And the streak is broken...
Swamp Thing
I had high hopes for this one, thinking perhaps Craven could redeem himself for me. Alas, I should have known it was doomed from the opening credits: Adrienne Barbeau and Wes Craven's names on screen within moments of each other spells disaster. Barbeau has got to be one of the worst looking successful eye-candy actresses Ive ever seen. Am I the only one that doesnt find her attractive in the least? And Craven...I wont even get in to Craven. Suffice to say, Im not a fan. Anyway, the plot was good enough, about a scientist that is nearly killed when his lab is raided, and is turned into a Swamp Thing by is formula. Ray Wise was pretty good as Alec Holland, the ill-fated scientist, and was one of only two decent actors involved. The other was of course Louis Jourdan, playing the villain to perfection. The other actors were awful, however it may have been due to some of the laughably bad lines they were given. Alongside the actors were horrible effects such as people flying many feet into the air after being thrown from a small boat, or monster costumes that look like they were bought at half price on the day after Halloween. In parts, the film had a very comicbook-like feel to it, which I liked, but at other points it took itself much too seriously. It didnt really seem to know if it was a serious film, or a fun comic book movie. If it had decided on one or the other, it could have been a good film, but despite a few good scenes....it wasnt very good at all.
6/10
Thankfully, that wasnt the only movie I watched tonight...
The Return of Swamp Thing
Every once in awhile, a sequel is a million times better than the original. This is just such a sequel! If you look up a bit, you'll see that I didnt care to much for Swamp Thing. This, on the other hand, was great! They decided to go with the over-the-top comicbook style that the original skirted, which made the movie alot more enjoyable. The effects improved greatly, the creatures in this actually looked like some effort was put into them! I especially liked the updated Swamp Thing costume, made him look alot better and more intimidating. Louis Joudan was thankfully back, and his character, Dr. Anton Arcane, was even better than ever! His step-daughter Abby, played by Heather Locklear, was one of many great comic relief characters, along with the bumbling head of security named Gunn, and many others. The side plot with two kids trying to get Swampy's picture was a tad annoying, but it had it's amusing moments. Overall, this was a great intentionaly cheesy B-movie, that you really should check out!
8.5/10