Editorials
[TV Terrors] In the Early 1990s, “Swamp Thing” Had His Own Animated Series
Horror and science fiction have always been a part of the television canvas, and constant attempts have been made over the years to produce classic entertainment. Some have fallen by the wayside, while others became mainstream phenomena. With “TV Terrors,” we take a look back at the many genre efforts from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, exploring some shows that became cult classics, and others that sank in to obscurity.
In this installment we revisit the early ’90s animated series, “Swamp Thing”!
- Aired from 1990-1991
- Aired on FOX Network; FOX Kids
“Swamp Thing” has experienced a resurgence lately thanks to the push by DC and Warner for more mature material for their fan base, and while the upcoming DC Universe streaming series has a horror-heavy approach to it, once upon a time Swamp Thing was being groomed to become an environmental superhero for the kids. Arriving at about the same time as the live action drama, “Swamp Thing” was a very short lived animated series with big aspirations to become a multimedia powerhouse.
After presumably being turned down by CBS, “Swamp Thing” aired on FOX Kids Saturday Mornings for a short period, and eventually was reduced to syndicated airings. With “Captain Planet” popular with kids, DC Entertainment transformed Swamp Thing into a darker and more menacing, but still environmentally conscious superhero. The more subversive themes presented by the celebrated Alan Moore iteration were gone, in favor of an action oriented animated series that pit Swamp Thing against the evil Anton Arcane.
While Swamp Thing was typically a pariah who lurked alone in the swamps, the writers of the animated series paired the beast with his own diverse team of crime fighters. “Swamp Thing” is set primarily in the murky swamps where all five episodes revolve around evil scientist Anton Arcane (Don Francks) looking for a new scheme to kidnap Swamp Thing (voiced by Len Carlson). After nearly killing scientist Alec Holland, the formula he created helped him survive by merging him with the local swamp. He became Swamp Thing, a near immortal monster of the terrain who could adapt to his surroundings and use his body to combat evil-doers.
Swamp Thing is teamed with a Native American tracker named Tomahawk, and an ex-Vietnam Soldier named Bayou Jack. Anton Arcane has his own horrendous army of mutants he calls “Un-Men” including Dr. Deemo, Skinman, and Weed Killer, all suspiciously similar to “Captain Planet’s” foes. With Arcane’s transducer machine, they take the shape of vicious mutant predators like a serpent and a fangbat.
“Swamp Thing” the animated series has all the hallmarks of a classic superhero series that pits a great looking superhero against vicious monsters, and promotes healthy ideas about preserving the environment and relying on friends, along with other recurring themes of the time. It also has slimy mutants and a mutated hero, two staples of nineties pop culture that were very popular. Who can forget the delightfully cheesy theme song which remakes The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” in to “Swamp Thing” with the same rhythm, replacing “Wild” with “Swamp”?!
“Swamp Thing” is noticeably a cheaply made series with animation that can often be a bit rigid and stiff, while the episodes are mainly functioning standalones. For example, Abigail Arcane is introduced in the first episode and we never see her again. That’s probably because the series itself was produced mostly as a blatant commercial for the toy line that Kenner was producing at the time. “Swamp Thing” is in the tradition of “Transformers” and “GI Joe” where everything featured in the series is almost certainly a toy. Everything from the awesome toyetic vehicles and various physical phases that Swamp Thing uses to hide and fight are basically in the Kenner toyline.
After the five episode run which prompted many to label the attempted series a flop, the iteration was remembered primarily for its pretty excellent toy line. It’s a shame since the animated series could have gone to places the live action series never did, exploring more gruesome monsters and a larger array of cool villains; Dr. Deemo in particular is a lot of fun as he’s a monster who delights in voodoo, and inexplicably knows the inner workings of Swamp Thing. But those toys. At least we got those toys.
