WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.620
Well, that would be the rated R version. I think

00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:08.640
it could be done tastefully, you know, as tastefully

00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:11.400
as maybe a Grindhouse movie could be. Right.

00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:16.179
But no, that's not the version we get. Yeah,

00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:19.199
Swamp Thing is rated PG after all, and I'm joking

00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:21.879
a little bit, but I would like to see that version

00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:24.719
of the movie too. Well, he would have an enormous

00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:44.350
schunstiger. Hello and welcome to Camp Kaiju

00:00:44.350 --> 00:00:47.130
Monster Movie Podcast. We're your hosts, Matt

00:00:47.130 --> 00:00:50.710
Levine. And Vincent Hannum. And we're talking

00:00:50.710 --> 00:00:52.829
about all of our favorite monster movies, the

00:00:52.829 --> 00:00:55.630
good, the bad, and the downright campy, and asking

00:00:55.630 --> 00:00:59.090
if they stand the test of time. Traditional Kaiju,

00:00:59.170 --> 00:01:01.710
creature features, space invaders, the supernatural,

00:01:02.070 --> 00:01:04.950
and everything in between. All strange beasts

00:01:04.950 --> 00:01:09.099
welcome here. Cam Kaiju is sponsored by Zach

00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:11.359
Linder and the Zach Pack, powered by Coldwell

00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:14.620
Banker Realty. Your source for real estate, home

00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:16.840
rehab, fixing and flipping for investor clients

00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:19.939
and residential buyers. Reach out to the Zach

00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:22.700
Pack today for real estate services. Follow the

00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:25.359
Zach Pack on social media and contact the Zach

00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:28.359
Pack for investment opportunities. Links in the

00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:43.140
show notes. Government agents. Scientists. Soldiers.

00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:54.519
Master criminals. Secret formulas. Monsters and

00:01:54.519 --> 00:02:02.640
midgets. None of them belong in this swamp. Only

00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:20.159
one thing does. No, stop! Uh -huh. You're a kind

00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:38.430
of struggle. Adrienne Barbeau and The Swamp Thing,

00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:42.229
an outrageous pair in the incredible adventure

00:02:42.229 --> 00:02:47.229
that grows on you or all over you. The Adventures

00:02:47.229 --> 00:02:52.909
of The Swamp Thing. The comic book legend lives.

00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:05.599
Vincent, how you doing? So good. So good. I got

00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.840
three days of school left as of this recording,

00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:11.120
but folks listening to us in the future, I'm

00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:14.659
a free man. It is summer vacation. I can't wait

00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:19.340
to stay up late to my detriment, but that's what

00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:23.680
summer's all about. I don't think that's to your

00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:25.300
detriment. You're going to be watching monster

00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:27.560
movies all night. You're going to be like recreating

00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:29.919
Jaws at like Minnesota lakes. It's going to be

00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:35.129
great. Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's an idea. It could

00:03:35.129 --> 00:03:38.030
be like a Purple Rain Jaws mashup in Lake Minnetonka.

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That sounds insane and less scary than just Jaws

00:03:41.710 --> 00:03:44.509
in a lake. People do that. They'll get the floaties

00:03:44.509 --> 00:03:46.750
and they'll watch it on the screen in a pool.

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And I feel like I would still be too terrified

00:03:49.889 --> 00:03:54.560
even in a pool to do that. Yeah. I could not

00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:56.319
do it. I mean, even when I'm swimming in like

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the deep end of a pool, I always imagine that

00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:00.219
like I'm going to look around and like a gray

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white's going to be coming at me. So I could

00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:06.280
definitely not do that. I think Jaws was as long

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as like a normal swimming pool. Yeah, you're

00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:13.099
probably right. Maybe not an Olympic pool, just

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like your backyard swimming pool. Yeah. Good

00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:21.040
old animatronic Bruce. Yeah. Which somehow makes

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him even scarier, in my opinion. As we know,

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as we've talked about on the podcast before,

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this is the 50th anniversary of Jaws this summer.

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That's right. And for friends of the podcast

00:04:34.189 --> 00:04:38.069
listening out there, or enemies, call in on the

00:04:38.069 --> 00:04:41.290
Kaiju hotline or just write us an email. Tell

00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:44.810
us about your memories with Jaws. I want to collect

00:04:44.810 --> 00:04:47.850
them all. I want to package them up. release

00:04:47.850 --> 00:04:51.129
a special Jaws themed episode later this summer

00:04:51.129 --> 00:04:55.149
to celebrate our favorite shark movie. So please

00:04:55.149 --> 00:04:59.730
keep that in mind as you're thinking about this

00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:02.829
episode and thinking about Jaws. Maybe the best

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monster movie ever. Certainly has a claim to

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that title. Arguably. Yeah. Man, I mean, I love

00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:12.379
the friends of the podcast, but I may be even

00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:14.740
more fascinated by the enemies of the Camp Kaju

00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:17.300
podcast. I want to know who they are. If they're

00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:19.620
out there, I want to know more about them. I

00:05:19.620 --> 00:05:22.100
mean, they are out there. I don't read those

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comments on Minya's mailbox. No, there aren't

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many, but one day I'll share them with you and

00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:33.199
you friends of the podcast. But we like to keep

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things positive here. Yeah, maybe I don't want

00:05:36.610 --> 00:05:38.509
to know about that. Maybe it's back a little

00:05:38.509 --> 00:05:41.149
bit. But to anybody listening out there, anybody

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leaving comments on our YouTube or, you know,

00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:46.350
whatever, whatever channel you're on, Instagram,

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Facebook. Thank you. We appreciate you, especially

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the friends of the podcast. Absolutely. So what

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have you seen recently, Vincent? Any good monster

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movies? Yeah, I mean, not. Go rehash everything

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we just talked about. Maybe I'll release that

00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:07.620
as a special content. But I saw the movie Crawl

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from 2019 set in Florida about killer alligators.

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Much better than you might give it credit for.

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I would highly recommend. It's campy. It's got

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heart. And some of the craziest. animals i've

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seen in a creature feature so would recommend

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crawl are the gators i assume they're not real

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live alligators are they cgi in that they are

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cgi okay which is not my preference but the things

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these gators are doing i i i just have to give

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the creators a little forgiveness because I don't

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know. The things these gators are doing, I can

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imagine, would cost so much more money to try

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to pull off in camera with either live alligators

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or animatronics. Yeah. You don't want them to

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actually kill anybody on camera. That would be

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unfortunate. Right. And it's the type of thing

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where if this movie was made in the 70s, maybe

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it'd be like a... you know, a dummy full of blood

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and guts that you see ripped apart. Right. Is

00:07:21.350 --> 00:07:24.829
that animal cruelty? Like there's a lot of standards

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have changed. Yeah. So I don't know. No, it's,

00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:32.449
it's fair for sure. I mean, probably alligator

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by Louis Teague from 1980, I think is the epitome

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of that sub genre of monster movie killer gators.

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But, but yeah, crawl sounds great. I'll have

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to check it out. Definitely. How about you? Oh,

00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:47.379
I saw a bad monster movie, Species 2. I did want

00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.680
to talk about that a little bit. Because I don't

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think I mentioned this in the last podcast that

00:07:51.699 --> 00:07:54.180
we did. After we talked about Species, I was

00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:57.480
excited to revisit some of the sequels. And yeah,

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Species 2 is not very good. I don't think I will

00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.379
be going any further in that series, but we'll

00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:06.540
see. Maybe it'll change my mind. You gotta think

00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:10.000
about it. Sleep on it. I mean, it was bad, but

00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:12.579
not like offensively bad. And I have like...

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What's the best way to put this? A high bar for

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bad movies or a low bar? I don't know which one

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it is, but I'll put up with a lot of badness

00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:22.620
to be entertained. So maybe I'll watch some more

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species movies. We'll see. I get it, though,

00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.579
being a completionist. I bet there's a part of

00:08:28.579 --> 00:08:31.259
you that wants to go the distance. Yeah, right.

00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:33.879
And part of me wants to believe that like species

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for the awakening. Awesome. You know, and like,

00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:38.679
it's a total diamond in the rough and nobody

00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:41.279
knows about that. I'm sure it's not true. I'm

00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:43.840
sure it's terrible, but I kind of want to do

00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:46.000
the due diligence and find out for myself, you

00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:49.460
know? Yep. Yep. Yep. Uh, there are a couple of

00:08:49.460 --> 00:08:51.500
new monster movies in theaters. Bring her back,

00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.860
which is kind of like a sequel to talk to me,

00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:56.580
which is a very, very good horror movie from

00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:57.820
a couple of years ago. I don't know if you saw

00:08:57.820 --> 00:09:01.440
that one. No, but I've been interested. That

00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:03.139
one's good. I might check that out. And then

00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:06.399
a movie whose title I absolutely love. I know

00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.519
nothing about this movie, but have you heard

00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.360
about Clown in a Cornfield? I have heard the

00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.919
title. I'm sorry if I brought this up in the

00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:16.360
previous episode. No, no, you haven't. Yeah,

00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:19.379
again, I've heard mixed things about that movie.

00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:21.240
It's probably not very good, but for the title

00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:25.039
alone, I have to see it. Is it like woman standing

00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:29.299
in a front yard? Whatever that movie was? Right,

00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.320
Woman in the Yard, yeah. Woman in the Yard. It

00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.019
seems very similar to that, but it's a clown

00:09:35.019 --> 00:09:38.039
instead of a woman. And a cornfield instead of

00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:40.759
a yard. Yeah, that's what I get from the title,

00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:43.220
but I could be totally wrong about that. I don't

00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:46.159
know. But that might be a home watch at some

00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:47.980
point. I don't know. It might already be out

00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:49.899
of theaters anyway, but I do want to check that

00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:53.840
out sometime soon. But yeah, a couple monster

00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.860
movies in theaters nowadays. Yeah, and we got

00:09:56.860 --> 00:09:59.559
summer coming up and there's some new releases

00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.799
that we'll get to shortly. Yeah, absolutely.

00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:07.080
Yeah. We do like to commemorate actors and directors

00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:10.120
and writers and artists who had some role to

00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.000
play in the world of monster movies. So I wanted

00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.539
to say rest in peace to Peter Kwong, who was

00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.360
one of the three storms in Big Trouble in Little

00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.960
China, which is kind of a controversial movie

00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.120
nowadays. I feel like it is not dated all that

00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.059
well. And yet part of me still wants to celebrate

00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:29.139
that movie a little bit. It's so imaginative.

00:10:29.139 --> 00:10:32.500
It's so fun. You know, John Carpenter, a very

00:10:32.500 --> 00:10:35.860
just stylish, visceral, to use that word again,

00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:38.539
filmmaker that who he has so many movies that

00:10:38.539 --> 00:10:40.340
I love. Big Trouble in Little China, problematic,

00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:44.240
but still, you know, worth watching with with

00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:47.179
some asterisks next to it. But but more importantly,

00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:49.679
rest in peace to Peter Kwong. He was not only

00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.309
in Big Trouble in Little China. He was also in

00:10:52.309 --> 00:10:54.710
Wonder Woman, Miami Vice, The Golden Child with

00:10:54.710 --> 00:10:57.070
Eddie Murphy, so many other movies and TV shows.

00:10:57.190 --> 00:11:00.370
He just died, I think, like a week ago. So thank

00:11:00.370 --> 00:11:02.549
you, Peter Kwong, to everything you did for Monster

00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:05.649
Movies and TV shows. All right. Rest in peace.

00:11:06.970 --> 00:11:10.429
So before we get on, well, let's talk about what

00:11:10.429 --> 00:11:12.389
we're going to talk about in today's episode,

00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:16.009
Swamp Thing from 1982 by Wes Craven. Swamp Thing.

00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:19.490
Yeah. Swamp Thing. That's how you have to say

00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:22.799
it. It's the only way to say it. That's what

00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:25.179
we'll be talking about soon. Guilty pleasure

00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:28.799
territory, maybe, possibly. Yeah. But we'll find

00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:32.519
out soon enough. Yeah. I can't wait to dive into

00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.399
the murky swamp here. Oh, it is murky indeed.

00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:40.360
Yeah. For better and for worse. And swampy. Very

00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:42.559
swampy. A lot of swamp ass going on in this movie.

00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.559
Figuratively and literally. I would assume anyway.

00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:51.159
We probably won't talk about that too much. That's

00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:52.940
up to the viewer's imagination. But you know,

00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:54.940
if that's where your mind goes, that's where

00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:59.340
mine went. That's the European cut. Yeah. Indeed,

00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:04.139
yeah. Oh man, we'll be talking about that too

00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:07.440
soon enough here. Before we talk more about Swamp

00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.240
Thing, just a few nuts and bolts on Camp Kaiju

00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:12.360
to cover first. Thank you all so much for hanging

00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:15.139
out. Please rate and review wherever you listen

00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:17.720
to Camp Kaiju. You can also send us listener

00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:21.440
comments at campkaiju at gmail .com or on our

00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:25.220
Instagram page at camp underscore kaiju. If you'd

00:12:25.220 --> 00:12:27.240
like to be a featured voice on the show, you

00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:32.700
can leave a voicemail at 612 -470 -2612 telling

00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:34.559
us about all of your favorite monster movies

00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.600
and memories. As Vincent said before, in particular,

00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:39.440
if you have any memories about the movie Jaws,

00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:42.000
please let us know. That's kind of our focus

00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.580
for the summer. We're excited to hear about that.

00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:48.820
Please also check out our website, campkaijupodcast

00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:52.240
.com, for more reviews and special content. And

00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:55.580
finally, you can find some merchandise at campkaiju

00:12:55.580 --> 00:12:58.860
.threadless .com. Some really great stuff on

00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:01.860
there, some cool new designs. I love all the

00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:04.500
new stuff that we have on the website, so definitely

00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:06.779
check that out. You can also become a patron

00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:10.899
at patreon .com slash campkaiju. for discounts,

00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:13.779
priority comments, and access to any live events.

00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:16.379
We do hope to have some updates about live events

00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:19.100
soon. More to come on that. But yeah, thank you

00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:21.500
again to all of our patrons. We really appreciate

00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:25.379
all of your support. Jason, Chris, Sean, Peggy,

00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:29.460
and our anonymous patron. And this is news to

00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:32.279
me. Do we have a new patron, Vincent? We do.

00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:39.840
So welcome, everybody. Chris B. And... We can't

00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:44.460
thank Chris enough for their support. But now

00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:47.320
we have two Chris's, Matt. How are we going to

00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:51.580
differentiate them? Well, our first Chris has

00:13:51.580 --> 00:13:54.860
a nickname on their Patreon account called Beast

00:13:54.860 --> 00:13:58.840
Drool. So if it's okay with you, Chris, out there,

00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:02.679
you will henceforth be known as Beast Drool and

00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:09.519
Chris B will be Chris B. Crispy. I like it. All

00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.159
right. So thank you all. And you patrons out

00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.580
there, you'll be the first to know about any

00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:17.460
upcoming live events. That's just part of the

00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:20.179
perks of being a patron. You just get the inside

00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:23.379
scoop a little bit before the rest of you all

00:14:23.379 --> 00:14:27.240
out there. But you all listening, please check

00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:29.480
us out on Patreon. You could become a free member.

00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:31.480
Just kind of wet your whistle there a little

00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:34.820
bit if you're not ready to commit. But whenever

00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:39.779
you are, we are... How should I phrase this?

00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:43.860
We're waiting with open arms. With our eyes wide

00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:49.159
open. We just need to play the entirety of that

00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:51.679
Creed song at this point in the episode. I hope

00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.240
that happens. We'll have to buy the rights. That'll

00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.519
blow our entire Camp Kaiju budget, but it's going

00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:58.840
to be worth it. Guaranteed. Our live event is

00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:04.059
with Creed. What? The big reveal happens now.

00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:07.529
I had no idea, man. Alright, back to monster

00:15:07.529 --> 00:15:10.629
movies, back to Captain Kaiju. What happens at

00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:12.590
this point in time in monster movie history?

00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:15.870
This episode will be released in mid -June, mid

00:15:15.870 --> 00:15:18.950
-June -ish or so. So, you know, I like to kind

00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:21.850
of look back to what happened 10 or 20 or 30

00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:25.289
years ago in monster movie history. Vincent,

00:15:25.450 --> 00:15:27.590
any of these titles, do you want to call them

00:15:27.590 --> 00:15:30.669
out here? Yeah, you know one that catches my

00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:36.509
eye? From 1985, Cocoon. That is a movie my mom

00:15:36.509 --> 00:15:40.629
showed me once. And I have only seen it once.

