Swamp Thing

A scientist working in a remote wetland laboratory develops a formula that could dramatically accelerate plant growth. When a ruthless businessman named Arcane tries to seize the research for himself, the raid ends with the scientist doused in his own chemicals and left for dead. The formula transforms him into a half-human, half-plant creature, and he uses his new form to protect Alice Cable, a government agent caught up in the attack, and to stop Arcane's plans.

Wes Craven directed and wrote the screenplay, working from the DC comic created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. The film came fifth among the twenty-five features he directed, following Deadly Blessing and preceding A Nightmare on Elm Street. Louis Jourdan plays Arcane, Adrienne Barbeau appears as Alice Cable, and Ray Wise plays Dr. Alec Holland, with David Hess, Nicholas Worth and Don Knight in supporting roles. Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker produced.

The film received a modest critical response, with a critics' rating of 5.6/10 across 42 reviews. Audience scores sit close to that mark, at 5.3/10 on IMDb from around 19,000 votes and 5.4/10 on TMDB from roughly 491 votes. Made for a budget of 3 million dollars, it is a low-budget genre entry that sits between Craven's early horror work and the greater commercial success that followed.