Watch The Return of Swamp Thing

The Return of Swamp Thing is a 1989 superhero film directed by Jim Wynorski, starring Dick Durock as the titular character, Heather Locklear as Abby Arcane, and Louis Jourdan as Dr. Anton Arcane. The movie is a sequel to the 1982 film Swamp Thing. The film opens with a long-shot of a swamp as a sinister voiceover describes the ecosystem's life cycle. The scene then shifts to the laboratory of Dr. Anton Arcane, who is working on a formula to create a human-vegetable hybrid. His goal is to create a new form of humanity that has the immortality and regenerative powers of plants.

Dr. Arcane's first experiment is a failure, causing the lab to explode, and supposedly, the fatal injury of his stepdaughter Abigail. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing returns to the swamp, where he lives peacefully. However, he soon receives a telepathic message from Abigail, who is still alive and needs his help to stop Dr. Arcane from doing more harm.

When Swamp Thing arrives in the city, he meets Abby and learns about Dr. Arcane's latest experiments, where he plans to use the formula to create a race of human/plant hybrids. In this movie, Dr. Arcane spends most of his time trying to impress Lady Dr. Rochelle, who he believes is the reincarnation of his dead wife, while trying to find and capture Abigail.

Swamp Thing and Abby team up to stop Dr. Arcane's plans and save the world from his dangerous creations. The rest of the film follows the action-packed adventures of our heroes, highlighting Swamp Thing's impressive combat capabilities and regenerative abilities.

The movie has an experimental and fictitious approach, reportedly using recycled elements from the first movie, which portrays the character's attributes differently than the original movie. The Return of Swamp Thing was aimed at a more extensive demographic, being the first ever rated PG-13 release for a DC Comics property at the time.

The Return of Swamp Thing is generally considered inferior to its predecessor, mainly due to its campy sci-fi elements and jarring tone shift. However, the movie has an undeniable appeal for fans of superhero films who enjoy a little bit of humor and can appreciate the unapologetically outrageous plot.

In conclusion, The Return of Swamp Thing is a notably lighthearted and humorous superhero film that presented a different take on the character compared to the original Swamp Thing movie. While it might not be to everyone's taste, fans of action, science fiction, and superhero tropes will undoubtedly find entertainment and some good laughs in this film.

The Return of Swamp Thing is a 1989 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 28 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 4.6 and a MetaScore of 39.