00:15:40.750 --> 00:15:43.549
But every once in a while, I think back fondly

00:15:43.549 --> 00:15:48.809
about this movie starring old people and alien

00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:52.190
pods. And I wonder, I wonder, I want to watch

00:15:52.190 --> 00:15:55.889
it again. I have like the exact same history

00:15:55.889 --> 00:15:58.730
with that movie. My parents loved it. And I watched

00:15:58.730 --> 00:16:00.929
it with them probably two or three times when

00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:03.529
I was really young. Yeah, it's a very heartwarming

00:16:03.529 --> 00:16:06.509
kind of family -friendly movie. And, you know,

00:16:06.529 --> 00:16:09.009
we talk about a lot of kind of objectionable

00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:11.289
stuff on Camp Kaiju sometimes, a lot of sex and

00:16:11.289 --> 00:16:14.129
violence. But this movie is really heartwarming.

00:16:14.129 --> 00:16:17.549
It's great. So if you haven't seen Cocoon, yeah,

00:16:17.710 --> 00:16:19.789
I think both of us recommend watching it, preferably

00:16:19.789 --> 00:16:22.710
with your parents. It seems like a parent movie.

00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:25.690
Yeah, yeah. I'm glad you called that out. That

00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:29.509
one's great. Yeah. 1985 was a big year for monster

00:16:29.509 --> 00:16:32.940
movies. One of them is The Stuff by Larry Cohen,

00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:36.200
which is a really great visceral... Sorry, I

00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:38.360
do overuse that word, but it applies to most

00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:41.399
of my favorite movies. The creature effects in

00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:43.240
that movie are really great. It's very funny.

00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:45.500
But the one that I actually wanted to mention

00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:49.480
is Life Force by Tobey Hooper from 1985. I feel

00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:51.559
like that's actually the ancestor to Species,

00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:55.169
because Life Force has... A very beautiful main

00:16:55.169 --> 00:16:57.710
actress, Matilda May, who is naked for most of

00:16:57.710 --> 00:17:01.350
that movie. I mean, if you don't mind a lot of

00:17:01.350 --> 00:17:04.470
bad taste, a lot of vulgarity and immaturity

00:17:04.470 --> 00:17:06.569
to go along with your monster movies, Life Force

00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:09.849
is awesome. It looks fantastic. The special effects

00:17:09.849 --> 00:17:12.809
and the sets and everything else. Toby Hooper

00:17:12.809 --> 00:17:16.109
of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame really does a

00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:18.609
great job with that movie. So if you're not...

00:17:19.150 --> 00:17:22.309
offended by some sex and nudity, Life Force is

00:17:22.309 --> 00:17:25.329
very entertaining. Highly recommended. All right.

00:17:25.450 --> 00:17:28.990
I will put that on my list. Yeah. And, you know,

00:17:29.009 --> 00:17:30.690
we just talked about species on the podcast,

00:17:30.769 --> 00:17:32.990
so I feel like I need to mention that kind of,

00:17:32.990 --> 00:17:36.390
you know, spiritual kind of kinship there. Totally.

00:17:36.930 --> 00:17:40.569
And then coming up, I talked about Jurassic World

00:17:40.569 --> 00:17:43.269
Rebirth. I know you're looking forward to 28

00:17:43.269 --> 00:17:47.109
Years Later. Oh, yeah. I love those movies. 28

00:17:47.109 --> 00:17:49.869
Days Later is fantastic. I don't always love

00:17:49.869 --> 00:17:52.650
Danny Boyle, but yeah, 28 Days Later is really,

00:17:52.690 --> 00:17:55.829
really good. Love the kind of like gritty digital

00:17:55.829 --> 00:17:59.349
video vibe of that movie. And then 28 Weeks Later

00:17:59.349 --> 00:18:01.650
maybe is even better. Like things are even more

00:18:01.650 --> 00:18:05.009
apocalyptic. The world is falling apart. I would

00:18:05.009 --> 00:18:07.710
say the sequel is even scarier than the first

00:18:07.710 --> 00:18:10.730
one. So I can't wait to see what Danny Boyle

00:18:10.730 --> 00:18:12.309
is back in the director's chair for the third

00:18:12.309 --> 00:18:14.970
one 28 years later. I can't wait to see what

00:18:14.970 --> 00:18:18.500
he does. We got to, we got to. Bring some more

00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:21.240
zombie movies to the podcast, I feel like. For

00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.640
sure. Yes. It's such a huge subgenre in horror

00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.559
movie history. So many great movies to talk about.

00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.599
Next season, it's going to happen. And then real

00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.099
quick, Megan 2 .0 is dropping at the end of the

00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:36.660
month. Did you see the first Megan? I didn't,

00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:38.279
and I thought it looked pretty bad, but then

00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:40.859
I heard surprisingly great things about it. Yeah.

00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:44.759
I saw it when it came out. I was happy with the

00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.740
experience. I don't know if I'm going to rush

00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:53.079
out to see 2 .0, but, you know, it's at least

00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:57.740
a fresh idea that seems to have legs in these,

00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:03.819
I don't know, kind of doldrummy cinematic waters

00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:07.000
that we find ourselves in with mainstream Hollywood.

00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:10.880
Yeah, right. I mean, it's, you know, again, I

00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:12.359
haven't seen the first one, but it just seems

00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:14.980
like an original kind of fun, campy take on like

00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:18.319
the whole. killer doll sort of theme. Yeah. You

00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:20.119
know, I'm up for that. I definitely want to see

00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.099
it. So that'll be coming out soon as well. Yeah.

00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:27.160
Yeah. What's coming up next on Camp Kaiju? I

00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:28.859
know our next episode is something you're very

00:19:28.859 --> 00:19:31.619
excited about, Vincent. So excited. Everybody

00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:35.500
listening, get on Robot Jocks. Look it up. It's

00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:38.799
streaming on Amazon. Rent it. Unfortunately,

00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:41.200
I just looked up the Blu -ray. I think it's out

00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.079
of print. Terrible, but you can still rent it

00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:50.130
on Amazon. It's from 1989. It's a post -apocalyptic

00:19:50.130 --> 00:19:56.690
world where warfare is settled by each respective

00:19:56.690 --> 00:20:00.210
country pitting its own giant robot against each

00:20:00.210 --> 00:20:04.829
other in gladiatorial combat. So you think Pacific

00:20:04.829 --> 00:20:10.750
Rim? This is the ancestor of Pacific Rim. It's

00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:13.670
a lot of stop motion, and it's directed by Stuart

00:20:13.670 --> 00:20:18.279
Gordon. who did Reanimator, for example. So it's

00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:20.880
a lot of fun. It's very campy. It's like a Saturday

00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.299
morning cartoon come to life would recommend.

00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:26.380
So we're going to talk about it with Sean Pryor

00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:28.940
and Sean Childers, two returning guest hosts.

00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:34.140
It's going to be a ball next episode. So we hope

00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:37.869
you're a part of it. I can't wait. I feel a little

00:20:37.869 --> 00:20:40.230
embarrassed about this, but I had never even

00:20:40.230 --> 00:20:42.369
heard of this movie until you and Sean and Sean

00:20:42.369 --> 00:20:44.490
brought it to my attention. I didn't know about

00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:48.329
it until two years ago. Okay. Makes me feel a

00:20:48.329 --> 00:20:51.230
little better. Don't feel bad. No, it's a cult,

00:20:51.289 --> 00:20:56.049
cult classic. It was never widely released. It's

00:20:56.049 --> 00:20:58.609
just this movie that just flew under the radar

00:20:58.609 --> 00:21:01.930
for 30 plus years. And now people, I think, are

00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:04.650
starting to talk about it. Man, I can't wait.

00:21:04.869 --> 00:21:08.009
Yeah. And we'll have two great guest stars back

00:21:08.009 --> 00:21:10.289
in the pod. So that'll be a fun episode for sure.

00:21:11.170 --> 00:21:15.609
And then to round out the first half of our season,

00:21:15.690 --> 00:21:18.490
you've got a movie. Yeah, The Company of Wolves

00:21:18.490 --> 00:21:20.589
by Neil Jordan, which is a movie that I've always

00:21:20.589 --> 00:21:23.309
wanted to see. It just looks so bizarre and surreal

00:21:23.309 --> 00:21:25.809
and dreamlike. From what I've read about it,

00:21:25.849 --> 00:21:29.670
just kind of a metaphor for coming of age. a

00:21:29.670 --> 00:21:32.549
young woman kind of, you know, entering womanhood,

00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:35.710
but definitely a lot of horror and fantasy and

00:21:35.710 --> 00:21:37.930
gothic elements to that movie as well from as

00:21:37.930 --> 00:21:40.670
far as I know. So definitely excited to talk

00:21:40.670 --> 00:21:42.910
about that one too. I think it'll be a weird

00:21:42.910 --> 00:21:46.450
trip if it's what I expect it to be. I'm really

00:21:46.450 --> 00:21:49.210
excited. I've recently learned a little bit about

00:21:49.210 --> 00:21:52.650
that movie. So thank you for the excuse to watch

00:21:52.650 --> 00:21:56.049
it. And I think Naomi Osborne, fingers crossed,

00:21:56.089 --> 00:21:58.230
will be joining us for that episode. So yeah,

00:21:58.289 --> 00:22:00.880
another good time. Awesome. I can't wait. And

00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.759
maybe on that episode too, or maybe after that,

00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:07.220
we'll be announcing season five, part two. So

00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:12.000
more to come soon for sure. This is Jack Burton

00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.119
and the Pork Chop Express. And I'm talking to

00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:17.880
whoever's listening out there. It's a pretty

00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:21.200
amazing planet we live on here. And a man would

00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.500
have to be some kind of fool to think we're all

00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:27.279
alone in this universe. There is a hidden world.

00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:31.740
Where ancient evil weaves a modern mystery. What's

00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:33.660
going on here? Is this some kind of... Magic.

00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:41.660
The darkest magic. They call it Little China.

00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:44.779
Finally, we shall bring the order out of chaos.

00:22:51.289 --> 00:22:54.849
It's where big trouble was waiting for Jack Burton.

00:22:55.069 --> 00:23:00.630
Who? Jack Burton. Me. Jack. Jack. Jack! They

00:23:00.630 --> 00:23:07.309
told him to go to hell. Make one move. And that's

00:23:07.309 --> 00:23:12.230
just where he's going. Somebody, I don't care

00:23:12.230 --> 00:23:21.789
who, tell me what is going on. How are you going

00:23:21.789 --> 00:23:35.210
to spring us? I have no idea. Meet little Melvin.

00:23:35.549 --> 00:23:39.369
He's a 90 -pound weekly. Everyone hated Melvin.

00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:41.369
I'm going to take this mop and shove it down

00:23:41.369 --> 00:23:44.190
your throat. They teased him. I want to do it

00:23:44.190 --> 00:23:50.119
with you. Okay. They taunted him. They tormented

00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:52.920
him until he had a horrifying accident and fell

00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:57.680
into a vat of nuclear waste. Transforming little

00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:01.059
Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of

00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:06.279
superhuman size and strength. Melvin became the

00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:13.480
Toxic Avenger. The first superhero born out of

00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.049
nuclear waste. Yes, the muggers and the rapists

00:24:17.049 --> 00:24:19.829
didn't know what law and order was until the

00:24:19.829 --> 00:24:24.450
Toxic Avenger came to town. I don't know what

00:24:24.450 --> 00:24:32.470
it was, but it saved my life. For incredible

00:24:32.470 --> 00:24:37.009
explosive action, you must see the Toxic Avenger.

00:24:37.369 --> 00:24:42.630
He's a different kind of hero. The Toxic Avenger

00:24:42.630 --> 00:24:52.359
is coming to your town. Look out! The kids of

00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:56.279
Elm Street don't know it yet, but something is

00:24:56.279 --> 00:24:58.960
coming to get them. There's something out there,

00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:08.119
isn't there? Did you see what's happened? What

00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:11.339
did that, Lieutenant? I don't know. Cheetah!

00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:14.640
The coroner got the same. It's in the jaw and

00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.660
puking since he saw it. You're gonna kill me

00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:18.960
for sure. Did you do it? There was somebody else

00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:21.460
there. He was locked in a room with a girl who

00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:25.059
went in alive and came out in a rubber bag. No

00:25:25.059 --> 00:25:28.480
one knows where it came from or who it will visit

00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:31.759
next. Nancy, there's something wrong with you.

00:25:31.779 --> 00:25:35.240
You're imagining things. Nightmare on Elm Street.

00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:39.619
Do you believe in the boogeyman? No. Whatever

00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:50.650
you do, don't fall. She's the only one who can

00:25:50.650 --> 00:25:54.950
stop it. If she fails... I'm your boyfriend now,

00:25:55.089 --> 00:26:09.109
Nancy. No one will survive. Help! Where are you?

00:26:10.470 --> 00:26:14.029
From Wes Craven, director of The Hills Have Eyes

00:26:14.029 --> 00:26:17.059
and Last House on the Left. A new masterpiece

00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:22.720
in fantasy terror, Nightmare on Elm Street. But

00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.220
tonight, again, we are talking about Swamp Thing

00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:32.720
by Wes Craven from 1982. Yeah. I was just thinking,

00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:34.779
like, I don't know why I selected this movie.

00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:37.440
Like, I don't really like comic books all that

00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:39.799
much, and Swamp Thing was like a big comic book

00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:43.259
title from the 70s. I guess I'll just start with

00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:45.180
my personal history with this film because I

00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:47.460
didn't really know a lot about it. It's directed

00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:50.160
by Wes Craven, like I said, and I, you know,

00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:52.059
I love A Nightmare on Elm Street. That's probably

00:26:52.059 --> 00:26:54.299
my favorite horror franchise. And that's the

00:26:54.299 --> 00:26:56.900
movie that he made right after Swamp Thing. So

00:26:56.900 --> 00:27:00.339
this is kind of leading up to that huge horror

00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:03.500
milestone. Wes Craven, of course, has his earlier

00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:06.900
low budget horror movies, The Last House on the

00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:09.559
Left and The Hills Have Eyes, which I like but

00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:12.680
don't love. And honestly, like the Scream movies,

00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:16.259
which Wes Craven also did, are fun, in my opinion,

00:27:16.279 --> 00:27:20.059
maybe slightly overrated. So, yeah, I don't really

00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:22.099
know why I chose Swamp Thing to bring to the

00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:25.460
podcast. But, you know, no spoilers, but I'm

00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:31.619
glad I did. That's so funny. I mean, yeah, you

00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:35.240
have no need to defend your choices. But it is

00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:38.019
funny to think you just woke up one morning and

00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:46.309
thought, Swamp Thing. Why not? Yeah. Yeah. Well,

00:27:46.730 --> 00:27:48.970
you know, again, I don't want to get too far

00:27:48.970 --> 00:27:50.529
ahead of ourselves, so I'll just leave it there

00:27:50.529 --> 00:27:53.269
for now. But what's your history with this movie?

00:27:53.650 --> 00:27:56.509
None. I mean, it's a name I had known about.

00:27:56.710 --> 00:28:00.210
And even though I consider myself a comic book

00:28:00.210 --> 00:28:04.509
person, Swamp Thing is not a mainstream or wasn't

00:28:04.509 --> 00:28:10.420
like a comic book. every kid knows about and

00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:13.140
maybe i'm just over generalizing but he's not

00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:17.420
like part of the justice league right listeners

00:28:17.420 --> 00:28:20.880
correct me if i'm wrong but i don't you know

00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:23.220
i never i never came or maybe i was because it's

00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:26.059
a marvel guy and and swamp thing is a dc character

00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:29.759
yeah but i i do i will echo man i think it's

00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:35.039
interesting how you you have talked about Not

00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:37.980
loving superhero movies. Yeah. And yet you have

00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:42.299
brought both this and the Toxic Avenger, which

00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:45.700
are two superheroes. Yeah, you're right. It is

00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:48.579
weird. I also really like Darkman, the Sam Raimi

00:28:48.579 --> 00:28:52.000
superhero movie from the early 90s. So, you know,

00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:55.440
I used to like them. I just don't like the modern

00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:58.799
sort of like assembly line Marvel movie like.

00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:01.740
That's what I don't love about it, which seem,

00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:04.440
you know, not to hate too much on CGI, but like,

00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:07.440
I feel like those Marvel movies are like 98 %

00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:10.920
CGI. And it's just like, destroy all the skyscrapers.

