1971 introduced a weird new form of DC Comics superhero called Swamp Thing. 11 years later, the character leapt to the big screen via 1982’s aptly titled Swamp Thing.

Deep in southern US swamps, Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) works on a top-secret bioengineering project. He does so in collaboration with his sister Dr. Linda Holland (Nannette Brown) and government agent Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau).

However, paramilitary leader Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) wants the Hollands’ work for himself and stages a violent raid. The experiments impact Alec and turn him into a super-strong plant beast called Swamp Thing (Dick Durock).

Forgotten 40 years later, filmmaker Wes Craven hadn’t found mainstream success during the first decade of his career as feature film director. While 1972’s Last House on the Left, 1977’s Hills Have Eyes and 1981’s Deadly Blessing reached decent cult audiences, they didn’t take him into the “big time”.

In 1984, Craven created Nightmare on Elm Street, a horror flick that did find a mass audience and become a cultural sensation. Swamp Thing acted as Craven’s attempt to go more mainstream, however.

Back in 1982, I obsessed over comic books and took in Swamp Thing on the big screen. Did many others join me?

That I find it strangely difficult to discover. My memory tells me the movie did fairly well, but others claim it flopped, and none of the usual box office sites relate its earnings.

We did get a sequel via 1989’s Return of Swamp Thing. However, the fact it took seven years for a second chapter to arrive implies the 1982 flick didn’t do great business.

This 2023 release offers my first screening of Swamp Thing since 1982. I think I kinda sorta like it back then, though Swamp Thing was never a favorite comic book.

41 years later, I did welcome the chance to revisit my youth. Even if I don’t remember the movie itself especially well, I maintain fond memories of my teenaged comic book phase.

Distanced from that era, does Swamp Thing hold up for 50-something me? Meh – sort of.

To be sure, an adaptation of this property could come across much worse than it does here. For proof of that, take a look at the 1989 sequel, a campy mess.

Craven avoids those pitfalls, though I won’t claim he treats the subject matter with true seriousness. Swamp Thing doesn’t lampoon its property, but it can wink at the silliness of the premise at times.

Still, it works pretty well – for a while, at least. The first act sets up matters in a reasonable manner and creates an evocative beginning.

After that, though, the tale becomes more ordinary. We find some hints of the title character’s tragic side, but mostly just a generic action movie with some tastes of Frankenstein-style horror and a bit of Beauty and the Beast.

The third act turns into the most problematic, as it builds to a ludicrous conclusion. The presence of some iffy makeup/costumes doesn’t help.

For the most part, Swamp Thing himself looks fine, but other monsters emerge toward the film's end. They look so ludicrous that the Big Action Finale becomes goofy and impossible to take even vaguely seriously.

Even with these issues, Swamp Thing never turns into a bad movie. Still, it remains mediocre for the most part and comes with too many issues to offer anything memorable.

Swamp Thing appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a surprisingly pleasing Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness usually worked well. A smattering of slightly soft shots emerged – mainly in some darker interiors - but the majority of the movie brought appealing accuracy.

I saw no signs of jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes failed to materialize. Grain felt light but natural, while print flaws remained absent.

Unsurprising given the swamp setting, colors went with a green-influenced palette, and the hues worked well. The various tones came across as vivid and full, and HDR added some range and heft to the colors.

Blacks seemed deep and dark, while shadows appeared well-rendered despite a little murkiness at times. HDR brought extra power to whites and contrast. The image held up nicely over the last 41 years.

I also felt the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack seemed more than satisfactory for a flick from 1982. Though audio quality showed its age, it still seemed satisfactory.

Speech displayed a smidgen of edginess, but the lines usually appeared natural. Dialogue always felt easily intelligible.

Music appeared fairly lush and warm, while effects boasted reasonable accuracy. Some distortion accompanied louder elements like gunshots, but these elements brought more than decent definition in general. Nothing here impressed, but the mix suited the movie.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the simultaneously released Blu-ray? Both provided identical audio.

