4K UHD Review: THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING

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Feb 08, 2023 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

In the original Swamp Thing film, Dr. Alec Holland had finally developed a plant-growth serum that would have helped solve the world’s food supply issues. However, the evil Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) had other plans, wanting to steal the formula to help him in his quest for eternal youth. So Arcane and his mercenaries attacked the lab, but Holland was caught in the explosion, and the serum combined his DNA with that of the surrounding marsh, turning Holland into a plant/human hybrid that Arcane dubbed “Swamp Thing”. Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) became a superhero of sorts, taking down Arcane and his men, and restoring peace to the swamplands.

However, the news of Dr. Arcane’s demise was a bit premature. He was nursed back to health by Dr. Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas) and Dr. Rochelle (Ace Mask). Together, they have been working hard in a secret underground laboratory in Arcane’s mansion, trying to re-create Holland’s serum. However, there is something missing—their human test subjects often end up turning into mutant creatures. One of these monsters, Leechman, has broken free and has been been running amok in the nearby swamp. This catches the attention of Swamp Thing, who’s constantly saving people from the creature. Meanwhile, Dr. Arcane’s vegetarian, plant-loving stepdaughter Abby (Heather Locklear) has come to the mansion for a visit, and quickly realizes what Arcane is up to. After a chance encounter with Swamp Thing, she finds herself falling in love, and the two team up to try to stop Arcane before he can complete the formula, or unleash any more of his creatures.

While the original Swamp Thing, which was directed by Wes Craven, took more of a serious, almost horror approach, The Return of Swamp Thing goes for a lighter, campier tone that is more welcoming to a younger audience. I’ll start off by saying that this film is not what most people would consider to be a good or great movie. However, it knows exactly the type of film it wants to be and embraces that fully, making it a fun and entertaining watch. There’s a general campiness and tongue-in-cheek nature to the film, with most characters not taking things too seriously. Dick Durock returns as the hero, Swamp Thing, who’s often making punny jokes as he rescues someone or takes out a threat. And he’s up against the over-the-top mustache-twirling villain Arcane. Louis Jordan also returns from the first first as the Bond-like villain with his mad scientist lab, and a pet parrot named Gigi (the name of the film that Jordan is probably best known for) And Heather Locklear joins the cast as the delightful, always upbeat and positive Abby Arcane, who’s love of plants immediately extends to plant/human hybrids as she becomes Swamp Thing’s new love interest this time around.

In the first half of the film we see Leechman and moonshiners causing havok in the town, and it’s a series of Swamp Man to the rescue vignettes. Two of the people he rescues are young best friends Omar (RonReaco Lee) & Darryl (Daniel Taylor), who then set out to make a quick buck by snapping a photo of Swamp Thing, but something keeps going wrong. These two provide a lot of levity and laughs throughout the movie. Also adding to the humor are two of Arcane’s mercenaries, Gunn (Joey Sagal) & Miss Poinsettia (Monique Gabrielle), who are always trying to prove they are better than one another. There are lines like “Turn him into a guacamole” as the mercenaries throw grenades at Swamp Thing, and sight gags like Gunn standing by the gate reading Mercenary’s Life magazine.

Along with the humor the film also has a lot of excellent action sequences, with car chases, things blowing up, and Swamp Thing fighting with the mercenaries or monstrous creatures. While the practical effects and costumes hold up quite well, there are a few places where there are glowing green lights and laser beams as Swamp Thing uses his healing photosynthesis powers that feel a bit dated. But overall, the film is quite enjoyable and entertaining even if some of the dialogue is bad and acting terrible—it’s obvious one of the kids has never acted before, screaming all his lines, but it adds to the fun and campy tone of the movie, and makes it more endearing.