00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:13.640
And there's like one ring that they need to like

00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:15.500
defeat the villain who's going to destroy the

00:29:15.500 --> 00:29:17.599
universe. It's like, oh, it's the same thing

00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:19.579
over and over and over again. That's what I don't

00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:21.660
like about it. But when they have personality

00:29:21.660 --> 00:29:24.279
and creativity, generally, I would say I do like

00:29:24.279 --> 00:29:26.920
them. Yeah. And I was always teasing because

00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:31.490
I do not think. the early superhero movies from

00:29:31.490 --> 00:29:36.410
Superman in the seventies up until, well, the

00:29:36.410 --> 00:29:39.829
pre, I mean, even Nolan's Batman movies, those

00:29:39.829 --> 00:29:43.910
were still before this, that Marvel took over

00:29:43.910 --> 00:29:48.049
and became this interconnected universe. So I

00:29:48.049 --> 00:29:49.910
think they're very different. Dark man, swamp

00:29:49.910 --> 00:29:54.029
thing, even Tim Burton's Batmans. They're their

00:29:54.029 --> 00:29:57.190
own things. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I like

00:29:57.190 --> 00:29:59.470
the Tim Burton Batmans and even the Joel Schumacher

00:29:59.470 --> 00:30:01.329
Batmans are kind of fun in their own way, you

00:30:01.329 --> 00:30:03.869
know? So yeah, very different movies, like you

00:30:03.869 --> 00:30:06.730
said. And just from doing a little bit of research

00:30:06.730 --> 00:30:08.750
for this episode, like Swamp Thing, I think,

00:30:08.750 --> 00:30:10.890
was relatively recent when this movie was made.

00:30:10.990 --> 00:30:14.730
Like, you know, it was only an entity, an intellectual

00:30:14.730 --> 00:30:17.950
property in like the early 70s, 1972, I think,

00:30:18.049 --> 00:30:20.490
is when the first like standalone Swamp Thing

00:30:20.490 --> 00:30:23.210
title came out. So I think even when this movie

00:30:23.210 --> 00:30:26.269
was made in 1982, it was kind of a weird choice.

00:30:26.390 --> 00:30:28.609
Like it wasn't one of the big superheroes at

00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:31.230
that time, you know? But then after the movie,

00:30:31.309 --> 00:30:33.470
Alan Moore kind of like recreated the character

00:30:33.470 --> 00:30:36.069
and it became a lot bigger. But at the time,

00:30:36.069 --> 00:30:38.809
I feel like this wasn't the obvious superhero

00:30:38.809 --> 00:30:41.509
choice for Wes Craven to take on. Well, yeah,

00:30:41.569 --> 00:30:43.369
I've already talked about Craven a little bit.

00:30:43.430 --> 00:30:46.650
I just feel like this period of his career is

00:30:46.650 --> 00:30:48.910
kind of interesting because, again, he had his

00:30:48.910 --> 00:30:51.950
like very low budget early horror movies. Very

00:30:51.950 --> 00:30:54.789
intense, brutal, gritty, dark, violent. The Hills

00:30:54.789 --> 00:30:58.369
Have Eyes, Last House on the Left. And then The

00:30:58.369 --> 00:31:00.789
Hills Have Eyes especially did so well that he

00:31:00.789 --> 00:31:04.789
was offered some projects that were like mid

00:31:04.789 --> 00:31:07.630
-tier budgets, semi -mainstream, but not quite

00:31:07.630 --> 00:31:10.170
there yet. And Swamp Thing is kind of in that

00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:13.410
period where he's still figuring things out.

00:31:13.490 --> 00:31:16.130
He's advancing from the early stage of his career,

00:31:16.210 --> 00:31:19.609
but he's not, you know, totally advanced to...

00:31:20.089 --> 00:31:22.829
the super heights of stardom that A Nightmare

00:31:22.829 --> 00:31:25.589
on Elm Street would bring him to. So I just find

00:31:25.589 --> 00:31:27.509
this kind of a compelling, interesting period

00:31:27.509 --> 00:31:30.589
of his career where he's on his way up, but not

00:31:30.589 --> 00:31:34.250
quite there yet, in my opinion. And again, A

00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:37.029
Nightmare on Elm Street, probably my favorite

00:31:37.029 --> 00:31:39.769
horror movie of the 80s. Really great franchise.

00:31:40.170 --> 00:31:43.869
I will always love Wes Craven for that, if, you

00:31:43.869 --> 00:31:47.009
know, not for a lot of his other movies. Well,

00:31:47.150 --> 00:31:51.779
Elm Street is... a genre defining piece of work

00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:55.980
yeah absolutely yeah yeah yeah and i've seen

00:31:55.980 --> 00:31:58.680
that and i've seen scream and i've seen this

00:31:58.680 --> 00:32:02.720
i have not seen his other works okay the first

00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:05.059
two are really good last house on the left is

00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:08.420
so hard to watch it's very very brutal but you

00:32:08.420 --> 00:32:10.859
know i think it does have ideas and it's like

00:32:10.859 --> 00:32:13.000
more than just kind of like a gritty exploitation

00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:16.119
grindhouse movie And The Hills Have Eyes, you

00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:18.980
know, it's really well made on like a shoestring

00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:23.279
budget. So you can see why Craven would be an

00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:26.099
in -demand filmmaker at this time of his career.

00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:28.440
Like he's able to do a lot with a very minuscule

00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:33.380
budget. Yeah, you mentioned Grindhouse. One review

00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:37.680
I was reading from Fangoria mentions that, it's

00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:40.960
a critique of this writer anyways, that in Swamp

00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:44.970
Thing, you could see the... Kind of the tension

00:32:44.970 --> 00:32:50.269
between Craven's grindhouse background with Craven's

00:32:50.269 --> 00:32:54.950
desire to create a more mainstream movie. Yeah.

00:32:55.029 --> 00:33:00.589
And yet that dichotomy is at odds with itself

00:33:00.589 --> 00:33:04.910
in this movie at times with the violence in an

00:33:04.910 --> 00:33:09.930
otherwise, I would say, PG -13 film. Yeah. Totally,

00:33:09.930 --> 00:33:13.490
yeah. You see those conflicting impulses, I think,

00:33:13.509 --> 00:33:15.869
in this movie. There's a really great quote from

00:33:15.869 --> 00:33:20.049
a critic, Gabriel Tice, I think is his name,

00:33:20.150 --> 00:33:23.390
at Fangoria Magazine. He writes, you can summarize

00:33:23.390 --> 00:33:26.049
Swamp Thing as either a sleazy creature from

00:33:26.049 --> 00:33:29.009
the Black Lagoon or an earnest, toxic Avenger.

00:33:29.430 --> 00:33:32.549
That's what I read. Yeah. I love that quote.

00:33:32.670 --> 00:33:34.730
I think it's totally spot on, and I think that

00:33:34.730 --> 00:33:36.930
kind of speaks to what you're talking about,

00:33:37.029 --> 00:33:40.019
sort of halfway in between. grindhouse exploitation

00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:43.079
and like, you know, weirdly family -friendly

00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:44.839
entertainment. It's all there in this movie.

00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:47.859
It's very strange. Yeah, yeah. All right. So

00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:50.720
you found that Fangoria piece too? Yeah, I loved

00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:52.559
it. I thought it was great. Yeah, well written.

00:33:52.779 --> 00:33:55.480
Yeah, for sure. I might be referencing a couple

00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:57.440
other reviews throughout the episode as well,

00:33:57.519 --> 00:33:59.259
because there's a lot of good stuff about this

00:33:59.259 --> 00:34:01.880
movie online. Yeah, well, share those links with

00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:04.019
me and I'll put them in the show notes. Yeah,

00:34:04.059 --> 00:34:06.059
for sure. They're at the end of this Google Doc,

00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:09.610
but... Okay, perfect. So yeah, Wes Craven, director,

00:34:09.929 --> 00:34:12.489
just a couple years away from A Nightmare on

00:34:12.489 --> 00:34:15.909
Elm Street, directing Swamp Thing. The producers,

00:34:16.050 --> 00:34:17.409
do you want to talk about the producers real

00:34:17.409 --> 00:34:23.829
quick? The producers are Benjamin Mianiker. Melnicker,

00:34:24.030 --> 00:34:27.570
sorry. Melnicker. It's an L, not a capital I.

00:34:28.269 --> 00:34:32.309
Benjamin Melnicker and Michael E. Uslan, who

00:34:32.309 --> 00:34:35.050
bought the film rights to several DC Comics properties,

00:34:35.190 --> 00:34:38.039
thanks in part to... Uslan starting off as a

00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:42.019
writer there in 1975. These included Swamp Thing

00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:46.900
and, perhaps more lucratively, Batman. Yeah,

00:34:46.900 --> 00:34:49.159
I mean, later on in the 80s, you know, Tim Bird

00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:51.539
made the first Batman movie, and those two producers,

00:34:51.719 --> 00:34:54.460
Melnicker and Uslan, would make a ton of bank

00:34:54.460 --> 00:34:57.739
off of it. So, you know, Swamp Thing didn't maybe

00:34:57.739 --> 00:34:59.659
start off all that great for them. They did okay,

00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:03.019
but Batman would do a lot better for them. We'll

00:35:03.019 --> 00:35:05.940
just say that. Batman, speaking of genre defining

00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:09.500
films, I think Tim Burton's changed the game

00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:12.860
when it came to, as much as Superman did, Batman

00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:16.460
then further defined the genre for superhero

00:35:16.460 --> 00:35:20.440
films. Yeah, totally. Yeah. And Uslan, Michael

00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:23.280
Uslan, I, you know, like I said, I'm not super

00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:25.139
familiar with comic books, but just reading a

00:35:25.139 --> 00:35:29.130
little bit more about his. He was an avid comic

00:35:29.130 --> 00:35:31.230
book fan. I don't think he's alive anymore, unfortunately,

00:35:31.369 --> 00:35:34.730
but he had thousands and thousands of comic books

00:35:34.730 --> 00:35:36.369
when he was a kid and then became a writer for

00:35:36.369 --> 00:35:40.329
DC Comics in the 70s. And he wrote some installments

00:35:40.329 --> 00:35:42.730
of The Spirit and then I think of Swamp Thing

00:35:42.730 --> 00:35:45.190
as well, and then became the producer of this

00:35:45.190 --> 00:35:47.730
movie. So I just find that kind of a cool transition

00:35:47.730 --> 00:35:51.329
or evolution, one might say. Yeah. And I love

00:35:51.329 --> 00:35:53.329
that. So yeah, he was coming to Swamp Thing and

00:35:53.329 --> 00:35:56.880
Batman with an eye for the material. Yeah, totally.

00:35:57.059 --> 00:36:01.699
The music is by Harry Manfredini, who worked

00:36:01.699 --> 00:36:03.920
on a lot of other horror films, including Friday

00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:08.679
the 13th and Wishmaster. And before I even knew

00:36:08.679 --> 00:36:11.800
Manfredini did the score, I was thinking to myself,

00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:17.320
this sounds like a Friday the 13th type of score.

00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:21.579
A lot of strings, a lot of like stings, which...

00:36:21.980 --> 00:36:25.320
Manfred Dini, it must be noted, and I'm not slighting

00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:29.659
him at all, his score for Friday the 13th, 1980,

00:36:30.119 --> 00:36:39.480
is almost a blatant ripoff of the Psycho score.

00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:47.219
Yeah, that is true. Yeah, like it is a blade

00:36:47.219 --> 00:36:49.500
and rip off of the Psycho score. And also like

00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:52.699
it was kind of I feel like very influential on

00:36:52.699 --> 00:36:54.699
like slasher movies throughout the 80s because

00:36:54.699 --> 00:36:58.079
there's this like very identifiable sort of like

00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:03.659
like that sound, you know, and that's in like

00:37:03.659 --> 00:37:06.179
every slasher movie for like 10 years straight.

00:37:06.619 --> 00:37:09.099
And Swamp Thing is not a slasher movie, but that's

00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:11.519
kind of in this movie, too. It's I feel like

00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:13.360
he's ripping off his own score a little bit for

00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:16.489
Swamp Thing. But. Somewhat effective. Yeah, it

00:37:16.489 --> 00:37:19.150
works. Yeah. More power to him. Turning a little

00:37:19.150 --> 00:37:22.550
bit to the cast of Swamp Thing, I feel like the

00:37:22.550 --> 00:37:24.630
real, well, maybe not the real star of this movie,

00:37:24.670 --> 00:37:28.030
but in terms of like, you know, on -screen actor

00:37:28.030 --> 00:37:31.750
doing her best. Adrienne Barbeau, who I love.

00:37:31.869 --> 00:37:35.070
I love Adrienne Barbeau so much. She is one of

00:37:35.070 --> 00:37:38.489
the top five scream queens of all time. She's

00:37:38.489 --> 00:37:41.150
in so many John Carpenter movies, The Fog, Escape

00:37:41.150 --> 00:37:44.090
from New York, The Thing. She was also in Creepshow,

00:37:44.329 --> 00:37:48.329
a lot of TV shows throughout the years. Ironically,

00:37:48.349 --> 00:37:50.469
she doesn't like horror movies very much. I read

00:37:50.469 --> 00:37:53.250
in an interview, but she's great. I love her

00:37:53.250 --> 00:37:56.070
a lot. She plays a researcher in this movie who's

00:37:56.070 --> 00:37:59.219
kind of a... sort of love interest for Swamp

00:37:59.219 --> 00:38:01.940
Thing. It's a very chaste kind of love interest,

00:38:02.059 --> 00:38:06.000
PG sort of subplot, you know, but she's great.

00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.559
What did you think about her performance in this

00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:11.820
movie? I think she anchors the film for sure.

00:38:12.019 --> 00:38:14.179
She was actually married to John Carpenter at

00:38:14.179 --> 00:38:17.239
this time. And maybe we read the same interview

00:38:17.239 --> 00:38:20.900
with her. I found it on Inverse. Yeah, that's

00:38:20.900 --> 00:38:23.280
what I read too. All right, look at us. Research.

00:38:24.989 --> 00:38:29.489
So yeah, I like her presence a lot. I mean, her

00:38:29.489 --> 00:38:31.929
perm is terrible in this movie, but it's the

00:38:31.929 --> 00:38:33.449
80s. You can't really blame her for that too

00:38:33.449 --> 00:38:38.329
much. No, she's great. Ray Wise plays the scientist

00:38:38.329 --> 00:38:41.969
Alec Holland, who is the scientist who was turned

00:38:41.969 --> 00:38:44.750
into Swamp Thing. I feel like for me and most

00:38:44.750 --> 00:38:47.389
other people our age, Ray Wise is mostly known

00:38:47.389 --> 00:38:51.460
as Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks. a very memorable

00:38:51.460 --> 00:38:54.300
and terrifying at times portrayal on that show.

00:38:54.739 --> 00:38:56.739
He's great. I feel like he always has a really

00:38:56.739 --> 00:38:59.760
good screen presence. He's also in Paul Schrader's

00:38:59.760 --> 00:39:02.039
Cat People, which we've talked about on the podcast,

00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:05.320
and Jeepers Creepers 2, kind of like those movies

00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:08.739
as well. So yeah, big Ray Wise fan. He has a

00:39:08.739 --> 00:39:11.960
kind of limited role in this movie, but he gives

00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:16.940
a good performance. Yeah, and he does not play

00:39:16.940 --> 00:39:20.849
Swamp Thing, though. That goes to Dick Durock,

00:39:21.030 --> 00:39:26.530
who is a stuntman. He was 6 '6", and he also

00:39:26.530 --> 00:39:29.650
worked on the Incredible Hulk TV show. I think

00:39:29.650 --> 00:39:33.869
he is great. Yeah. You know, with stunt performers,

00:39:34.170 --> 00:39:37.550
you know, sometimes it's just like, no pun intended,

00:39:37.670 --> 00:39:42.269
a Hulk behind a mask, right? And we love the

00:39:42.269 --> 00:39:46.050
actors who do give life to some of these characters,

00:39:46.210 --> 00:39:49.670
like Jason Voorhees. And it's no detriment to

00:39:49.670 --> 00:39:52.769
that actor. I'm just comparing Jason Voorhees

00:39:52.769 --> 00:39:55.989
to Swamp Thing. The fact is Swamp Thing doesn't

00:39:55.989 --> 00:39:58.829
wear a mask. So you're able to see his eyes and

00:39:58.829 --> 00:40:03.010
he can speak. So he's more articulate. And I

00:40:03.010 --> 00:40:08.190
think Dick Durock provides a great bit of pathos

00:40:08.190 --> 00:40:11.730
to this character. Yeah. Totally agree. Yeah.

00:40:11.889 --> 00:40:15.230
And I think the dialogue is still by Ray Wise.

00:40:15.309 --> 00:40:18.670
I think they overdubbed his lines over Dick Durock's

00:40:18.670 --> 00:40:21.710
performance. Oh, wow. But you still see the eyes.

00:40:21.809 --> 00:40:24.769
You still see the soulful eyes, the body language

00:40:24.769 --> 00:40:26.570
of the character. It's really effective, for

00:40:26.570 --> 00:40:30.449
sure. Mm -hmm. Rounding out the cast, we also

00:40:30.449 --> 00:40:34.110
have Louis Jourdan as the villainous Anton Arcane,

00:40:34.250 --> 00:40:38.190
a really great character name. Jourdan, he's

00:40:38.190 --> 00:40:40.570
an interesting actor. He's French, as the name

00:40:40.570 --> 00:40:42.670
implies. He started off in a lot of French movies

00:40:42.670 --> 00:40:45.210
during World War II. And then he came to Hollywood.

