Adrienne Barbeau. In tight shirts or low-cut gowns. Sometimes running, sometimes wet. Oh, and in one scene for DVD viewers only, bathing in the swamp for some gratuitous topless shots.

That, in short, is about all 1981's Swamp Thing has going for it.

Adapted from a DC Comics character, this film joins the ranks of comic adaptations that should never have been. On the side of the bad guys is a two-dimensional evil botanist named Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) and an incompetent band of minion commandos (David Hess, Nicholas Worth, et al). The hero is the good botanist, Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise), who transforms into the rubber-suited title character (Dick Durock) and is lovesick for Alice Cable (Barbeau).

They all muck about in the Louisiana Bayou searching for the ultimate glowing green fertilizer.

If you have a hankering to see director Wes Craven at his worst or Adrienne Barbeau's breasts at their very best, this is a must-see. There's no other reason to go near it.

[ by Tom Knapp ]
Rambles: 28 September 2002