The 4K’s Dolby Vision image boasted some improvements in terms of delineation, colors and blacks. I wouldn’t say the 4K strongly bettered the Blu-ray, but it seemed like the more appealing visual presentation.

The disc includes both the movie’s US Version (91:20) and an Internatioal Cut (93:03). What does that extra one minute, 43 seconds add?

Skin! A shot of Adrienne Barbeau that only shows side-boob in the US version lets us see her chest in all its unfurled glory for the International edition. Also, the longer cut adds a scene in which dancing women strip at a party.

I think the film could’ve maintained its “PG” in the US with the Barbeau segment intact. Back in that era, “PG” movies occasionally provided some nudity, and Cable’s topless bathing seems innocent enough that it might not’ve generated an “R”.

However, the scene at the party becomes more graphic, by which I mean we see a male character fondle one of the topless women. That likely would’ve been too sexual for “PG”.

Whatever the case, the added footage for the longer version doesn’t impact the story at all. Both clips seem entirely gratuitous.

Alongside the US version, we get two audio commentaries, the first of which comes from writer/director Wes Craven and moderator Sean Clark. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific discussion of what brought Craven to the project, story/characters and links to the comics, sets and locations, costumes and makeup effects, editing and various challenges.

Overall, this becomes a fairly good track. At times it drags a bit, but Craven gives us an honest appraisal of the flick – one that he feels nearly harpooned his career – and we find a largely engaging piece.

For the second commentary, we hear from makeup effects artist William Munns and moderator Michael Felsher. They sit together for a running discussion of what brought him to his chosen profession as well as his design decisions and aspects of the production.

Note that I didn’t refer to this as a screen-specific commentary. Eventually it becomes clear that they see the film as they talk, but this feels like a standard interview that simply accompanies the movie.

In terms of content, the track works fine, as Munns delivers a nice array of notes about his work and the challenges he confronted. A few semi-extended gaps occur but this nonetheless turns into a useful chat.

Additional extras appear on the included Blu-ray copy, and we find five featurettes. Tales from the Swamp runs 16 minutes, nine seconds and brings notes from actor Adrienne Barbeau.

She tells us about what drew her to the project as well as her experiences during the shoot and her reaction to the final film. Barbeau brings a nice collection of memories.

Hey Jude lasts 14 minutes, 43 seconds. It delivers a conversation with actor Reggie Batts.

Like Barbeau, Batts lets us know how he came to the film and his memories of the production. We get another informative collection of thoughts.

Next comes That Swamp Thing, a 13-minute, 19-second program. This one features an interview with Swamp Thing creator Len Wein.

The featurette looks at the creation of the comic book and Wein’s impressions of the movie. Wein provides an engaging discussion.

Swamp Screen fills 20 minutes, 32 seconds. It involves production designer Robb Wilson King.

We hear about sets/locations as well as King’s general thoughts about the movie and its sequel. King brings some worthwhile material but the chat becomes a bit unfocused as it goes.

Finally, From Krug to Comics occupies 17 minutes, 34 seconds. This piece provides info from writer/critic Kim Newman.

He discusses the film’s place in Craven’s career along with the comic book genre, it connections to movies, and his thoughts on Swamp Thing. Newman gives us some good notes, though he slips on some facts a few times.

In addition to the movie’s trailer, we get four Photo Galleries. These cover “Posters and Lobby Cards” (16 images), “Photos from the Film” (99), “William Munns’ Behind the Scenes Photos” (15) and “Behind the Scenes Photos by Geoffrey Rayle” (39). They deliver some quality elements.

More than 40 years on, Swamp Thing stands as a dated but decent comic book film. Held back by budgetary issues, the movie shows some promise but sputters too much to really work. The 4K UHD offers very good picture as well as acceptable audio and a nice array of bonus materials. This turns into an appealing release for a mediocre movie.

To rate this film visit the original review of SWAMP THING