The Return of Swamp Thing ** (1989, Louis Jourdan, Heather Locklear, Sarah Douglas, Dick Durock) – Classic Movie Review 7543

The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) theatrical release poster.

Director Jim Wynorski’s campy 1989 American sci-fi action movie The Return of Swamp Thing, based on the DC Comic book by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, is a sequel to Wes Craven’s 1982 Swamp Thing, but this time with a risky jokier tone that is struggling to succeed, stranding the actors.

Dick Durock and Louis Jourdan reprise their roles as Swamp Thing and Dr Anton Arcane, and the film also stars Heather Locklear, who won the Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her performance as Abby Arcane. In the screenplay written by Neil Cuthbert and Grant Morris, the resurrected evil Dr Arcane tries to use his stepdaughter Abby in his crazy genetic experiments to stop the effects of aging, creating an army of Un-Men monsters, but she is rescued by Swamp Thing.

Durock said in 2008: ‘They tried in Return of Swamp Thing to make it comedy, campy, and that’s tough to make that work.’ But for the subsequent 1990 TV series he said: ‘They kind of gave up on that idea and got back to the darker side of the character as he was written in the comic book.’ Durock reprised his role in July 1990 on the USA Network, using a modified version of the Return of Swamp Thing costume. The series lasted into 1993 with 72 episodes.

The cast are Louis Jourdan as Anton Arcane, Heather Locklear as Abby Arcane, Sarah Douglas as Dr Lana Zurrell, Dick Durock as Alec Holland / Swamp Thing, Ace Mask as Dr Rochelle, Monique Gabrielle as Miss Poinsettia, Daniel Emery Taylor as Darryl, Joey Sagal as Gunn and RonReaco Lee as Omar.

Its title montage consists of comic book covers set to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Born on the Bayou’.

Peter David wrote a novelization of the film, rewriting large parts of the story, but the producers enjoyed the changes and allowed the book to be published.

In May 2018 it was announced that a Swamp Thing live-action series is in development for the DC Comics’ streaming service DC Universe and in September it was announced that Len Wiseman was expected to direct and executive produce.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7543

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com