00:40:45.250 --> 00:40:47.690
He appeared in films like The Paradigm Case by

00:40:47.690 --> 00:40:51.269
Alfred Hitchcock in 1947. And Letter from an

00:40:51.269 --> 00:40:55.469
Unknown Woman by Max Offuels in 1948. Letter

00:40:55.469 --> 00:40:57.170
from an Unknown Woman is one of my favorite movies

00:40:57.170 --> 00:41:00.829
of all time. Fantastic. Louis Jourdan is great.

00:41:01.449 --> 00:41:04.440
Joan Fontaine is even better in that movie. Yeah,

00:41:04.539 --> 00:41:07.000
Louis Jourdan, you know, kind of had this reputation

00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:10.960
for being like a suave, cosmopolitan, sort of

00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:13.840
villainous presence. Very handsome, but very

00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:16.360
untrustworthy in a lot of movies throughout his

00:41:16.360 --> 00:41:19.579
career. He also played a Bond villain in Octopussy

00:41:19.579 --> 00:41:22.860
from 1983, so one year after Swamp Thing. But

00:41:22.860 --> 00:41:24.519
he's a good villain in this movie. Maybe not

00:41:24.519 --> 00:41:27.400
a lot of depth to his character, but a good presence

00:41:27.400 --> 00:41:32.289
in this movie. I just have to say... I think

00:41:32.289 --> 00:41:34.909
Swamp Thing is a better James Bond movie than

00:41:34.909 --> 00:41:42.070
Octopussy. Yeah. I know what you mean. That couple

00:41:42.070 --> 00:41:45.190
of things there, before I even knew his connection

00:41:45.190 --> 00:41:48.510
to James Bond, I was thinking how James Bond

00:41:48.510 --> 00:41:52.250
this movie is, and I loved it. And then secondly,

00:41:52.590 --> 00:41:57.070
I think I have Octopussy ranked dead last on

00:41:57.070 --> 00:42:00.699
my list. No. Eh. It's either dead last or second

00:42:00.699 --> 00:42:03.900
to last on my rankings of the James Bond movies.

00:42:04.420 --> 00:42:08.219
Wow. Okay. I mean, I do understand that. I feel

00:42:08.219 --> 00:42:09.739
like for me, it would be like right in the middle

00:42:09.739 --> 00:42:14.380
of the pack. I kind of have a soft spot for Octopussy,

00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:16.820
and that's a weird way to say it. But like, you

00:42:16.820 --> 00:42:19.199
know, I mean, like some of the like late Sean

00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:22.039
Connery movies, like Diamonds Are Forever, the

00:42:22.039 --> 00:42:23.860
early Roger Moore ones, like The Man with the

00:42:23.860 --> 00:42:26.380
Golden Gun. This is quite a tangent. But those

00:42:26.380 --> 00:42:29.380
are just mean -spirited and nasty, whereas Octopussy

00:42:29.380 --> 00:42:32.840
I think is kind of fun, but bloated and overlong

00:42:32.840 --> 00:42:36.159
and kind of silly. So it's not my least favorite.

00:42:36.360 --> 00:42:39.579
It's definitely not very good. Yeah. I think

00:42:39.579 --> 00:42:43.960
Diamonds Are Forever is also very bottom tier

00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.599
for me. It might be the third worst on my list.

00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:50.400
But actually, Man with the Golden Gun is one

00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:53.710
of my favorites. So my point is, it's so... The

00:42:53.710 --> 00:42:56.929
James Bond franchise, I think everyone's going

00:42:56.929 --> 00:42:59.909
to come out differently. Yeah. Which is awesome.

00:43:00.130 --> 00:43:04.150
I love that. Totally subjective. Even more so

00:43:04.150 --> 00:43:06.750
than most other movies. But yeah, I think we

00:43:06.750 --> 00:43:08.849
can both agree that Octopussy is not the best

00:43:08.849 --> 00:43:13.170
James Bond movie. Jordan is a decent Bond villain

00:43:13.170 --> 00:43:15.409
in that, but a way better Bond villain in Swamp

00:43:15.409 --> 00:43:18.550
Thing. I agree with you there. Yeah. He has like

00:43:18.550 --> 00:43:21.030
a secret lair. He has like a disguise that he

00:43:21.030 --> 00:43:23.929
like rips off very dramatically. Yeah. That part's

00:43:23.929 --> 00:43:29.769
awesome. He has a dungeon. He has a pit. Yeah.

00:43:31.030 --> 00:43:35.750
He has henchmen. Yeah. He has deformed henchmen.

00:43:36.010 --> 00:43:38.269
Speaking about, you know, Man of the Golden Gun.

00:43:38.989 --> 00:43:42.809
It's just. Oh, the henchmen in this movie are

00:43:42.809 --> 00:43:47.019
great. Yeah. We're already kind of getting into

00:43:47.019 --> 00:43:48.940
the campy stuff a little bit, but I just love

00:43:48.940 --> 00:43:50.860
the henchmen in this movie so much, especially

00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:55.500
when one of them is turned into, like, a character

00:43:55.500 --> 00:43:57.360
that would not be out of place on the island

00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:01.840
of Dr. Moreau, you know? Yes. I love it. It's

00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:04.159
great. It's so ridiculous. It's so campy. It's

00:44:04.159 --> 00:44:09.320
so fun. Yeah. Anton Arcane, the Bond villain

00:44:09.320 --> 00:44:12.320
that you never knew would be in this movie. Seriously.

00:44:12.539 --> 00:44:15.480
But we have one more actor to get through. Yeah,

00:44:15.500 --> 00:44:19.059
and I wanted to shout this young man out. I don't

00:44:19.059 --> 00:44:20.340
know what you thought about his performance,

00:44:20.500 --> 00:44:23.099
but Reggie Batts was just like a local teenager

00:44:23.099 --> 00:44:26.780
outside of, I think, Cypress Garden, South Carolina

00:44:26.780 --> 00:44:29.360
is where they shot this movie. And he plays a

00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:31.780
young man named Jude. He's just a man who works,

00:44:31.940 --> 00:44:34.239
a young man, like a teenager, who works at a

00:44:34.239 --> 00:44:37.099
gas station and he kind of befriends Alice and

00:44:37.099 --> 00:44:40.380
serves as her sidekick a little bit. His performance

00:44:40.380 --> 00:44:43.539
is really awkward. I think it's not objectively

00:44:43.539 --> 00:44:46.960
a great performance. His line readings are so

00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:50.099
stilted and kind of uncomfortable. But I love

00:44:50.099 --> 00:44:53.260
it. He brings so much of his natural personality

00:44:53.260 --> 00:44:56.360
and charisma to this role. I love all the scenes

00:44:56.360 --> 00:44:57.840
with him in this movie. I don't know if you felt

00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:00.800
the same way or not. I do. I felt 100%. I've

00:45:00.800 --> 00:45:03.420
got good notes to say about him later on. It

00:45:03.420 --> 00:45:07.699
can't be notes, but that's also good. Yeah. Yeah.

00:45:08.489 --> 00:45:10.829
I think it's so cool. So many filmmakers try

00:45:10.829 --> 00:45:14.090
to cast non -professional actors for their lack

00:45:14.090 --> 00:45:18.289
of polish and their natural personality. And

00:45:18.289 --> 00:45:20.250
I don't know if that was Wes Craven's intention

00:45:20.250 --> 00:45:23.070
in this movie, but I feel like it works here

00:45:23.070 --> 00:45:28.409
too. It's fun to watch. It is. Yeah, so some

00:45:28.409 --> 00:45:31.099
good cast and crew on this movie. Moving on to

00:45:31.099 --> 00:45:33.340
the production backstory of Swamp Thing. Like

00:45:33.340 --> 00:45:35.119
we already talked about, it was a pretty new

00:45:35.119 --> 00:45:39.960
DC Comics franchise started in 1972. Wes Craven,

00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:42.500
you know, made a pretty big splash with his early

00:45:42.500 --> 00:45:45.199
movies, so he was offered this project. He was

00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:47.460
actually, he started working on this at the same

00:45:47.460 --> 00:45:49.039
time that he was working on his previous movie,

00:45:49.159 --> 00:45:52.219
Deadly Blessing. So he was kind of, you know,

00:45:52.219 --> 00:45:55.320
splitting his attention between those two projects.

00:45:56.170 --> 00:45:58.210
Wes Craven admitted that he wasn't really a big

00:45:58.210 --> 00:46:00.210
comic book fan, but he was attracted to some

00:46:00.210 --> 00:46:02.510
of the themes of Swamp Thing. You know, kind

00:46:02.510 --> 00:46:05.150
of some of the Frankenstein elements, the man

00:46:05.150 --> 00:46:08.210
versus nature storyline. And decided to dive

00:46:08.210 --> 00:46:10.989
in. He wrote the script himself and was eager

00:46:10.989 --> 00:46:14.510
to take on the project. I love that Frankenstein

00:46:14.510 --> 00:46:18.849
is part and parcel of this research because for

00:46:18.849 --> 00:46:21.889
any monster movie fans, it's not just the inspiration.

00:46:21.949 --> 00:46:27.760
You could see some... overt homage, which I think

00:46:27.760 --> 00:46:29.940
is a good thing to the benefit of this film.

00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:33.139
Yeah. But the budget was only $2 .5 million,

00:46:33.320 --> 00:46:37.599
which is really small. Superman's Richard Donner's

00:46:37.599 --> 00:46:40.900
from just a few years prior, that film's budget

00:46:40.900 --> 00:46:46.420
was $55 million for context. And the Completion

00:46:46.420 --> 00:46:49.780
Bond Company Constantly pressured Craven to cut

00:46:49.780 --> 00:46:52.519
costs, resulting in the screenplay being rewritten

00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:55.079
throughout production and the cutting of certain

00:46:55.079 --> 00:46:57.519
scenes, including an underwater escape through

00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:00.659
tunnels beneath the research lab. Wow. Wish we

00:47:00.659 --> 00:47:03.480
could have seen that. And even entire characters.

00:47:03.659 --> 00:47:08.460
And it's Adrian Barbeau who is on record for

00:47:08.460 --> 00:47:14.380
discussing the on -set cuts and rewrites. Craven...

00:47:14.380 --> 00:47:17.820
Sorry, Matt. What were you saying? No, no, I'm

00:47:17.820 --> 00:47:20.179
sorry. Please, please go ahead. Okay. Craven

00:47:20.179 --> 00:47:22.460
said, quote, we had a very tough completion bond

00:47:22.460 --> 00:47:24.780
company on this film. They were not friendly

00:47:24.780 --> 00:47:26.880
and they were not helpful. They just played the

00:47:26.880 --> 00:47:29.260
tough guys all the time. That was probably the

00:47:29.260 --> 00:47:31.260
most difficult part of the shoot, constantly

00:47:31.260 --> 00:47:33.800
having them looking over our shoulders towards

00:47:33.800 --> 00:47:36.000
the end of the film, especially just demanding

00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:38.920
that we cut scenes so that we could stay on schedule.

00:47:39.420 --> 00:47:42.380
The third act especially was just cut savagely,

00:47:42.440 --> 00:47:45.159
having two inexperienced producers that signed

00:47:45.159 --> 00:47:47.510
the papers that they would bring it on budget,

00:47:47.650 --> 00:47:50.670
they were no help. We were all kind of okay,

00:47:50.730 --> 00:47:53.409
I guess, that's what we have to do, or else you're

00:47:53.409 --> 00:47:56.550
fired, sort of thing. And just for reference,

00:47:56.710 --> 00:47:58.869
a completion bond is a kind of insurance for

00:47:58.869 --> 00:48:01.389
distributors of an independently financed film,

00:48:01.510 --> 00:48:04.090
which guarantees that the producer will deliver

00:48:04.090 --> 00:48:06.230
a completed film within the allotted budget.

00:48:07.019 --> 00:48:10.139
Wow, no pressure there. Right. The financial

00:48:10.139 --> 00:48:12.960
advisor even cast himself as one of the extras

00:48:12.960 --> 00:48:16.079
so he could be on set all the time approving

00:48:16.079 --> 00:48:20.940
or disapproving costs. Crazy. Yeah, what? Okay,

00:48:21.019 --> 00:48:23.199
so here you go. According to Barbeau, it was

00:48:23.199 --> 00:48:25.619
not a fantastic experience compared to so many

00:48:25.619 --> 00:48:27.760
of the other films that I've done. It was really

00:48:27.760 --> 00:48:30.239
hard on Wes. She had wonderful things to say

00:48:30.239 --> 00:48:32.960
about Craven who did what he could with all these

00:48:32.960 --> 00:48:35.639
pressures. and took a two -year break from filmmaking

00:48:35.639 --> 00:48:38.239
afterwards, storming back with Nightmare on Elm

00:48:38.239 --> 00:48:41.179
Street. Supposedly, Craven got the idea for that

00:48:41.179 --> 00:48:43.960
franchise while working on this film. So there

00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:46.980
you go. Yeah. Wow, what a pressure cooker of

00:48:46.980 --> 00:48:49.940
a production. Yeah, unfortunate. I mean, I feel

00:48:49.940 --> 00:48:52.559
like it's very obvious how the pressures of just,

00:48:52.679 --> 00:48:55.760
you know, turning a film in on time and under

00:48:55.760 --> 00:48:58.239
budget definitely impact the making of this movie,

00:48:58.380 --> 00:49:00.880
and mostly in negative ways, but in some pretty

00:49:00.880 --> 00:49:03.590
campy, entertaining ways at the same time. Yeah,

00:49:03.590 --> 00:49:06.869
right. So, you know, you apply pressure to something,

00:49:07.070 --> 00:49:11.130
sometimes you get a diamond. Right. Yeah, you

00:49:11.130 --> 00:49:13.070
kind of wonder like how good this movie could

00:49:13.070 --> 00:49:15.369
have been if Wes Craven in particular didn't

00:49:15.369 --> 00:49:18.050
have those pressures. But yeah, some good came

00:49:18.050 --> 00:49:20.630
out of it for sure. Yeah. We'll be talking about

00:49:20.630 --> 00:49:23.650
that soon enough. Yeah. Filming started in the

00:49:23.650 --> 00:49:26.969
summer of 1981 in Cypress Gardens, South Carolina.

00:49:27.230 --> 00:49:30.110
It was just a really miserable shoot, very hot

00:49:30.110 --> 00:49:32.849
and humid. There was a black caterpillar infestation,

00:49:33.010 --> 00:49:35.510
alligators and snakes all over the place. The

00:49:35.510 --> 00:49:38.610
hours were long. Cast accommodations were paltry,

00:49:38.650 --> 00:49:41.030
including no makeup or hair trailer whatsoever.

00:49:41.570 --> 00:49:44.190
So just not a fun shoot for anybody involved.

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:47.659
Sort of like we already talked about, the original

00:49:47.659 --> 00:49:50.639
idea was for Ray Wise to play both Dr. Holland

00:49:50.639 --> 00:49:52.900
and Swamp Thing throughout the entire production,

00:49:53.019 --> 00:49:55.380
but it eventually became clear that that wouldn't

00:49:55.380 --> 00:49:57.579
really be possible. A Dick Durack wearing the

00:49:57.579 --> 00:50:01.440
Swamp Thing costume is just so clearly... not

00:50:01.440 --> 00:50:03.800
the same size and shape as Ray Wise, so that

00:50:03.800 --> 00:50:06.699
would not have worked out. Even so, Wes Craven

00:50:06.699 --> 00:50:10.380
did have Ray Wise perform all the scenes in the

00:50:10.380 --> 00:50:13.300
Swamp Thing costume for every scene that he appeared

00:50:13.300 --> 00:50:16.599
in in the movie. So that probably did not help

00:50:16.599 --> 00:50:19.579
bring the movie in on time and under budget.

00:50:19.739 --> 00:50:23.340
So yeah, unfortunate, but I like the idea behind

00:50:23.340 --> 00:50:25.360
that to want to have Ray Wise play that role.

00:50:25.619 --> 00:50:27.679
It's kind of a cool idea, but obviously didn't

00:50:27.679 --> 00:50:30.199
work out in the long run. Right. It's just...

00:50:30.590 --> 00:50:34.030
Two different body types. Yeah. But yeah, Craven

00:50:34.030 --> 00:50:36.929
did say like Ray Wise was disappointed that he

00:50:36.929 --> 00:50:39.429
couldn't actually appear on screen as Swamp Thing.

00:50:39.610 --> 00:50:41.710
Wes Craven said that he was disappointed as well.

