Swamp Thing — Swamp Thing( Blu Ray)

From the early 1980’s Swamp Thing is the big screen adaption of the DC comic strip, which told of a scientist who gets changed into a half-human/half-plant creature by mistake. It was directed by horror maestro Wes Craven, and it’s a decidedly pulpy affair, which very much nods back towards the sci-fi action films of the 1950s. The film features the likes of Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog & Escape From New York), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) and David Hess (Last House on The Left). And while it’s certainly not up there with Craven’s best work- it’s an entertaining enough swamp-bound romp- with a devious & rich baddie, a selection of henchmen, swamp-bound action, light horror elements, and a lead character that has a rather lost & melancholic quality to him.

Here from the MVD Rewind series is a region A Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a new HD scan of both the theatrical PG Version and Unrated International Version, and a selection of extras- mostly archive. And like with all of the MVD Rewind releases- it comes with a card slip made to look like an old VHS cover, and a mini poster.

Swamp Thing was made in the year 1982, and was filmed on location in the swamps of North Carolina.  It was Wes Craven's 6th film, and I’d hope everyone knows his body of work- as he’s really the most known director within the horror genre- with key and important films being A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984),  Scream (1996), and Scream2 (1997). As well as cult classics such as Last House On The Left (1972), and The Hills Have Eyes (1977).

The film opens with Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) getting a chopper flight into the deep swamps- she is due to start work as an assistant to nature obsessed/ slightly quirky Dr Alec Holland (Ray Wise), who has a lab in the middle of the swamp- and is just on the cusp of making an important discovery. Also aware of Dr’s work is creepy rich guy Arcane (Louis Jourdan) with his band of henchmen- lead up by Ferret (David Hess).

One thing leads to another- Arcane and his men raid the lab, with the doctor getting covered in the fluorescent green liquid he’s invented- set on light before dropping into the swamp. Alice goes on the run. And a strange tall man/ plant creature starts roaming the swamplands/ woods- saving Alice whenever she is in danger- and of course, this is the mutilated DR, now Swamp Thing.

The first half of the film is a little TV film/ TV series episode-like in its tone- with a decidedly campy feel to the acting/ tone of the film. Both Arcane & his henchmen have a very cliched bad guys vibe- though we do have moments of lightly effective threat from Hess on one or two occasions. In its second half, it does improve- as the Swamp Thing appears, and there is a rather memorable lost/melancholic quality about him- with hints at romance between him & Alice. The film is decidedly PG for most of its runtime- with the violence being largely comic book. Though we get a few moments of gory transformation towards the end of the film.

The film runs at around the one hour & a half mark- with the uncut version just lasting a few minutes more- taking in very brief glances of nudity from Ms Barbeau, and a cut dance scene. I’d say you’ll certainly have to go into this expecting pulpy comic book fare, and not your normal Craven horror film- as this is very much of a PG Sci-fi action affair.

 

Moving onto this recent region A locked Blu-Ray disc, and we get two versions of the film- theatrical & unrated international versions. There is only a few minutes difference in the runtime of both versions- with the main thing being a minute or two of nudity from Ms Barbeau, as she baths in the swamp. The new HD scan looks well-defined- with a good balance of colours & tones.
All the extras here( as far as I can gather) are archive- either coming from the Shout Factory, or 88 Films releases from a few years back. So we get two commentary tracks on the theatrical version- one with writer/director Wes Craven moderated by Sean Clark. And one with makeup effects artist William Munn moderated by Michael Felsher. There’s Tales From the Swamp (16.09) onscreen interview with actress Adrienne Barbeau. Hey Jude (14.43) onscreen interview with Actor Reggie Batts. That Swamp Thing (13.20) onscreen interview with Len Wein, Creator of Swamp Thing.  From Krug to Comics: How the Mainstream Shaped a Radical Genre Voice(17.36) which finds respected genre Kim Newman expert discussing the film, and the development of Craven's career.  We have a posters & lobby cards gallery. Photos from the Film Gallery. William Munns' Behind the scenes pictures - photo gallery. Behind the Scenes Photos by Geoffrey Rayle - Photo Gallery.

All in all, this is a worthy reissue of this lesser-known/ rather tame PG sci-fi action film from Wes Craven- and if you’ve never picked up the film before this is most certainly the version to buy, as it compiles together all the archive extra with a classy new scan.