MVD released The Return of Swamp Thing on Blu-ray for the first time in 2018, and the picture on that disc looks quite remarkable, with a generally clean, beautiful picture. Lightyear’s new 4K release marks the first time that the film has been released in 4K. In scenes where the Blu-ray disc already looked great, there are usually some noticeable upticks in detail in the 4K presentation, such as in faces or in the texture of Swamp Thing’s green body. However, the problem with a low budget film like this getting a 4K release is that the imperfections are enhanced. This was especially noticeable in the short scene where we first meet Abigail. On the 4K disc, the picture looked very washed out with excessive brightness and grain, whereas the Blu-ray actually still looked quite good. I also didn’t notice a tremendous change in the colors with the 4K disc’s Dolby Vision versus the regular Blu-ray release. Overall, I think I actually preferred the picture on the Blu-ray disc over the 4K disc—it was more consistent and reliable.

The film’s audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, explosions sounded great, and the presentation never felt lacking in any way. However, there didn’t seem to be a noticeable use of the surround channel to give the film an immersive ambiance. The surround channel was utilized more for the score and the soundtrack, especially when Born on the Bayou is blaring during the opening credits. I found it odd that neither disc offered any subtitle option, which is a shame for those who want to watch but are hard of hearing.

Lightyear’s 4K release comes with both a 4K and a Blu-ray disc, which are packed on either side of a standard 4K keepcase, with a cardboard slipcover. The Blu-ray disc is identical to the one from MVD’s 2018 release, and contains 2 audio commentaries, nearly 40 minutes of interviews with the film’s creators, as well as archival clips, promotional material, and behind-the-scenes photos. The 4K disc also contains the same two commentaries but none of the other material. Instead, there are two new features exclusive to the 4K disc, including a music video, and a 30-minute interview with producer Michael E. Uslan, who worked on both Swamp Thing movies.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:27:25)

4K Ultra HD:

2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Vision / HDR-10
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles: None

Blu-ray:

1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Stereo Surround
Subtitles: None

Extras:
The new interview and music video only appear on the 4K disc, he audio commentaries appear on both discs, while the remaining bonus material can only be found on the Blu-ray disc.