00:50:41.849 --> 00:50:44.170
But Vincent, like you said before, Dick Durack

00:50:44.170 --> 00:50:46.949
gives a good performance. He definitely has like

00:50:46.949 --> 00:50:50.190
a very poignant and natural kind of presence

00:50:50.190 --> 00:50:53.400
in the movie. The rubber suit, however, did not

00:50:53.400 --> 00:50:58.719
really fit up very well. Say what? Yeah, believe

00:50:58.719 --> 00:51:01.909
it or not. Shockingly so. I mean, this thing

00:51:01.909 --> 00:51:04.230
was made out of like bailing wire and gaffer's

00:51:04.230 --> 00:51:07.090
tape. Literally, that's what I think Craven said

00:51:07.090 --> 00:51:09.869
in the interview. So, you know, whenever it touched

00:51:09.869 --> 00:51:13.070
water, specifically this like very acidic swamp

00:51:13.070 --> 00:51:15.449
water, it would just like start to dissolve immediately,

00:51:15.769 --> 00:51:18.789
making the production even more difficult. Dick

00:51:18.789 --> 00:51:21.369
Duroc would be stuck in that costume for eight

00:51:21.369 --> 00:51:24.400
or nine hours on end. He would pass out from

00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:26.579
heat exhaustion and the crew would have to just

00:51:26.579 --> 00:51:30.519
like run in and like rip off his mask and his

00:51:30.519 --> 00:51:32.820
costume. And then it would take several hours

00:51:32.820 --> 00:51:36.380
to reapply just to, you know, literally save

00:51:36.380 --> 00:51:38.480
this guy's life and not have him like pass out

00:51:38.480 --> 00:51:41.739
from heat exhaustion. So in a way, like every

00:51:41.739 --> 00:51:45.000
obstacle and hardship they could have experienced

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:47.519
on this production, they kind of did at some

00:51:47.519 --> 00:51:50.440
point. Right. And Duroc couldn't go to the bathroom.

00:51:50.579 --> 00:51:54.659
And this is where maybe, More budget could have...

00:51:54.659 --> 00:51:57.000
If there's one thing I wanted more budget to,

00:51:57.159 --> 00:52:01.079
it was the costume. If just for the sake of Duroc.

00:52:02.119 --> 00:52:06.559
Right. Poor guy. Give him a fly. It's not that

00:52:06.559 --> 00:52:10.280
hard. Right. Not in the budget. Can't do it.

00:52:10.889 --> 00:52:13.110
And I feel like you hear so many stories about

00:52:13.110 --> 00:52:15.230
that from monster movies where actors have to

00:52:15.230 --> 00:52:18.269
sit in a makeup chair for four or five hours

00:52:18.269 --> 00:52:20.010
and then they're stuck there all day and they

00:52:20.010 --> 00:52:21.570
can't go to the bathroom and all this stuff.

00:52:22.170 --> 00:52:25.750
It's a sacrifice for art. And sometimes you're

00:52:25.750 --> 00:52:27.469
like, ah, was it really worth it? I don't know.

00:52:27.630 --> 00:52:31.909
There has to be a way to make it accommodating.

00:52:31.989 --> 00:52:35.409
Yeah. And this is kind of a vulgar thought, but

00:52:35.409 --> 00:52:37.250
you know, there is this kind of like chaste romance

00:52:37.250 --> 00:52:40.269
between Swamp Thing and the Alice Cable character.

00:52:40.969 --> 00:52:43.949
But like the costume of Swamp Thing is totally

00:52:43.949 --> 00:52:46.750
like there's no genitalia at all. And I was kind

00:52:46.750 --> 00:52:50.170
of like, ah, I kind of want to see what Swamp

00:52:50.170 --> 00:52:52.130
Thing has to offer, you know? Like what's he

00:52:52.130 --> 00:52:54.630
got swinging down there? Like why does Alice

00:52:54.630 --> 00:52:57.190
Cable, why is she attracted to him so much, you

00:52:57.190 --> 00:52:59.130
know? I'm being a little crude right now, but

00:52:59.130 --> 00:53:00.750
I was like, ah, there's just nothing down there.

00:53:00.809 --> 00:53:04.099
It's weird. Well, that. That would be the rated

00:53:04.099 --> 00:53:06.639
R version. I think it could be done tastefully,

00:53:06.659 --> 00:53:10.960
you know, in a more, in a, as tastefully as maybe

00:53:10.960 --> 00:53:14.679
a Grindhouse movie could be. Right. But no, that's,

00:53:14.679 --> 00:53:17.380
that's not the, that's not the version we get.

00:53:17.699 --> 00:53:20.559
Yeah. Swamp Thing is rated PG after all. And

00:53:20.559 --> 00:53:23.239
I'm joking a little bit, but I would like to

00:53:23.239 --> 00:53:25.679
see that version of the movie too. Well, he would

00:53:25.679 --> 00:53:30.679
have an enormous schunstiger. Yeah, as they say

00:53:30.679 --> 00:53:33.320
in Young Frankenstein, you would certainly assume

00:53:33.320 --> 00:53:38.460
so. Yeah. Okay. I can read this last bit. Yeah,

00:53:38.480 --> 00:53:41.380
for sure. So Wes Craven apparently wasn't a fan

00:53:41.380 --> 00:53:44.000
of the monster suit after Arcane's transformation.

00:53:44.539 --> 00:53:47.980
Oh, right. So we get two monsters in this movie,

00:53:48.039 --> 00:53:53.360
folks. And the final act is Arcane taking the

00:53:53.360 --> 00:53:57.920
serum that has turned other people, including...

00:53:58.360 --> 00:54:01.559
Swamp Thing into these monsters. So Arcane, our

00:54:01.559 --> 00:54:04.260
villain, he takes the potion and it turns him

00:54:04.260 --> 00:54:08.340
into what is the essence of his being, a fiendish

00:54:08.340 --> 00:54:14.239
rat man. And it's wild. But anyways, we'll talk

00:54:14.239 --> 00:54:18.639
about that later. Kraven wasn't a fan of Arcane's

00:54:18.639 --> 00:54:21.019
transformation. Asked about it by an interviewer,

00:54:21.019 --> 00:54:23.920
he simply sighed heavily while they were shooting

00:54:23.920 --> 00:54:26.460
in South Carolina. The Arcane suit was being

00:54:26.460 --> 00:54:28.900
designed. While they were shooting in South Carolina,

00:54:29.059 --> 00:54:31.840
the Arcane suit was being designed in LA, so

00:54:31.840 --> 00:54:33.900
Craven literally didn't see it until it arrived

00:54:33.900 --> 00:54:36.619
on set. He said, quote, I don't want to hurt

00:54:36.619 --> 00:54:38.699
anybody's feelings on this because everyone was

00:54:38.699 --> 00:54:41.119
working very hard, but given the budgets that

00:54:41.119 --> 00:54:43.519
we didn't give to them, basically they had very

00:54:43.519 --> 00:54:45.699
little to work with. It was kind of a chaotic

00:54:45.699 --> 00:54:48.179
thing from the beginning, I think. There probably

00:54:48.179 --> 00:54:50.340
should have been five times more money for this

00:54:50.340 --> 00:54:52.699
costume and more time to develop and test and

00:54:52.699 --> 00:54:55.500
everything else, and there just wasn't. And to

00:54:55.500 --> 00:54:59.519
be frank, This costume is like a bad Halloween

00:54:59.519 --> 00:55:02.320
costume. It just doesn't look cinematic at all.

00:55:02.980 --> 00:55:06.659
With that said, it lends the perfect amount of

00:55:06.659 --> 00:55:09.940
camp to this film. Oh, yeah. It's fantastic.

00:55:11.059 --> 00:55:13.519
Yeah. Not to mention the fact that this arcane

00:55:13.519 --> 00:55:15.960
monster is like wielding a huge sword in that

00:55:15.960 --> 00:55:18.840
final fight. So it's just so ridiculous. So bad

00:55:18.840 --> 00:55:22.840
it is good. Yeah, absolutely. The epitome of

00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:26.300
that phrase, I would say. Yep. Yeah, but yeah,

00:55:26.519 --> 00:55:29.059
it does not look probably the way that Wes Craven

00:55:29.059 --> 00:55:33.119
wanted it to, as he admitted. Nevertheless, when

00:55:33.119 --> 00:55:35.360
Swamp Thing was released in February of 1982,

00:55:35.739 --> 00:55:38.400
it was a moderate box office success, partially

00:55:38.400 --> 00:55:41.219
because of its low budget. It gained such a cult

00:55:41.219 --> 00:55:43.639
following that it even led to a sequel, The Return

00:55:43.639 --> 00:55:48.219
of Swamp Thing in 1989. Sorry, and a couple of

00:55:48.219 --> 00:55:53.500
TV series. Yeah. One with Dick DeRock. Following

00:55:53.500 --> 00:55:55.039
the Return of Swamp Thing, I think it was like

00:55:55.039 --> 00:55:59.860
a three -season run on the USA Network, which

00:55:59.860 --> 00:56:02.280
I would be into watching. And then I think James

00:56:02.280 --> 00:56:06.820
Wan produced a more recent TV series that I don't

00:56:06.820 --> 00:56:10.539
think had such an extended life. But there's

00:56:10.539 --> 00:56:13.460
a lot of properties out there, including James

00:56:13.460 --> 00:56:20.159
Gunn. He is producing a new movie with James

00:56:20.159 --> 00:56:24.019
Mangold attached. It keeps being put off on the

00:56:24.019 --> 00:56:26.059
back burner because Mangold is off directing

00:56:26.059 --> 00:56:30.800
arguably, you know, bigger named movies, Star

00:56:30.800 --> 00:56:34.500
Wars and a complete unknown, a complete unknown.

00:56:34.739 --> 00:56:39.619
Yeah. So with that said, a new swamp thing is

00:56:39.619 --> 00:56:44.280
percolating out there in the swamp. But I hope

00:56:44.280 --> 00:56:46.980
it doesn't, I hope it doesn't fall into the quicksand

00:56:46.980 --> 00:56:49.980
to continue the metaphor. I want it to, I want

00:56:49.980 --> 00:56:55.389
it to rise. From the depths. I love that metaphor.

00:56:55.550 --> 00:56:57.929
I wonder if Timothee Chalamet will play Swamp

00:56:57.929 --> 00:57:00.449
Thing in the James Mangold version. That would

00:57:00.449 --> 00:57:03.889
be dumb. It would be. I really hope that's not

00:57:03.889 --> 00:57:05.590
the case. That was just a joke, by the way. No,

00:57:05.590 --> 00:57:08.710
I know. He could play maybe the villain. Yeah,

00:57:08.769 --> 00:57:14.010
yeah, I could see that. Yeah. I have some ridiculous

00:57:14.010 --> 00:57:19.110
mental images in my head right now. Maybe we'll

00:57:19.110 --> 00:57:24.260
get the... The unrated cut. So you can get what

00:57:24.260 --> 00:57:30.039
you were missing in this. Man, I take back everything

00:57:30.039 --> 00:57:34.099
I said. I don't actually want that. Speaking

00:57:34.099 --> 00:57:36.239
of that, though, there was a European release

00:57:36.239 --> 00:57:38.420
of Swamp Thing at the same time that the American

00:57:38.420 --> 00:57:40.599
Swamp Thing was released into theaters in 1982.

00:57:41.219 --> 00:57:45.559
And the Completion Bond Company. sort of stipulated

00:57:45.559 --> 00:57:47.579
that there would be a lot more nudity in the

00:57:47.579 --> 00:57:50.519
European version. So there are gratuitous shots

00:57:50.519 --> 00:57:53.059
of Adrian Barbeau topless in the European cut

00:57:53.059 --> 00:57:55.480
of Swamp Thing, which makes no sense because

00:57:55.480 --> 00:57:58.860
this is essentially a rated PG, mostly family

00:57:58.860 --> 00:58:02.219
-friendly story, like a superhero story. And

00:58:02.219 --> 00:58:04.579
yeah, I just don't know why you would have this

00:58:04.579 --> 00:58:06.719
like sexualized European version of the film.

00:58:06.760 --> 00:58:10.099
It makes no sense at all. It was the 80s. I don't

00:58:10.099 --> 00:58:12.860
know. I guess that's all. Yeah, it was the 80s.

00:58:12.860 --> 00:58:16.460
That's all the explanation you need. Terrible

00:58:16.460 --> 00:58:20.380
time for everyone, the 1980s. There's kind of

00:58:20.380 --> 00:58:22.659
a funny story, though, like the initial DVD release

00:58:22.659 --> 00:58:25.320
of Swamp Thing was supposed to be the rated PG

00:58:25.320 --> 00:58:27.960
version, but they accidentally released. the

00:58:27.960 --> 00:58:30.539
European cut with way more nudity than there

00:58:30.539 --> 00:58:33.800
was supposed to be in it. And at least one parent

00:58:33.800 --> 00:58:36.420
complained about it. The distributor had to recall

00:58:36.420 --> 00:58:38.820
all the DVDs. They put the right version of the

00:58:38.820 --> 00:58:41.840
movie on there. I just, it's, I mean, that's

00:58:41.840 --> 00:58:43.539
kind of unfortunate, but it's also hilarious

00:58:43.539 --> 00:58:46.480
to imagine a mom being like, where are all these

00:58:46.480 --> 00:58:48.159
topless scenes coming from? This is supposed

00:58:48.159 --> 00:58:50.000
to be Swamp Thing. I kind of love that story.

00:58:50.480 --> 00:58:53.739
I'm just picturing, I mean, how old was this

00:58:53.739 --> 00:58:56.880
kid, first of all? I guess this movie may be,

00:58:57.599 --> 00:59:02.719
more family -friendly in tone, but I wouldn't

00:59:02.719 --> 00:59:07.159
show a young kid this movie because it's still

00:59:07.159 --> 00:59:11.639
violent. I don't know. My point is, if you're

00:59:11.639 --> 00:59:15.519
showing your kid Swamp Thing, what's a little

00:59:15.519 --> 00:59:19.340
bit of nudity? Yeah, right. I mean, the nudity

00:59:19.340 --> 00:59:21.260
is probably less offensive than Swamp Thing,

00:59:21.300 --> 00:59:23.480
like crushing villains' heads. That's what I'm

00:59:23.480 --> 00:59:26.340
talking about. Yeah. But it's weird because like

00:59:26.340 --> 00:59:28.980
the tone in this movie is pretty like silly and

00:59:28.980 --> 00:59:31.960
cutesy and family friendly. Like even the stuff

00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:34.280
where villains die, like there's some fake blood,

00:59:34.380 --> 00:59:37.300
but like you don't really see too much. So it's

00:59:37.300 --> 00:59:40.079
just a weird combination of tones. And you already

00:59:40.079 --> 00:59:41.679
talked about this a little bit, Vincent. It's

00:59:41.679 --> 00:59:45.130
like. You know, is this Wes Craven in, like,

00:59:45.130 --> 00:59:47.989
early grindhouse exploitation mode, or is it

00:59:47.989 --> 00:59:50.389
him in, like, mainstream family -friendly mode?

00:59:50.590 --> 00:59:53.730
It's very awkwardly in between, which is fascinating,

00:59:53.829 --> 00:59:55.550
but does not really make for a very good movie.

00:59:56.489 --> 00:59:58.769
But now is probably a good time for our sponsor

00:59:58.769 --> 01:00:01.909
break. Camp Kaiju is sponsored by Zach Linder

01:00:01.909 --> 01:00:04.190
and the Zach Pack, powered by Coldwell Banker

01:00:04.190 --> 01:00:07.230
Realty. Your source for real estate, home rehab,

01:00:07.550 --> 01:00:09.929
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residential buyers. Reach out to the Zach Pack

01:00:12.579 --> 01:00:15.280
today for real estate services. Follow the Zach

01:00:15.280 --> 01:00:18.139
Pack on social media and contact the Zach Pack

01:00:18.139 --> 01:00:21.079
for investment opportunities. Links in the show

01:00:21.079 --> 01:00:24.659
notes. Vincent, do we have anything in Minya's

01:00:24.659 --> 01:00:28.699
mailbox today? We do. Something super quick,

01:00:28.699 --> 01:00:35.159
but super, super, super, super. We have a comment

01:00:35.159 --> 01:00:41.960
from a listener named Kyora123. And Kyora simply

01:00:41.960 --> 01:00:45.619
says, you guys are amazing. Goodness, thank you,

01:00:45.619 --> 01:00:48.119
Kyora123. That's awesome. Thank you so much.

01:00:49.400 --> 01:00:53.320
That's good to hear. Yeah. I've got other really

01:00:53.320 --> 01:00:56.679
good comments in the mailbag, but I want to save

01:00:56.679 --> 01:00:58.820
them when we have time to dedicate to them because

01:00:58.820 --> 01:01:01.519
I think they offer some conversation. But for

01:01:01.519 --> 01:01:05.920
now, you know, we'll just leave it at that. Absolutely.

01:01:06.059 --> 01:01:08.019
Many thanks. Thank you for listening, sharing,

01:01:08.139 --> 01:01:10.480
commenting. All the above. We really appreciate

01:01:10.480 --> 01:01:14.000
you. Matt, how's life with Peter? Oh, it's a

01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:15.639
little bit rough sometimes, let me tell you.