The series of beautifully designed figures were divided into three groups: Swamp Thing, Heroes, and Evil Un-Men Villains. The Swamp Thing figures included Camouflage Swamp Thing, Bio-Glow Swamp Thing, Snare Up Swamp Thing and Snare Arm Swamp Thing (my favorite toy of all time!) in the first wave. The second wave included Climbing Swamp Thing and Capture Swamp Thing.
The Heroes included Bayou Jack and Tomahawk. The Evil Un-Men were Anton Arcane, Dr. Deemo, Weed Killer, and Skinman. There were also two great vehicles: a Bog Rover and the Marsh Buggy, and the rare play sets “The Swamp Trap” and “Arcane’s Lab.” The toys also didn’t sell too well, being reduced to discount bins for years. As with all things pop culture, “Swamp Thing” eventually regained momentum years after it was cancelled, prompting a lot of renewed interest in the series and the toy line. I still have my Snare Arm Swamp Thing in a box hanging on my wall, thank you very much.
According to reports the toy line tested well with kids and could very well have taken off, perhaps giving the animated series a second chance. Sadly, despite the release of a ton of tie in merchandise (including an awful NES platformer), the franchise never clicked with younger crowds.
“Swamp Thing” has always been a hard character to peg down for Hollywood over the years; he’s mostly been a cult character remembered primarily for his pair of movies from the eighties. The animated series isn’t perfect, but it’s an interesting precursor to the character becoming a bigger presence in modern animated DC Movies, and next coming full circle with his highly anticipated live action series.
If you’re a “Swamp Thing” completist, the animated series is worth a go. It’s classic nineties fodder, and a pretty fun horror-tinged adaptation.
Is It On DVD/Blu-Ray? There was a VHS released that had a few episodes on it, but there apparently has never been a DVD or Blu-ray of the series, yet. However the complete five episodes are very easy to find online on most video websites, in pretty decent quality.
With DC’s streaming service picking up steam, maybe we’ll see them include the animated “Swamp Thing” series in their library. Anything is possible these days!
Editorials
‘Bloodstone: Subspecies II’ Revisited: A Bigger, Bolder Follow-Up to Full Moon’s Vampire Cult Classic
Horror sequels are a peculiar thing. In most cases, follow-ups to scary movies tend to retread the same formula with different victims and more over-the-top scares. This is because audiences tend to be more interested in the antagonists of these pictures than anything else, with even main characters becoming disposable when the time comes to produce a sequel.
That’s why some of the most memorable horror sequels are the ones that actually manage to hold onto interesting survivors from previous films while also pushing the story forward instead of having the same thing happen again to a different group of people. From Scream 2 to Dream Warriors (and arguably even The Exorcist III: Legion), there are quite a few of these innovative sequels to go around.
However, if there’s one franchise that deserves more attention when discussing bigger and better continuations that make the most of episodic filmmaking, it has to be Ted Nicolaou’s Subspecies.
The Full Moon classic spawned an indie horror icon, but bizarre sequel Bloodstone: Subspecies II is even more beloved than its predecessor.
Building a Bigger Vampire Saga
While the film itself takes place almost immediately after the events of the first movie, Bloodstone only entered production a couple of years after the release of the original as both Charles Band and Nicolaou weighed the pros and cons of returning to Romania to continue the series. In an effort to maximize efficiency, the team decided to invest in a trilogy where parts II and III, now fully written by Nicolaou, would be filmed simultaneously over the course of a single grueling shoot.
Much like the first Subspecies, Bloodstone’s low budget meant that the filmmakers once again had to cut corners and re-use as many of their resources as possible. Thankfully, the process was much easier this time around as Nicolaou, with the help of Romanian cinematographer Vlad Paunescu and his wife Oana, became more acquainted with local customs and made new friends. Shooting abroad still came with its own unique set of challenges due to a lack of translators and the occasional safety concerns, but the crew managed to make things work by filming things guerrilla-style and setting up shop in abandoned caves and real medieval ruins.