Reflection on Swamp Thing 35 Years Later (32:07)
New for this release, producer Michael E. Uslan gives a retrospective look back at the making of the Swamp Thing films, and their role in comic book movie history. Uslan shares some fun and interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the production while also discussing the history and evolution of comic book movies, the challenges of producing the first film on just a $1.9M budget, repositioning the sequel to be campier more humorous and more welcoming to a younger audience. He also talks about working with Golden Age star Louis Jordan, casting lead actress heather Locklear and some interactions with her fans, set visits by Charlie Sheen and Tommy Lee, how Dick Durock helped to promote the film and series and always protected the hero image of his character, working with the child actors, and the stunts. Uslan also talks about the lessons he learned while shooting the first film, getting the rights to make the movie, and incorporating character of Abigail from the revived comic into the sequel. Finally, he discusses the USA series, the evolution of Swamp Thing in the comics after the movie, and more.
The Rifftones — Your Ever-Lovin’ Swamp Thing Music Video (2:39)
New for this release, The Rifftones sing their comical 2022 Bluegrass ballad “Your Ever-Lovin’ Swamp Thing”. The video consists of four different versions of Brian Murphy singing accompaniment with one another.
2018 Audio Commentary with Jim Wynorski, Chuck Cirino and Leslie Rosenthal (1:27:14)
Originally recorded for MVD’s 2018 Blu-ray release, director Jim Wynorski, editor Leslie Rosenthal, composer Chuck Cirino, and producer Arnie Holland provide an entertaining and lively commentary throughout the film. They share lots of fun and interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the production, explaining how certain scenes were shot, the environmental conditions, working with the actors, the sets, the score, and more.
2003 Audio Commentary from Director Jim Wynorski (1:27:14)
Originally recorded for the 2003 Special Edition DVD release, director Jim Wynorski shares some fun and interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the film. Some of this gets repeated in the newer commentary and interviews.
Interview with Jim Wynorski (17:40)
In this 2018 interview, director/secret co-writer Jim Wynorski is fed questions by producer Arnie Holland from off-screen. He talks about the films he’s made, shares stories about the actresses considered for Locklear’s role, some celebrities who showed up on set, gators in the swamps, rewriting the script for less special effects and adding the kids, the other producers who were comic book fans, things that went wrong on set, his initial reactions to the mutant costumes and makeup, the one scene were he wished he had CGI for, his favorite among the mutants, the tone of the movie, his annoyances with actor Louis Jordan, and more.
Interview with Arnie Holland (5:20)
In this 2018 interview, producer Arnie Holland is fed questions by director Jim Wynorski from off-screen. He talks about how the film came about on Blu-ray, some of the various distribution and marketing deals he set up, fighting with Harvey Weinstein over the poster photo, and more.
Interview with Chuck Cirino (6:47)
In this 2018 interview, composer Chuck Cirino is fed questions by director Jim Wynorski from off-screen. He shares some stories about working on the music, the different direction the score initially took, syncing up the score to Louis Jordan’s fake organ playing, the different instruments they used, including a recorder for the love scene, and more.
Interview with Leslie Rosenthal (9:25)
In this 2018 interview, editor Leslie Rosenthal is fed questions by director Jim Wynorski from off-screen. She talks about how she got involved with the movie, working on location in the humid south, the hardest scene to cut, the longer version of the love scene, cutting up comics for the opening title sequence, shooting the pick-ups and the flower growing out of Abigail’s foot, working with the young actors, and more.
Behind the Scenes Slideshow (2:22)
Montage of behind-the-scenes photos that change every 4 seconds, accompanied by Chuck Cirino’s film score
Public Service Announcements (1:34)
60-second and 30-second versions of a Greenpeace PSA starring Darryl, Omar and Swamp Thing play back-to-back. Presented in 4:3 format.
2 TV Spots (1:32)
Two 30-second TV spots play back-to-back. The first focuses more on the kids, and the second on Heather Locklear’s character. Presented in 4:3 format.
6 Promotional TV Clips (7:09)
6 clips from the film play back to back, presented in 4:3 Full Frame format.
- Harry Dugan is looking for his glasses in the swamp when Swamp Thing shows up to rescue him from Leechman (1:17)
- The kids try to escape out the back of their cabin after opening the door to Leechman, but they are saved by Swamp Thing (1:19)
- Abigail walks up to some moonshining hicks who try to abduct her, but she too is saved by Swamp Thing (1:12)
- Abigail is brought down to the lab, where she confronts her stepfather (1:03)
- Swamp Thing re-forms in the bath tub, and helps Abigail get free from some mercenaries and escape the mansion (1:16)
- Abigail wakes up in the woods and hits on Swamp Thing (1:02)
1989 Promo Reel (5:18)
Montage of clips of the film, accompanied by Born on the Bayou. Presented in 4:3 Full Frame format.
Trailers
- The Return of Swamp Thing (Theatrical Trailer) (1:27)
- Black Eagle (2:13) — 4:3 Full Frame format
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (2:11)
- Savannah Smiles (2:55)
- D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage (3:48) — 4:3 Full Frame format

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

The Return of Swamp Thing is a “good” movie by awards standards, but it’s a thoroughly-entertaining one. I enjoyed the lighter, more humorous tone of the sequel, and it was great to see Dick Durock and Louis Jourdan back again. Heather Locklear and the two kids make a great addition to the franchise, adding a lot of levity and fun to the movie. I actually preferred the video of the Blu-ray to the new 4K disc. While there were moments where the 4K looked stellar, there were other moments where imperfections were amplified and made it look worse than the Blu-ray, which was more forgiving. Fans of the film who already own the 2018 MVD disc will need to decide if it’s worth the double-dip for the 2 new bonus features and 4K “upgrade”. But in general the film is definitely worth picking up for fans of the film, character or genre, or those just looking for a fun, campy film to watch.