01:01:15.679 --> 01:01:20.079
There's some friction. Oh, no. Yeah. Like the

01:01:20.079 --> 01:01:23.239
odd couple here. Trouble in paradise. That's

01:01:23.239 --> 01:01:26.119
all I'll say. It's tough cohabitating with somebody,

01:01:26.199 --> 01:01:29.300
especially diminutive German fiend. I'll just

01:01:29.300 --> 01:01:33.820
say that. Yeah. Diminutive German fiends. Well,

01:01:33.960 --> 01:01:38.389
I hope he doesn't hear you call him that. I heard

01:01:38.389 --> 01:01:40.710
like a shriek from the room behind me. So I think

01:01:40.710 --> 01:01:43.309
he is listening in right now. He's not very happy.

01:01:43.530 --> 01:01:45.510
And I think things are about to get even worse.

01:01:45.630 --> 01:01:47.789
So I will bear the brunt of that. Well, I don't

01:01:47.789 --> 01:01:51.050
think I told you. I mean, I should. You're privy

01:01:51.050 --> 01:01:53.210
to this. You're his roommate, for goodness sake.

01:01:54.230 --> 01:01:57.269
So this lilac, he's growing. He got word out

01:01:57.269 --> 01:02:03.210
to me that it is reaching the ceiling now. And

01:02:03.210 --> 01:02:07.360
it's grown fangs. and it's squawking, and it

01:02:07.360 --> 01:02:14.079
demands fish heads. Oh. And I try to get through

01:02:14.079 --> 01:02:16.980
to Peter, but I don't live with the guy, so maybe

01:02:16.980 --> 01:02:20.139
you have his ear a little bit more, and you could

01:02:20.139 --> 01:02:23.260
really kind of talk him down from this. I don't

01:02:23.260 --> 01:02:26.380
think this lilac is good for him. Yeah, that

01:02:26.380 --> 01:02:28.380
makes a lot of sense. That could be what the

01:02:28.380 --> 01:02:32.380
shrieking is right now. Yeah, it might be totally

01:02:32.380 --> 01:02:34.920
unrelated to me and more about the fanged lilac

01:02:34.920 --> 01:02:37.800
in his tiny closet. That could be. Well, I'll

01:02:37.800 --> 01:02:40.139
try to talk him down. I'll try to, like, produce

01:02:40.139 --> 01:02:42.420
some more fish heads. Let me tell you, it does

01:02:42.420 --> 01:02:45.420
not feel good to decapitate dozens of fish every

01:02:45.420 --> 01:02:49.019
week. I didn't know you prepared them. Oh, yeah,

01:02:49.099 --> 01:02:51.440
lovingly. I mean, I try to make sure they're

01:02:51.440 --> 01:02:54.619
the best fish that I can possibly find. So, you

01:02:54.619 --> 01:02:56.639
know, I mean, I'm doing what I can for Peter,

01:02:56.679 --> 01:02:58.139
and he's not appreciative. I'll tell you that

01:02:58.139 --> 01:03:00.539
much. You're very kind. At this point, I would

01:03:00.539 --> 01:03:04.940
tell a grown man to cut his own fish heads. Oh,

01:03:04.980 --> 01:03:07.639
well, I keep them under lock and key in his closet.

01:03:07.760 --> 01:03:11.820
What? Yeah. He's just too intrusive otherwise.

01:03:13.559 --> 01:03:15.599
Wow. Well, he seems to be okay with that arrangement

01:03:15.599 --> 01:03:17.980
because I haven't heard that. But whatever works

01:03:17.980 --> 01:03:19.840
for you two, I'm not going to get into your personal

01:03:19.840 --> 01:03:22.760
business as long as he's paying his half of the

01:03:22.760 --> 01:03:27.659
rent, right? Well, sometimes. Yeah. When I threaten

01:03:27.659 --> 01:03:30.099
him. The more I talk about it, the more I understand

01:03:30.099 --> 01:03:32.260
why our relationship is a little bit, a little

01:03:32.260 --> 01:03:34.480
rough right now. I think I understand. Yeah.

01:03:34.539 --> 01:03:37.219
Well, he's dealing with some things, so, you

01:03:37.219 --> 01:03:39.780
know, we'll look for some improvements. Yeah.

01:03:39.880 --> 01:03:41.960
You know, I'll talk to him. We'll sit down with

01:03:41.960 --> 01:03:43.840
a domestic counselor. We'll figure things out.

01:03:43.960 --> 01:03:47.960
It'll be okay. Okay. More to come on that soon.

01:03:48.159 --> 01:03:50.199
I should check out that lilac, though. I'm a

01:03:50.199 --> 01:03:52.000
little scared of that. Yeah, you might want to

01:03:52.000 --> 01:03:54.960
stay on top of that. In the meantime. Check out

01:03:54.960 --> 01:03:59.059
a movie called The Mad Monster from 1942. I think

01:03:59.059 --> 01:04:01.139
it's about a mad scientist turning people into

01:04:01.139 --> 01:04:05.659
wolfmen. Hmm. Okay. I haven't seen it yet, but

01:04:05.659 --> 01:04:09.139
I cannot wait to watch The Mad Monster and hear

01:04:09.139 --> 01:04:12.099
Peter Lorre talk all about it. I feel like that

01:04:12.099 --> 01:04:14.360
title could apply to Swamp Thing and many, many

01:04:14.360 --> 01:04:17.500
other monster movies. Many others. Yeah. The

01:04:17.500 --> 01:04:21.139
vast majority, perhaps. Well, I can't wait to

01:04:21.139 --> 01:04:38.030
hear more about it. Welcome to Poverty Row Studios

01:04:38.030 --> 01:04:41.710
on the other side of Hollywood. The stars were

01:04:41.710 --> 01:04:44.230
dimmer and the red carpets dripped with blood.

01:04:44.449 --> 01:04:47.030
Together we will watch the best of the worst.

01:04:47.429 --> 01:04:50.590
Movies known for their limited budgets, outlandish

01:04:50.590 --> 01:04:54.190
concepts, and questionable performances. But

01:04:54.190 --> 01:04:57.210
with enough haunted houses, zombies, ape men,

01:04:57.329 --> 01:05:00.599
and devil bats to keep you up at night. This

01:05:00.599 --> 01:05:04.039
is the Poverty Row Picture Show. I dare you to

01:05:04.039 --> 01:05:13.440
sleep through these nightmares. Hello there,

01:05:13.599 --> 01:05:17.059
I am Peter Lorre. You may remember me from such

01:05:17.059 --> 01:05:20.820
hard -boiled classics as The Maltese Falcon and

01:05:20.820 --> 01:05:28.219
Casablanca. No? You don't remember me? Yes, yes,

01:05:28.260 --> 01:05:33.039
with Humphrey Bogart. Yes, the Casablanca. No,

01:05:33.159 --> 01:05:35.159
no, not with the Marx Brothers, you know, forget

01:05:35.159 --> 01:05:37.760
it. See, this is what I get for doing something

01:05:37.760 --> 01:05:41.780
outside the horror genre. Fine, you want monsters,

01:05:41.820 --> 01:05:45.000
is it? Spooks, specters, and ghosts? Alright,

01:05:45.280 --> 01:05:48.099
then here is a doozy for you this week. From

01:05:48.099 --> 01:05:52.820
PRC comes The Mad Monster, starring fellow horror

01:05:52.820 --> 01:05:57.349
icon... George Zuko as a mad scientist who concocts

01:05:57.349 --> 01:06:00.530
a scheme to transfer a wolf's blood into the

01:06:00.530 --> 01:06:04.489
hulking, dim -witted gardener. The madman's aim

01:06:04.489 --> 01:06:08.250
is to sic the genetically engineered wolfman

01:06:08.250 --> 01:06:11.409
on those colleagues who spurned his experiments.

01:06:11.590 --> 01:06:14.829
And if that wasn't enough, perhaps these wolfmen

01:06:14.829 --> 01:06:17.849
will be unleashed upon Hitler's German army.

01:06:18.150 --> 01:06:22.530
A little Frankenstein, a little wolfman, a little

01:06:22.530 --> 01:06:26.389
devil bat. This is a million -dollar idea that

01:06:26.389 --> 01:06:30.090
simply cannot meet its own lofty aspirations.

01:06:31.070 --> 01:06:35.690
The direction by Sam Newfield is sadly void of

01:06:35.690 --> 01:06:40.070
suspense, terror, and mystery. Compounding this

01:06:40.070 --> 01:06:43.849
is an inexplicable lack of scoring in such moments.

01:06:44.510 --> 01:06:48.630
The Wolfman, played by Glenn Strange, is a decent

01:06:48.630 --> 01:06:51.369
screen monster if you can look past his dopey

01:06:51.369 --> 01:06:55.190
overalls and bucket hat. But Mr. Strange proves

01:06:55.190 --> 01:06:58.110
worthy of inheriting the Frankenstein monster,

01:06:58.369 --> 01:07:01.829
as he did in the final three pictures of Universal's

01:07:01.829 --> 01:07:06.329
famed series. As the mentally impaired gardener,

01:07:06.349 --> 01:07:09.670
however, Mr. Strange is tasked with a characterization

01:07:09.670 --> 01:07:13.110
that is embarrassing at best and offensive at

01:07:13.110 --> 01:07:15.969
worst. We will let you consider the long history

01:07:15.969 --> 01:07:19.030
of medical abuse among our disabled brethren.

01:07:20.789 --> 01:07:24.449
Oh! That must be Matthew, home from the market.

01:07:24.909 --> 01:07:30.510
Oh, I can smell the salty stench of the herring

01:07:30.510 --> 01:07:34.630
from here. What do you think, Lilac? Ready to

01:07:34.630 --> 01:07:38.710
have some din -din? Oh, yes, I'll scratch your

01:07:38.710 --> 01:07:43.360
belly. Oh, there's a good girl. Good girl. Alright,

01:07:43.480 --> 01:07:46.380
alright, listeners, please check out Mad Monster

01:07:46.380 --> 01:07:50.119
for yourself. It is no Casablanca, but it might

01:07:50.119 --> 01:07:54.440
be so bad it's good. As for next time, we will

01:07:54.440 --> 01:07:58.280
review Bowery at Midnight, where Bela Lugosi

01:07:58.280 --> 01:08:01.000
plays a gangster with a basement full of zombies.

01:08:01.280 --> 01:08:04.340
By Satan's beard with a premise like that, it

01:08:04.340 --> 01:08:20.340
better be a masterpiece of the macabre. The big

01:08:20.340 --> 01:08:24.000
green guy is back. They call me Swamp Thing.

01:08:24.199 --> 01:08:31.079
You're a plant, aren't you? He's come back to

01:08:31.079 --> 01:08:36.920
settle the score. Find him. And bring him in.

01:08:37.279 --> 01:08:40.359
He's got a grudge, cause they turned him to slug.

01:08:41.159 --> 01:08:45.760
I believe this is yours. What? The return of

01:08:45.760 --> 01:08:55.750
Swamp Thing. Louis Jardin. What did you do? Sell

01:08:55.750 --> 01:08:59.789
your soul to the devil? Let's just say he has

01:08:59.789 --> 01:09:02.729
a lease with an option to buy. Heather Locklear.

01:09:02.970 --> 01:09:05.409
She can get in my things in time to most things.

01:09:05.630 --> 01:09:08.090
Why can't men do more like plants? I mean, you

01:09:08.090 --> 01:09:09.630
can stroke a plant and it doesn't get the wrong

01:09:09.630 --> 01:09:13.989
idea. And swap things. But I can't give you the

01:09:13.989 --> 01:09:16.909
kind of love you want. Why not? I'm a plant.

01:09:17.170 --> 01:09:35.890
That's okay. I'm a vegetarian. Back to Swamp

01:09:35.890 --> 01:09:38.789
Thing, what are the themes in this movie? Well,

01:09:38.810 --> 01:09:40.789
I picked up on a couple that I found interesting.

01:09:41.069 --> 01:09:44.409
Number one is the serum, and this Swamp Thing

01:09:44.409 --> 01:09:51.010
is chained up in the dungeon of Arcane, and Arcane's

01:09:51.010 --> 01:09:55.250
ploy to, like, not take over the world, but to...

01:09:56.560 --> 01:10:00.319
He wants to take over this serum for his own

01:10:00.319 --> 01:10:04.140
personal gain at any rate. Yeah. And he sees

01:10:04.140 --> 01:10:08.659
that drinking the serum turned, I forget, Swamp

01:10:08.659 --> 01:10:12.100
Thing's human alter ego. Alec Holland, I believe.

01:10:12.100 --> 01:10:15.239
Holland, that's right. Arcane sees that the serum

01:10:15.239 --> 01:10:20.060
turns Holland into this super human. And Arcane

01:10:20.060 --> 01:10:23.640
says, I want some of that. But he tries it out,

01:10:23.680 --> 01:10:26.100
the serum on his henchman, one of his friends.

01:10:26.300 --> 01:10:30.300
goons but the serum turns the goon into like

01:10:30.300 --> 01:10:36.640
a diminutive satyr like goblin character yeah

01:10:36.640 --> 01:10:41.479
real freakish so arcane is is interrogating swamp

01:10:41.479 --> 01:10:45.960
thing and says why why can't everyone just be

01:10:45.960 --> 01:10:49.000
like you yeah and swamp thing says because the

01:10:49.000 --> 01:10:54.250
serum amplifies your essence Which I think is

01:10:54.250 --> 01:10:58.310
a really profound and almost poetic way to phrase

01:10:58.310 --> 01:11:02.470
this and frame this device, this story device.

01:11:02.710 --> 01:11:06.689
Because Arcane takes it and again turns into

01:11:06.689 --> 01:11:10.689
this like really nightmare rodent -like creature.

01:11:10.970 --> 01:11:14.409
Yeah. And so I just love the theme of exploring

01:11:14.409 --> 01:11:17.090
one's own identity and can you change who you

01:11:17.090 --> 01:11:20.409
are? According to this movie, you can't. You

01:11:20.409 --> 01:11:25.340
can only amplify it. So the lines between good

01:11:25.340 --> 01:11:29.319
and bad are very clear in this movie, which is

01:11:29.319 --> 01:11:33.220
right in line with the film's tone and approach

01:11:33.220 --> 01:11:36.460
as a superhero movie. But yeah, I found it a

01:11:36.460 --> 01:11:41.760
really interesting thought. Yeah. I like that

01:11:41.760 --> 01:11:44.640
theme, even if like, yeah, the morality does

01:11:44.640 --> 01:11:46.659
seem a little bit like black or white. You're

01:11:46.659 --> 01:11:48.500
either like a good person or a bad person, you

01:11:48.500 --> 01:11:50.279
know, that maybe could have been more interesting,

01:11:50.319 --> 01:11:53.340
but. But yeah, the theme is pretty fascinating.

01:11:53.619 --> 01:11:56.380
And the moment when that henchman turns into

01:11:56.380 --> 01:11:59.380
the little satyr -like creature is really funny

01:11:59.380 --> 01:12:02.180
and also kind of disturbing at the same time.

01:12:02.300 --> 01:12:04.260
It really did remind me of The Island of Dr.

01:12:04.420 --> 01:12:05.840
Moreau, which we just talked about a couple months

01:12:05.840 --> 01:12:11.359
ago. Oh, yeah. Honestly, Marlon Brando's mini

01:12:11.359 --> 01:12:14.899
-me character is almost cut from the same cloth.

01:12:15.180 --> 01:12:19.100
You just wonder if the people behind Moreau...

