In 1982, Bernie Wrightson and Len Wein's creepy creation, the Swamp Thing, made its motion picture debut. Written and directed by Wes Craven, the film tells a mostly faithful origin story of Dr. Alec Holland and how he is transformed into a being of sentient plant matter.
While working in a secret government lab deep in the swamps of Florida, Dr. Holland has created a formula that can transform barren deserts into futile farmland. His sister Linda, has also discovered that a single drop of the formula can also double as a powerful explosive. Anton Arcane, a despotic paramilitary leader, has caught wind of the chemical and attacks the lab in hopes of making the formula a part of his ever growing arsenal. During the assault, the chemical is spilt on Holland and he immediately catches fire thanks to its volatile properties. To extinguish himself, Holland jumps into the murky swamp and seemingly perishes.
Meanwhile, Alice Cable, a new government attaché to the project, flees with one of Holland's notebooks. With Arcane's operatives trailing her, Cable must find a way to alert Washington to the attack. However, the commandos get the better of Cable. With the notebook in their possession, there's no longer a need to keep Cable alive. But right before they silence the government agent, a mysterious creature emerges from the muck. It's the Swamp Thing and boy, is he mad!
The live action film was produced by Swampfilms and distributed jointly by Embassy Pictures and United Artists. It started Ray Wise as Dr. Alec Holland. Adrienne Barbeau played Alice Cable. Renown French actor Louis Jourdan was the evil Arcane. Dick Durock would don pounds of rubber and fake moss as the title character. Over the next decade, it would only be Durock's body in the Swamp Thing suit. The imposing 6'6" actor would star opposite Heather Locklear in 1989's campy Return of the Swamp Thing. A year later, Durock would return for an hour long TV series on cable's USA Network. The series would run 72 episodes over 3 seasons.
None of the subsequent Swamp Thing adaptations to star Dick Durock would receive the comic book treatment. This oversized special was written by Bruce Jones. Mark Texeira penciled; Tony DeZuniga inked. The cover image is of the original theatrical poster. It was painted and airbrushed by celebrated fantasy and sci-fi artist Michael Whelan.
Completing this review completes Task #30 (A Movie Adaptation) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
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