I remember seeing the 1982 live action Swamp Thing film from director Wes Craven and it creeping me out as a kid. Years later director Jim Wynorski stepped into the director seat to deliver the follow up The Return of Swamp Thing that brought back the villainous Louis Jourdan and Dick Durock as Swamp Thing from the first film along with new additions Heather Locklear and Sarah Douglas. Now the film is getting the Blu-ray treatment for its 30th Anniversary.

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The Return of the Swamp thing follows the evil Dr. Arcane, who has a new science lab full of creatures transformed by genetic mutation, and chooses Heather Locklear as his new object of affection and only the Swamp Thing has a chance to stop his evil plans. I remember this one taking a lighter tone, but realized after watching it that I don’t think I have ever seen this one all the way through. This is far from a good movie and most of the performances are a bit cheesy, but it still comes off as a lot of silly fun.

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Swamp Thing looks better than ever and while the horror element is gone there is still plenty of monster on monster fight action to keep the fun alive. The creature effects are silly at times, but the practical effects of it all makes for a reminder of the fun it can bring overall. I admit that this is not a good movie, but instead a guilty pleasure piece of fun that did its job and made me smile and have a good time.

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Sure I would have preferred the darker horror tone for this film, but seeing the contrast of the two films allow you to actually pick the style you are in the mood for that day while still getting to see some Swamp Thing kick some butt. If you hate the character or the original film then you will likely hate this film too. This is meant to be a lot more campy and does just that coming off like a made for TV movie that works for the most part while never being anything all that memorable.

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