01:12:19.390 --> 01:12:23.069
did take inspiration from swamp thing. Yeah,

01:12:23.149 --> 01:12:29.890
absolutely. Yeah. I also think the idea of genius

01:12:29.890 --> 01:12:33.970
and what constitutes genius, but also the responsibility

01:12:33.970 --> 01:12:38.229
of being a genius is, is an interesting line

01:12:38.229 --> 01:12:40.989
to pull thread to pull in this movie because

01:12:40.989 --> 01:12:45.939
arcane as he. often says in this movie he is

01:12:45.939 --> 01:12:48.260
a genius and he's one really great line that

01:12:48.260 --> 01:12:52.619
sums up his worldview and he says to holland

01:12:52.619 --> 01:12:58.239
talent does what it can genius does what it must

01:12:58.239 --> 01:13:04.239
yeah and and i find that fascinating in our current

01:13:04.239 --> 01:13:07.619
age of people like elon musk and all these self

01:13:07.619 --> 01:13:11.880
-described geniuses and you know are they using

01:13:11.880 --> 01:13:15.420
their their resources and their smarts for the

01:13:15.420 --> 01:13:18.180
betterment of mankind. But on the flip side,

01:13:18.380 --> 01:13:25.619
like at what cost, at whose expense, at, at what

01:13:25.619 --> 01:13:28.939
compromise to your own ethics and morality of

01:13:28.939 --> 01:13:33.239
right and wrong, are you going to destroy lives

01:13:33.239 --> 01:13:36.960
to achieve this quote unquote greatness? And

01:13:36.960 --> 01:13:41.079
that's a duality that. Maybe supervillains play,

01:13:41.319 --> 01:13:46.060
maybe a Lex Luthor type, but Arcane personifies

01:13:46.060 --> 01:13:51.460
that duality. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's

01:13:51.460 --> 01:13:53.399
a common theme from monster movies. I think we

01:13:53.399 --> 01:13:55.960
see that in Island of Lost Souls with Charles

01:13:55.960 --> 01:13:58.619
Lawton's character, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

01:13:58.659 --> 01:14:01.220
We see that a little bit too. So it's a longstanding

01:14:01.220 --> 01:14:03.840
theme, but I like what you said about Elon Musk

01:14:03.840 --> 01:14:06.979
and just like this era of human history. Like

01:14:06.979 --> 01:14:09.619
I think this, well... And it goes back to, like,

01:14:09.619 --> 01:14:11.720
nuclear weaponry as well. Like, it's certainly

01:14:11.720 --> 01:14:15.239
in a lot of kaiju movies. It's in, you know,

01:14:15.279 --> 01:14:17.760
Them, The Day the Earth Stood Still a little

01:14:17.760 --> 01:14:20.619
bit, like, implicitly, you know? So, yeah, certainly

01:14:20.619 --> 01:14:22.520
a pervasive theme. But I think at this point

01:14:22.520 --> 01:14:25.279
in human history, that question is more relevant

01:14:25.279 --> 01:14:29.439
than ever. Like, we need people of genius to

01:14:29.439 --> 01:14:32.220
innovate and come up with new solutions. But

01:14:32.220 --> 01:14:34.800
then, like, what do you do with that science?

01:14:35.039 --> 01:14:37.920
Do you, like, you know, Arkane uses it. for money

01:14:37.920 --> 01:14:41.140
and power. Like he wants to like control the

01:14:41.140 --> 01:14:44.039
world's food supply so that people pay him to

01:14:44.039 --> 01:14:46.720
like be able to eat basically. And then Alec

01:14:46.720 --> 01:14:48.380
Holland, you know, he wants to feed everybody.

01:14:48.420 --> 01:14:52.420
He's driven by world starvation and famine throughout

01:14:52.420 --> 01:14:55.859
the planet. And he wants to help everybody. He

01:14:55.859 --> 01:14:57.920
wants to make sure that nobody dies of starvation

01:14:57.920 --> 01:15:01.220
ever again. So it's kind of a simple minded duality,

01:15:01.239 --> 01:15:03.039
but it's still a very important one. And it's

01:15:03.039 --> 01:15:06.020
one that like, you know, we see playing out in

01:15:06.020 --> 01:15:09.159
the real world over and over again. Yeah. And

01:15:09.159 --> 01:15:11.000
then, you know, we also get this man versus nature

01:15:11.000 --> 01:15:14.079
theme, which is maybe the most obvious and possibly

01:15:14.079 --> 01:15:16.060
like the less interesting theme in the movie,

01:15:16.119 --> 01:15:18.520
but it's certainly there. I mean, Holland loves

01:15:18.520 --> 01:15:21.520
the swamps. He's one with nature. He, I mean,

01:15:21.539 --> 01:15:23.779
literally he's one with nature at a certain point

01:15:23.779 --> 01:15:25.859
in the movie. So, you know, that's right there

01:15:25.859 --> 01:15:29.260
on the surface, but still, still a duality in

01:15:29.260 --> 01:15:32.579
the movie for sure. Yeah. Which as I've read

01:15:32.579 --> 01:15:38.630
now, was kind of a common theme for Wes Craven

01:15:38.630 --> 01:15:40.649
movies. I haven't seen these other movies, I'm

01:15:40.649 --> 01:15:44.010
just regurgitating what I read, but he likes

01:15:44.010 --> 01:15:47.270
to examine the environment's relationship on

01:15:47.270 --> 01:15:50.750
his characters. Yeah, for sure. And that's maybe

01:15:50.750 --> 01:15:52.789
one more review that I'll just shout out here

01:15:52.789 --> 01:15:55.189
real quick. I hope I pronounced this writer's

01:15:55.189 --> 01:15:58.920
name correctly, but Jakub Flosch is the... is

01:15:58.920 --> 01:16:00.319
my guess, I don't know how to pronounce his name.

01:16:00.579 --> 01:16:03.119
But, you know, he compares Swamp Thing to Craven's

01:16:03.119 --> 01:16:05.159
earlier movies, The Last House on the Left and

01:16:05.159 --> 01:16:08.199
The Hills Have Eyes, which were satires of, like,

01:16:08.199 --> 01:16:10.579
hippie counterculture and then, like, nuclear

01:16:10.579 --> 01:16:13.920
weaponry and, like, the atomic age. Respectively,

01:16:13.920 --> 01:16:15.800
those two movies kind of address those themes.

01:16:16.100 --> 01:16:19.159
So this critic is saying that Swamp Thing kind

01:16:19.159 --> 01:16:21.920
of continues that legacy and is offering another

01:16:21.920 --> 01:16:25.159
satire about the role of science in society.

01:16:25.560 --> 01:16:28.850
And I think, you know... Looking at Craven's

01:16:28.850 --> 01:16:31.369
filmography, I think that depth is certainly

01:16:31.369 --> 01:16:33.710
there, even if it is compromised a little bit

01:16:33.710 --> 01:16:36.229
by some of the production difficulties during

01:16:36.229 --> 01:16:39.670
the making of this movie. Yeah, certainly. But,

01:16:39.710 --> 01:16:42.069
you know, some themes in Swamp Thing, for sure.

01:16:42.609 --> 01:16:45.250
And at the same time, a lot of camp, a lot of

01:16:45.250 --> 01:16:49.109
ridiculousness, and some very bad monster costumes.

01:16:50.430 --> 01:16:53.109
For better or worse. Do you want to talk about

01:16:53.109 --> 01:16:54.689
the form and aesthetic separately, or should

01:16:54.689 --> 01:16:56.770
we work that into our final breakdowns here?

01:16:58.440 --> 01:17:00.260
Let's just go through these because I think there

01:17:00.260 --> 01:17:03.180
are plenty of good thoughts here. Yeah, for sure.

01:17:03.399 --> 01:17:05.560
So there's some solid stunt work in the film,

01:17:05.619 --> 01:17:07.960
including a highly entertaining moment where

01:17:07.960 --> 01:17:12.220
Swamp Thing flips over a motorboat single -handedly.

01:17:12.539 --> 01:17:17.520
Yeah, the wire work with the stunts is campy,

01:17:17.520 --> 01:17:21.279
but in the best way. I love it. And it's not

01:17:21.279 --> 01:17:24.279
CGI, so you see stuntmen flying through the air

01:17:24.279 --> 01:17:26.600
and a boat being demolished and all that. It's

01:17:26.600 --> 01:17:30.079
great. It's fun to watch. Holland, he's set on

01:17:30.079 --> 01:17:33.560
fire that night. The goons and arcane's men just

01:17:33.560 --> 01:17:36.880
blow everything up. He's set on fire. He crashes

01:17:36.880 --> 01:17:40.680
through the wall and dives into the lake. It

01:17:40.680 --> 01:17:45.340
is top -notch stunt work. And it's so thrilling,

01:17:45.659 --> 01:17:51.479
a picture on screen. At that moment, I was hooked

01:17:51.479 --> 01:17:54.600
by this movie. Yeah. And what Craven's doing

01:17:54.600 --> 01:17:57.960
with the fog. There's a lot of great... green

01:17:57.960 --> 01:18:01.920
lighting in the in that sequence yeah really

01:18:01.920 --> 01:18:05.760
i think impressive use of lighting and and smoke

01:18:05.760 --> 01:18:09.720
and and using his location to enhance whatever

01:18:09.720 --> 01:18:13.180
is happening totally and like you said just the

01:18:13.180 --> 01:18:15.739
stun work of this man who is completely on fire

01:18:15.739 --> 01:18:18.220
and i like i watched that and you're like how

01:18:18.220 --> 01:18:21.539
did this guy not die it's like yeah it's breathtaking

01:18:21.539 --> 01:18:23.739
and like honestly up until that point in the

01:18:23.739 --> 01:18:27.149
movie i was like yeah this is this is cheesy.

01:18:27.189 --> 01:18:29.329
This is slow. This is not really working very

01:18:29.329 --> 01:18:31.390
well. And then like that scene happens and you're

01:18:31.390 --> 01:18:33.670
like, Oh, I'm hooked. Like you said, like it's

01:18:33.670 --> 01:18:35.350
great. It's a really, really good scene. Yeah.

01:18:35.810 --> 01:18:38.270
You know, I, I do love the suit nation in this

01:18:38.270 --> 01:18:40.529
movie. Like at times it did remind me of like

01:18:40.529 --> 01:18:43.609
a good old fashioned Toho Kaiju movie where it's

01:18:43.609 --> 01:18:46.310
like two men in a suit going at each other and

01:18:46.310 --> 01:18:48.710
the costumes themselves maybe are not all that

01:18:48.710 --> 01:18:52.430
great, but still like just the, the tactility

01:18:52.430 --> 01:18:54.899
of it. the kind of like charming, like do it

01:18:54.899 --> 01:18:58.180
yourself aspect of it. I, I sort of like the

01:18:58.180 --> 01:19:01.479
climactic fight in this movie, even though it's

01:19:01.479 --> 01:19:03.399
not very well done, but it's still so much fun

01:19:03.399 --> 01:19:08.000
to watch. So much fun. And, and arcane, the arcane

01:19:08.000 --> 01:19:10.439
creature has, like you said, this big, like broad

01:19:10.439 --> 01:19:15.100
sword and they're dueling it out in a lake. And

01:19:15.100 --> 01:19:18.180
there's so much fog, just, they crank the fog

01:19:18.180 --> 01:19:20.920
machines up and it was like a fantasy picture.

01:19:21.119 --> 01:19:24.649
Yeah. It was just like, A feast for the eyes.

01:19:24.710 --> 01:19:29.250
I was like, this is so, it looks so dumb, but

01:19:29.250 --> 01:19:33.630
yet so awesome at the same time. Totally. It's

01:19:33.630 --> 01:19:36.989
kind of irresistible. Like, yeah. It's what you

01:19:36.989 --> 01:19:39.529
kind of imagine a, like a young boy reading a

01:19:39.529 --> 01:19:41.630
Swamp Thing comic book, like what's going through

01:19:41.630 --> 01:19:44.029
his head at the time, you know? Exactly. Yeah.

01:19:44.750 --> 01:19:48.729
Yeah. I love that aspect of it. And, you know,

01:19:48.729 --> 01:19:51.319
I... I don't know how you feel about this, but

01:19:51.319 --> 01:19:53.760
I know you really love the movie Creature from

01:19:53.760 --> 01:19:55.760
the Black Lagoon, right? And this movie reminded

01:19:55.760 --> 01:19:59.720
me of that as well. Absolutely. I mean, it's

01:19:59.720 --> 01:20:04.840
an obvious comparison. But there are some shots

01:20:04.840 --> 01:20:09.979
of Swamp Thing carrying Cable around in his arms

01:20:09.979 --> 01:20:12.920
tenderly that I was like, yep, that's straight

01:20:12.920 --> 01:20:16.340
from Jack Arnold's Creature from the Black Lagoon.

01:20:16.659 --> 01:20:21.510
But also Frankenstein. The 1931 Universal movie

01:20:21.510 --> 01:20:26.189
is a really tender shot when Swamp Thing is tied

01:20:26.189 --> 01:20:28.449
up in the dungeon and he's reaching his hand

01:20:28.449 --> 01:20:32.409
towards a shaft of light. And that is straight

01:20:32.409 --> 01:20:37.210
from James Wales' movie. Yeah. But it's not ripping

01:20:37.210 --> 01:20:41.489
off. It's homage. Yeah. It is a difference. I

01:20:41.489 --> 01:20:44.590
mean, maybe I can't quite describe that difference.

01:20:45.329 --> 01:20:49.430
But in this, in Swamp Thing, it's homage. And

01:20:49.430 --> 01:20:52.069
it's beautiful. It is beautiful. That's the word

01:20:52.069 --> 01:20:55.250
I was thinking of as well. In Swamp Thing, he's

01:20:55.250 --> 01:21:00.829
reaching up his hand so that the sun will strengthen

01:21:00.829 --> 01:21:03.470
him. And then he grows a new branch, basically,

01:21:03.470 --> 01:21:05.489
and that's kind of the context of the scene.

01:21:05.909 --> 01:21:08.329
But yeah, it's more than that. It goes back to

01:21:08.329 --> 01:21:10.369
the man versus nature scene, and Swamp Thing

01:21:10.369 --> 01:21:13.369
is more one with nature than anybody else in

01:21:13.369 --> 01:21:17.050
this movie. He's strengthened by the sun. It's

01:21:17.050 --> 01:21:20.310
a beautiful moment, yeah. Yeah. So it's time

01:21:20.310 --> 01:21:22.689
for our individual breakdowns here on Camp Kaiju.

01:21:22.789 --> 01:21:25.010
As always, we talk about the good, the bad, and

01:21:25.010 --> 01:21:27.949
the campy. Again, I think there's a lot of good

01:21:27.949 --> 01:21:31.510
stuff in Swamp Thing. I also think there's a

01:21:31.510 --> 01:21:35.289
lot of good things in Swamp Thing. Things in

01:21:35.289 --> 01:21:38.989
Swamp Thing. The use of the location is awesome

01:21:38.989 --> 01:21:41.930
on set. It might have been a pain in the butt

01:21:41.930 --> 01:21:46.960
for a casting crew, but it adds so much. reality,

01:21:47.079 --> 01:21:50.079
realism to this movie. Another tender moment

01:21:50.079 --> 01:21:55.659
is Swamp Thing smelling the flowers in his lab.

01:21:55.880 --> 01:21:57.600
He goes back to the ruins of his laboratory.

01:21:58.260 --> 01:22:00.920
And that's what I want to really, my main takeaway

01:22:00.920 --> 01:22:05.779
of this film is on the surface, it's a campy

01:22:05.779 --> 01:22:09.479
action monster movie. But I think in contrast

01:22:09.479 --> 01:22:13.720
to what modern 21st century directors would do,

01:22:15.789 --> 01:22:20.630
really comfortable taking his time with moments

01:22:20.630 --> 01:22:25.329
of quiet tenderness, if that makes sense. So

01:22:25.329 --> 01:22:26.869
you have the flower moment, you have the moment

01:22:26.869 --> 01:22:29.869
with the beam of light. It's like the movie just

01:22:29.869 --> 01:22:33.250
stops, but it's breathing. It's just giving us

01:22:33.250 --> 01:22:37.409
time to appreciate the quieter moments of the

01:22:37.409 --> 01:22:40.470
story before we're back on the roller coaster.

01:22:41.109 --> 01:22:44.470
And I love that. I just appreciate that so much.

01:22:45.079 --> 01:22:47.699
I think that helps enhance a movie's longevity,

01:22:47.779 --> 01:22:52.619
for instance, and makes it more than just a campy

01:22:52.619 --> 01:22:57.359
action monster movie. Yeah. I totally agree with

01:22:57.359 --> 01:22:59.260
everything you said. There's one shot in this

01:22:59.260 --> 01:23:02.859
movie that I really love where Cable, Alice Cable,

01:23:02.939 --> 01:23:04.800
she passes out at some point and Swamp Thing

01:23:04.800 --> 01:23:07.619
rescues her. And then she wakes back up and she's

01:23:07.619 --> 01:23:09.739
like drenched in sunlight and she's like lying

01:23:09.739 --> 01:23:13.079
on his chest. And there's like fog, like you

01:23:13.079 --> 01:23:16.000
said, like everywhere throughout. It's a gorgeous

01:23:16.000 --> 01:23:18.300
image and just like a really tender image too.

01:23:18.460 --> 01:23:20.960
And like, I think it's the same scene where she

01:23:20.960 --> 01:23:23.579
asks him if it hurts to be Swamp Thing instead

01:23:23.579 --> 01:23:26.500
of the Alec Holland human character. And he's

01:23:26.500 --> 01:23:28.920
like, only when I laugh. And that's just such

01:23:28.920 --> 01:23:31.840
a... Yeah, it's a Frankenstein moment, you know?

