longer bunches and clumps at odd angles when he bends. This new suit also includes a more seamless conversion to the face mask, which despite being denser, allows for more facial tics to come through. This new suit is almost worth the plot issues, just to see it in motion. The seven year wait doesn’t seem so terribly long because of how much better his suit appears.

 

The plot feels forced and awkward at times, the female lead isn’t too convincing, and despite a short runtime, there seems to be a lot of padding. However, the tone is affably goofy, which might piss some off, but I rather enjoy, and the movie still has great cinematography. Plus, Durock will always be amazing as the titular creature. Finally, the suits and makeup are so, so much better than the first film it is unreal. If “Swamp Thing” is a perfectly crafted ode to 1950s b-movies and comic book aesthetics, then “The Return Of Swamp Thing” is an actual b-movie which riffs itself and invites the viewer to chuckle along.