Michael_Elliott
The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Abby Arcane (Heather Locklear) returns to the swamp to visit her stepdad and learns that he's doing strange experiments that are turning people into mutants. Before long she meets Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) who was a victim of her stepfather's and before long the two are falling for each other while he is battling the bad guys.I must admit right up front that I was never a big fan of Wes Craven's SWAMP THING. I tried watching it a couple times as a kid and then again as an adult but it just never worked for me. To me the film was way too serious and it seemed to forget that it should be fun. THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING comes from Jim Wynorski and there's no question that it captures the lighter mood of a comic book and delivers some fun throughout its running time.That's not to say that this here is a perfect movie because it's far from that. Truth be told, I can understand why some people wouldn't like this and especially since it does go over-the-top with its humor. I think the film was made campy on purpose and that's proven with some of the one-liners plus it never takes itself overly serious. The campy nature works well and especially during the action scenes as well as with creature designs. The mutants all look rather good in a low-budget way and help add to the fun.Of course, the story itself is basically THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU with pinches of the first film thrown in. For the most part I thought Durock was good in the lead, although the bad dubbing certainly didn't help the character. I also like Locklear in the part as she did the "dumb blonde" thing kind of well and she was certainly easy on the eyes. The villains in the film aren't the most memorable but they're far from awful as well.THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING has a different tone than the first movie and for my money that's okay.
Vampenguin
Every once in awhile, a sequel is a million times better than the original. This is just such a sequel! If you look up my review for Swamp Thing, you'll see that I didn't care to much for it. This, on the other hand, was great! They decided to go with the over-the-top comic-book style that the original skirted, which made the movie a lot 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 a lot 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 intentionally cheesy B-movie, that you really should check out! 8/10
Joseph P. Ulibas
Return of Swamp Thing (1989) is the long awaited sequel to the Wes Craven cult classic Swamp Thing. This movie was based upon the D.C. Comics classic character from their more "mature" theme line. This film has achieved a level of cult status itself amongst fans of the genre. This time around the movie is more cheesy and campy instead of being too serious. The cast seems to have a lot of fun in this flick. Heather Lockyear stars as the hot blonde who is rescued and falls for Swamp Thing and Louis Jordan returns as it's chief rival and nemesis. The legendary Jim Wynorski ( a non-R rated outing for the sleaze king this time around) who has become a huge B-movie film maker in his own right helms the picture.A light hearted film that'll warm you over. Recommended for fans of the comic book and cheesy films.
comicbook-guy
I enjoyed Wes Craven's film Swamp Thing very much, but some reviewers found it to be lacking in laughs. The same can not be said of this sequel. Return of Swamp Thing has far more humor than the first film and should not be taken seriously. It's a humorous superhero/monster mash with plenty of fun moments. The two goofy little kids are especially funny. I dug this sequel as much as the first movie. Dick Durock played Swamp Thing in both movies and also in the Swamp Thing TV series. It's too bad the TV series isn't available on DVD (PUT IT ON DVD SOMEBODY!). Return of Swamp Thing is a cheesy blast of fun! Pop some corn, grab a cold beverage, kick back, and enjoy!