The director’s newfound contacts, coupled with the relative success of the first movie, meant that he was basically given free rein over an assortment of shooting locations usually considered off-limits for indie horror. That’s why Bloodstone features insanely ambitious lighting and effects work even during scenes shot in the middle of a bustling Bucharest. The filmmakers went so far as to project Radu’s Nosferatu-like shadows over local monuments as if he were a Romanian boogeyman, an idea that was actually encouraged by local cinephiles.
In fact, many of the more elaborate scenes here had originally been planned for the first movie before being discarded due to the lack of available resources. It was only with the support of Romanian fans and filmmakers that Bloodstone was able to give Radu a chance to be even more menacing the second time around.
Michelle’s Transformation Takes Center Stage
However, when it came to the American part of the crew, not everyone was able or willing to return for another round of Romanian adventuring. That’s why Radu’s human-loving half-brother Stefan (Michael Watson) is unceremoniously killed off at the beginning of the film while the role of Michelle had to be recast. Denice Duff took over for Laura Mae Tate, with the character now being joined by her sister, Rebecca, played by Melanie Shatner (yes, that Shatner).
In the finished film, we follow Michelle as she awakens to her new life as a vampire and discovers that Radu has murdered her lover. Struggling with grief and her newfound bloodlust, Michelle contacts her sister overseas, with Rebecca soon travelling to Romania on an ill-advised rescue mission. Meanwhile, Radu (Anders Hove) reaches out to his undead Mummy (Pamela Gordon, underneath heavy layers of impressive makeup effects) and promises to deliver her the coveted Bloodstone artifact while also making Michelle his eternal consort.
Revisiting the movie, I was impressed with how introspective this story is when compared to the original. The sequel assumes that you’re already familiar with the previously established characters, so the story wastes no time in exploring the immediate aftermath of the previous film’s events. From Michelle’s reluctant transformation into a creature of the night to Radu’s obvious mommy issues, Nicolaou is way more interested in pushing these characters into new and uncharted territory rather than recycling existing plot points.
Practical Effects and Gothic Atmosphere Still Impress
Yet, much like the first film, it’s Romania itself that makes the movie worth watching. The ruins of Castle Vladislav are even more majestic now, and visiting the moody streets of Bucharest with its surprisingly punk-rock nightlife made for a nice change of pace when compared to the original film’s quiet village setting. Once again, the abundance of interesting locations makes the movie feel much more expensive than it really is, with the filmmakers surrounding our characters with a living, breathing environment that would be impossible to recreate in a studio.
The increased freedom also allowed Nicolaou to flex his filmmaking muscles and tackle more ambitious blocking/composition in the sequel. The low budget and tropey script mean that the visuals don’t always work, but it’s consistently clear that this neo-expressionist style could only come from a passionate team attempting to pay homage to the shadowy horror classics of yesteryear. If the retro atmosphere isn’t enough for you, there’s enough practical gore here to satisfy even the most demanding of horror hounds!
Radu himself is also far more interesting now that Hove is more comfortable working alongside an international crew, with the actor having gone on record explaining that, while he spent more time drinking vodka than working while shooting the first movie, the sequel was a much more creatively satisfying experience for everyone involved. The character’s relationship with his abusive Mummy is also a highlight of the expanded mythology, especially since the practical effects that bring her to life are just as freaky now as they were back in ’93.
My only real gripe with the horror elements of the picture comes from the glaring absence of the diminutive stop-motion minions from the first film, though I guess the surprisingly entertaining addition of Professor Popescu (Michael Denish) and his archeological antics mostly make up for that.
Bloodstone: Subspecies II is obviously the middle chapter of a trilogy, with the ending feeling a lot less definitive than its predecessor as several plot threads are left to dangle in the wind, but I appreciate how the flick explores new ground while remaining faithful to nearly all the ideas that made the original such a good time. While I don’t think it’s as big of an improvement over the first movie as some fans make it out to be, Bloodstone is definitely worth revisiting if you’re a fan of old-fashioned vampire yarns.
Tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion to this initial trilogy, Bloodlust: Subspecies III!
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