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"Swamp Thing" is beautifully photographed in authentic swamps, and directed with a nice comic-book sensibility by Wes Craven, but the script is flat, boring and (eventually) silly, and the title creature is too human-like to inspire much awe. However, Louis Jourdan is enjoyable as the suave, cultivated villain, David Hess is in his element as one of his goons, and there is also a black kid who's the epitome of "coolness". (**1/2)

Wes Craven, who's normally known for his horror films that bring terror and fright, here with this 1982 entry he toned it down a lot. 1982's "Swamp Thing" is certainly campy as you can tell from the scenes it's cheap made and the sets look unrealistic and finally the costume of the creature is much to be desired. Still for a 1982 film well before the big computer and special effects graphic boom it held up pretty good and it's still a fun little watch and it was nice to be treated to Adrienne Barbeau's performance. Set in the muggy and swamp land of the deep southern US a scientist Alec Holland(Ray Wise)meets up with a sexy federal government agent Alice Cable(Adrienne Barbeau)and they develop a cure thru chemicals that is supposed to end hunger. A bad guy nemesis Arcane(Louis Jourdan)plans to steal the serum potion and use it for his own deadly benefits, yet it backfires one day and Holland becomes Swamp Thing a half man and half plant superhero. From then like your typical comic book fashion the good guy against bad guy chase and adventure starts with the hero saving mankind, the planet, and the damsel. Overall good yet nothing great, an extra treat is the lake river bath of Adrienne when she gets topless! A good sexy performance from Barbeau that freshens up the dull camp and cheesy feel of this sci-fi cult film.

Hilarious campy cheesefest "Swamp Thing" is an interesting look on Wes Craven's work as a director. people call him a hit and miss director, but i think he just says once in a while "damn it, lets just have fun on this movie". or maybe when studio execs are breathing down his neck he just makes things the opposite of what he wants. a good example would be "Cursed", he hated the studio interference according to the man himself. and he made an in-joke gester about it in the film. the werewolf giving the finger. Hilarious. in my opinion Craven is a great director. sometimes he'll make deadly serious horrors and sometimes he makes them funny. And trust me Swamp Thing is funny!

This reminded me of the 1950s science-fiction/horror films with its primitive dialog, hokey action scenes and laughable makeup for the monsters. Oh, man, does this look bad as time goes on and we have been treated to 25 years of great special-effects since this was made.

What makes this more attractive to watch than those '50s films, however, are great swamp photography, Adrienne Barbeau's body and a story that moves fast. Barbeau, as she was prone to do, appears to be only this is to show off her massive chest. However, it's pretty harmless fun, very tame compared to the horror movies of the past generation regarding gore and profanity. It's also pretty tame for a Wes Craven-directed film.

In the end, it's a good Class B film, usually fun to watch for a number of reasons.

Not a masterpiece by any means but still an entertaining film with a couple of postives. One, the appearence of Adrienne Barbeau who shows here why she was a mainstay in American horror films during the late 70s to early 80s. Two, the humorous but slightly dark appoarch of the material. Now for the negatives of the films. One, the acting goes from being very good to very bad in seconds. Two, the inconsistency of the film's sequences and story. Swamp Thing(1982) is what I consider a transitional film that bridges his early films of Last House on the Left(1972), and The Hills Have Eyes(1977) to his mid 1980s films like A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984). A very satifying performance is given by Last House on the Left(1972) actor, David Hess. Its too bad that Craven never worked with David Hess after this film because Hess added a true feeling of screen villainly in his performances for LHOTL & Swamp Thing(1982). Swamp Thing(1982) belongs in the category of cult classic status and as a middle of the road type of film for Wes Craven.