RENAISSANCE MONSTER
Even though the Swamp Thing film flopped, The Saga of the Swamp Thing comic itself was soon to garner massive attention, thanks to the work of British writer Alan Moore and artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben. Moore’s transcendent work on the series—beginning with issue #21’s (Feb. 1984) “The Anatomy Lesson”— garnered immense critical acclaim and sales, as well as working in literary, ecological, spiritual, and metaphysical elements. The new Swamp Thing eventually even became the first mainstream comic series to abandon approvals by the Comics Code Authority. In Hollywood, Uslan and Melniker (under their Lightyear Productions banner) were still campaigning for more Swamp Thing, even as the long-gestating Batman feature was finally set to start filming in London. Thanks to Swamp Thing’s cable and syndication success, financing and deals were struck in 1988 for a sequel. The Return of Swamp Thing began production in the summer for a five-week, 27-day shoot. This time filming was done in Savannah, Georgia, and the director was Jim Wynorski, a Roger Corman protégé who was fresh off of Not of This Earth. Wynorski got the job when Wes Craven passed, and after replacement director Bill Malone left the project in its early days. Louis Jourdan returned as Anton Arcane, still searching for immortality. Dick Durock was back in the title role as well, in a newly redesigned foam latex suit created by Carl Fullerton; the suit was faithful to the Bissette/ Totleben comics version, resembling walking vegetation more than a rubber-suited monster. New to the main cast were TV bombshell Heather Locklear as Abigail Arcane and Superman II villainess Sarah Douglas as the evil Dr. Lana Zurreal. The screenplay, a holdover from the potential HBO sequel, was rewritten by Neil Cuthbert and Grant Morris, although some credits for the film (and tie-in novel) read “Derek Spencer and Grant Morris.” It is unclear why “Derek Spencer” became a pseudonym for Neil Cuthbert. Their script was given a much more comedic edge, even as it mined more of the original comic-book roots. This time, after Dr. Arcane has been resurrected, the madman begins splicing genes from swamp creatures and humans to create a gruesome army of Un-Men (including Leechman, Cockroachman, Hippoman, Slugman, Gatorguy, and Evolvodude, all with makeup by Steve Neill and Todd Masters). Arcane is aided in his tasks by Dr. Zurreal, and opposed by both Swamp Thing and Arcane’s stepdaughter, Abby, who has come to Florida to look into her mother’s mysterious death. When it seems that only a combination of Swampy’s serum and Abby’s blood will bring Arcane immortality, confrontation ensues. The film was also more consciously aware of its comicbook origins. The title sequence, set to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song “Born on the Bayou,” featured a montage of recent Swamp Thing comic-book covers by Bissette and Totleben. As noted above, the suit was redesigned, with a more organic, vine-covered texture. Even a “love scene” between Swamp Thing and Abby was adapted from those in the Moore-written stories. Durock recalled of his new suit—painted to match the indigenous Georgia flora—that it was much bulkier
than the first one. “The second one weighs about 40 pounds. Here’s the problem with something like Swamp Thing. I can’t recall a film where the guy in the rubber suit is the lead. Generally they bring on the guy in the rubber suit—like with Predator—and he does a few hours of work and he’s out of it. [Swamp Thing] is in almost every scene, every day, for a couple of months. Rubber suits just aren’t meant to last that long, and neither are the guys inside them. [laughs] The suit was brutal. But it was a couple of months and good pay. There wasn’t a hell of a lot of other things going on at the time, and I really wasn’t anxious to get back into the suit, but I did.” Part of what got Durock to sign on were meetings he had with Fullerton, who discussed everything from the action movements needed to placement of the eyes for maximum emotional effect. “I spent three days with him in New Jersey, going over it with Carl Fullerton and Neil Mertz,” Durock said. “We went over the problems and the physical limitations. It’s very hard to lift something over your head in this suit, because it will change the configuration of the suit and it might look bad. There’s
Heather Locklear, A.D. (After Dynasty) The blonde beauty played Abby Arcane alongside Dick Durock (in his re-foliaged costume) in 1989’s The Return of Swamp Thing. Also returning was (top inset) Louis Jourdan. Swamp Thing TM & © DC Comics.
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