01:23:31.920 --> 01:23:34.600
Like, it's so human. It's so touching. And in

01:23:34.600 --> 01:23:37.079
the midst of all this silliness and, like, the

01:23:37.079 --> 01:23:40.239
weird kind of, like, grindhouse tone of the movie

01:23:40.239 --> 01:23:43.439
sometimes, it just really stuck out to me. And,

01:23:43.439 --> 01:23:45.899
you know, not to dwell too much on, like, the

01:23:45.899 --> 01:23:49.399
movie's production backstory, but just to see

01:23:49.399 --> 01:23:53.039
what Craven is able to do. with really arduous

01:23:53.039 --> 01:23:55.819
production circumstances and still make something

01:23:55.819 --> 01:23:58.079
that has a lot of personality and charm, that

01:23:58.079 --> 01:24:00.859
has a lot of imagination to it, that really resists

01:24:00.859 --> 01:24:04.000
a lot of the sort of superhero cliches that,

01:24:04.020 --> 01:24:05.939
as we talked about, have become a little bit

01:24:05.939 --> 01:24:09.380
too predominant in some of the more mainstream

01:24:09.380 --> 01:24:13.319
movies recently. I think this version of Swamp

01:24:13.319 --> 01:24:15.300
Thing is very touching and charming. It has an

01:24:15.300 --> 01:24:17.840
innocence to it that's kind of irresistible sometimes.

01:24:18.960 --> 01:24:21.020
Absolutely. And I like that you mentioned that

01:24:21.020 --> 01:24:23.939
line because there are a few other lines I need

01:24:23.939 --> 01:24:27.579
to shout out because in a movie like this, like

01:24:27.579 --> 01:24:32.220
poetry sticks out and there's some lines of dialogue

01:24:32.220 --> 01:24:37.359
that really, really do that. The first is that

01:24:37.359 --> 01:24:40.539
I have here is, I believe it's Swamp Thing. He

01:24:40.539 --> 01:24:42.340
says, everything's a dream when you're alone.

01:24:43.899 --> 01:24:48.949
Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, damn. Yeah. And then. I

01:24:48.949 --> 01:24:53.289
think it's Bruno, the sidekick, or maybe it's

01:24:53.289 --> 01:24:57.949
the leader of the henchmen. Someone says, it's

01:24:57.949 --> 01:25:01.710
every man for himself and God against all. I

01:25:01.710 --> 01:25:05.229
was like, whoa. I love that line. Which is a

01:25:05.229 --> 01:25:07.449
reference to a Werner Herzog movie of that title

01:25:07.449 --> 01:25:11.449
from the 70s. Yes, which that was intentional

01:25:11.449 --> 01:25:14.270
on Craven's part. I think he took some inspiration

01:25:14.270 --> 01:25:19.770
from that film. But then, A hilarious line from

01:25:19.770 --> 01:25:24.890
the actor who plays Jude. So before I get to

01:25:24.890 --> 01:25:28.789
the line, the Jude character is apparently killed

01:25:28.789 --> 01:25:35.909
by this band of white men. And Jude is a young

01:25:35.909 --> 01:25:37.329
black man. I don't think we've mentioned that

01:25:37.329 --> 01:25:38.829
before, but I feel like it's kind of relevant.

01:25:39.329 --> 01:25:42.529
Absolutely. And, you know, you see a posse of

01:25:42.529 --> 01:25:45.609
white men murder a black boy. I'm thinking about

01:25:45.609 --> 01:25:48.210
Emmett Till, like I'm a student of history. So

01:25:48.210 --> 01:25:50.850
this movie got very dark all of a sudden. And

01:25:50.850 --> 01:25:56.109
I was ready to be mad at this movie for being

01:25:56.109 --> 01:26:00.550
mean to kill off this character. But I think

01:26:00.550 --> 01:26:02.430
it's a great reveal. Swamp Thing has a superpower

01:26:02.430 --> 01:26:05.869
where he can rejuvenate people's lives and injuries.

01:26:06.449 --> 01:26:08.970
So yeah, he actually brings Jude back to life.

01:26:09.569 --> 01:26:12.329
And Jude's bleary -eyed and he looks up at Swamp

01:26:12.329 --> 01:26:17.039
Thing for the first time. And he says, oh, shit.

01:26:17.659 --> 01:26:24.279
There goes the neighborhood. Yeah, I love that

01:26:24.279 --> 01:26:26.199
moment. That's like right on the border between

01:26:26.199 --> 01:26:29.260
campy and good. It's both, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

01:26:29.880 --> 01:26:34.340
That was awesome. Yeah. I, again, I just totally

01:26:34.340 --> 01:26:36.060
agree with you. Like I was ready to be like,

01:26:36.180 --> 01:26:38.180
oh, this is such a manipulative, cheap movie

01:26:38.180 --> 01:26:40.640
to like pull our heartstrings in that way. And

01:26:40.640 --> 01:26:42.880
then to like kind of diffuse that a little bit

01:26:42.880 --> 01:26:44.899
through that line of dialogue and also through

01:26:44.899 --> 01:26:48.060
Reggie Batts' performance. It's funny and touching

01:26:48.060 --> 01:26:50.500
at the same time, for sure. Well, you know, I

01:26:50.500 --> 01:26:52.840
mentioned that like the inconsistent tone is

01:26:52.840 --> 01:26:54.979
a bad thing. Maybe I'll go through my bad category

01:26:54.979 --> 01:26:56.659
real quick and then I'll turn it over to you.

01:26:56.760 --> 01:27:00.920
But, you know, I think. There's a sense of what

01:27:00.920 --> 01:27:03.539
could have been if the production circumstances

01:27:03.539 --> 01:27:07.279
hadn't been so difficult during the making of

01:27:07.279 --> 01:27:11.140
this movie. We mentioned the scene of Cable and

01:27:11.140 --> 01:27:13.539
Swamp Thing escaping through the underwater tunnels.

01:27:13.779 --> 01:27:16.119
That would have been amazing. I think if there

01:27:16.119 --> 01:27:18.479
had been better costumes for both Swamp Thing

01:27:18.479 --> 01:27:20.960
and the arcane monster, that could have been

01:27:20.960 --> 01:27:24.930
awesome. Again, I just think you get the sense

01:27:24.930 --> 01:27:27.789
that like Craven or maybe the producers didn't

01:27:27.789 --> 01:27:30.409
really know what they wanted. Like, do they want

01:27:30.409 --> 01:27:33.010
a sleazy grindhouse movie? Do they want a family

01:27:33.010 --> 01:27:35.729
friendly, like touching fantasy? Do they want

01:27:35.729 --> 01:27:39.649
this like, you know, deeper analysis of the role

01:27:39.649 --> 01:27:42.170
of science and the role of nature? I don't think

01:27:42.170 --> 01:27:44.029
this movie really knows what it wants to be.

01:27:44.470 --> 01:27:47.090
And that can be entertaining sometimes, but it's

01:27:47.090 --> 01:27:48.810
also frustrating. Like this movie could have

01:27:48.810 --> 01:27:52.250
been a lot better if... Craven had been able

01:27:52.250 --> 01:27:54.789
to make the movie that he wanted to make. And

01:27:54.789 --> 01:27:57.989
maybe even if he had had totally free reign,

01:27:58.229 --> 01:28:00.229
maybe he wouldn't have been able to pull it off.

01:28:00.390 --> 01:28:05.130
But I think you can see that this movie was doomed

01:28:05.130 --> 01:28:07.869
from the start with its difficult shoot and the

01:28:07.869 --> 01:28:10.949
producers imposing all these ridiculous demands

01:28:10.949 --> 01:28:13.029
on it. This movie could have been a lot better

01:28:13.029 --> 01:28:17.829
than it is. Yeah, I think it's that tension of...

01:28:19.869 --> 01:28:24.710
for sure. I appreciate this movie because I appreciate

01:28:24.710 --> 01:28:27.250
these kinds of movies that are a little messy,

01:28:27.369 --> 01:28:30.989
but have a lot of heart. But I wonder, you know,

01:28:31.029 --> 01:28:33.810
you show this to anybody on the street who maybe

01:28:33.810 --> 01:28:37.789
doesn't have this context that we do. You know,

01:28:37.789 --> 01:28:42.189
if I feel like for me, it's a little too violent

01:28:42.189 --> 01:28:45.810
to show to a younger kid and yet to show to an

01:28:45.810 --> 01:28:50.369
older person. It might be too silly and offbeat.

01:28:50.770 --> 01:28:56.729
Yeah. So yeah, again, I love that murkiness.

01:28:57.729 --> 01:29:00.149
But to the average person on the street, you

01:29:00.149 --> 01:29:02.829
can maybe see why this did not do well at the

01:29:02.829 --> 01:29:06.770
box office. Yeah. Yeah, I think you can simultaneously

01:29:06.770 --> 01:29:09.289
see that and understand why maybe it's developed

01:29:09.289 --> 01:29:11.189
a little bit of a cult following since then,

01:29:11.270 --> 01:29:15.000
because it is so bizarre. And so like... unlike

01:29:15.000 --> 01:29:17.039
most other superhero movies that have been made

01:29:17.039 --> 01:29:20.220
since then. But yeah, it definitely does not

01:29:20.220 --> 01:29:23.899
work as it's intended to. Right. Whatever that

01:29:23.899 --> 01:29:27.020
is. Yeah. Right. Right. I think there's a lot

01:29:27.020 --> 01:29:30.800
of cable running around being chased in this

01:29:30.800 --> 01:29:34.500
movie, which gets a little tiresome at times,

01:29:34.619 --> 01:29:37.899
just a lot of running and like she gets caught

01:29:37.899 --> 01:29:41.579
and then she escapes only to then get caught

01:29:41.579 --> 01:29:45.050
again and then get saved. Again, it happens like

01:29:45.050 --> 01:29:47.810
over and over and over again, but that's a minor

01:29:47.810 --> 01:29:52.329
thing. And then here you go, Matt. If you wonder

01:29:52.329 --> 01:29:58.170
why Cable is kind of maybe in love with Swamp

01:29:58.170 --> 01:30:02.170
Thing, it's ostensibly because she knew Holland

01:30:02.170 --> 01:30:05.210
as a human and they developed this relationship.

01:30:05.470 --> 01:30:08.409
However, that relationship is unconvincing to

01:30:08.409 --> 01:30:13.659
me because he comes off as a total... Sleaze.

01:30:13.960 --> 01:30:17.439
Yeah, he does. Like there's nothing charming

01:30:17.439 --> 01:30:20.560
about his performance towards her. In fact, I

01:30:20.560 --> 01:30:22.859
mean, he smooches her. This is a campy thing

01:30:22.859 --> 01:30:25.880
I have because it actually came off more campy

01:30:25.880 --> 01:30:27.960
than offensive because it's just so ridiculous

01:30:27.960 --> 01:30:33.880
that he lands a big one on her. Yeah. Yeah. Like

01:30:33.880 --> 01:30:38.020
forcefully. I know. But aside from that, like

01:30:38.020 --> 01:30:40.159
he's trying to make moves on her in the swamps

01:30:40.159 --> 01:30:44.600
and I'm just like, who is this guy? Yeah. And

01:30:44.600 --> 01:30:47.300
she sees right through it. Maybe if she had given

01:30:47.300 --> 01:30:49.640
me an inkling of, you know what? You are kind

01:30:49.640 --> 01:30:55.460
of cute. Then to, I think to your question, I

01:30:55.460 --> 01:30:57.560
could buy her falling for swamp thing a little

01:30:57.560 --> 01:31:01.960
bit more. Yeah. Yeah. That's, I forgot to mention

01:31:01.960 --> 01:31:04.500
one of like the biggest hurdles for me in this

01:31:04.500 --> 01:31:06.899
movie, which is their relationship, especially

01:31:06.899 --> 01:31:09.619
in the moment when he kisses her. And like, yeah,

01:31:09.800 --> 01:31:13.239
I like, yeah, again, like very, forcefully and

01:31:13.239 --> 01:31:15.239
she's clearly not expecting it and then like

01:31:15.239 --> 01:31:18.039
also the relationship between dr holland and

01:31:18.039 --> 01:31:20.380
his sister although at first you think that she's

01:31:20.380 --> 01:31:23.510
his wife And Cable thinks that as well. And there

01:31:23.510 --> 01:31:25.789
are some lines of dialogue that, like, suggest

01:31:25.789 --> 01:31:28.810
either could be the case. Like, for the first

01:31:28.810 --> 01:31:30.529
half an hour of this movie, I was like, wait

01:31:30.529 --> 01:31:33.050
a minute. Are they siblings or are they actually

01:31:33.050 --> 01:31:35.489
married? Like, you have no idea until, like,

01:31:35.569 --> 01:31:38.130
there's a fairly clear line of dialogue about

01:31:38.130 --> 01:31:40.869
it eventually. But, like, it's pretty creepy

01:31:40.869 --> 01:31:43.050
and sleazy. And I don't think that was the intention

01:31:43.050 --> 01:31:46.149
behind that kind of ambiguity, you know? Yep.

01:31:47.270 --> 01:31:53.159
Yeah. Weird. It's weird. And yeah, like even

01:31:53.159 --> 01:31:55.539
like his, she does turn out to be a sister, but

01:31:55.539 --> 01:31:58.600
then there's this weirdly sort of like romantic

01:31:58.600 --> 01:32:01.500
semi -ancestuous relationship between them. Like

01:32:01.500 --> 01:32:04.439
she calls him darling at one point. And I don't

01:32:04.439 --> 01:32:07.520
know. It's, it's very bizarre. Yeah. What stays,

01:32:07.579 --> 01:32:09.539
what happens in the swamp stays in the swamp.

01:32:10.180 --> 01:32:13.380
Right. I mean, I guess, you know, a couple of

01:32:13.380 --> 01:32:14.979
years in that bayou, you don't know what's going

01:32:14.979 --> 01:32:17.680
to happen. So much campy stuff. We've already

01:32:17.680 --> 01:32:20.479
talked about so much campy stuff. I do want to

01:32:20.479 --> 01:32:22.800
talk about the amazing transitions, like scene

01:32:22.800 --> 01:32:25.220
transitions in this movie. There are some star

01:32:25.220 --> 01:32:28.239
wipes, kind of like Star Wars style, but like

01:32:28.239 --> 01:32:30.720
way cheaper than Star Wars did it. There's even

01:32:30.720 --> 01:32:33.619
like a slime wipe where it looks like slime is

01:32:33.619 --> 01:32:36.180
like falling down the screen and that transitions

01:32:36.180 --> 01:32:39.710
to the next scene. I love the slime wipe. Man,

01:32:39.710 --> 01:32:43.369
so ridiculous. It's like, that is the epitome

01:32:43.369 --> 01:32:45.810
of camp. Well, maybe not the epitome. That's

01:32:45.810 --> 01:32:48.729
like a broad term to begin with, but just such

01:32:48.729 --> 01:32:51.210
a cheesy moment. I love it. It's like what a

01:32:51.210 --> 01:32:54.609
middle schooler would do through very primitive

01:32:54.609 --> 01:32:57.409
final cut effects and be so proud of, you know?

01:32:57.569 --> 01:33:00.529
Yeah, Windows Movie Maker. Yeah, exactly. Yeah,

01:33:00.689 --> 01:33:04.229
just whatever program came on your computer.

01:33:04.569 --> 01:33:09.789
Yeah, but I love it. It's ridiculous. Yep. I've

01:33:09.789 --> 01:33:12.229
mentioned so many of my campy things, but here's

01:33:12.229 --> 01:33:13.909
what I haven't mentioned. There's a Wilhelm scream

01:33:13.909 --> 01:33:17.630
in this movie. Oh, yeah. That I loved. Yeah,

01:33:17.770 --> 01:33:21.270
I loved that too. I put that in my notes that

01:33:21.270 --> 01:33:24.109
I took during the movie. And it's during one

01:33:24.109 --> 01:33:26.810
of the moments where Swamp Thing tips over a

01:33:26.810 --> 01:33:29.289
boat that's coming at him full speed. It's great.

01:33:29.609 --> 01:33:35.100
Yeah. There's also a moment where one of the

01:33:35.100 --> 01:33:37.600
henchmen is talking about how like he thinks

01:33:37.600 --> 01:33:39.899
that the other goons on Arcane's team thinks

01:33:39.899 --> 01:33:43.659
that Swamp Thing is one of the abdominal snowmen's.

01:33:44.100 --> 01:33:45.960
And I'm like, that has to be an intentionally

01:33:45.960 --> 01:33:49.800
funny line, but it's so charmingly uttered and

01:33:49.800 --> 01:33:52.100
it's like so out of nowhere. I really love that

01:33:52.100 --> 01:33:55.140
moment. It's great. Yeah. And that's the guy,

01:33:55.199 --> 01:33:57.060
Bruno, who then has turned into like the short

01:33:57.060 --> 01:34:00.220
satellite guy. So yeah, he was a good character.

01:34:01.310 --> 01:34:03.750
I think was properly sympathetic so that when

01:34:03.750 --> 01:34:08.010
he did turn into a monster, I felt bad for him.

01:34:08.029 --> 01:34:10.989
Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of a disturbing moment

01:34:10.989 --> 01:34:14.729
and funny at the same time. Yeah. All the clothes

01:34:14.729 --> 01:34:17.109
that he wears are way too tight. And I feel like

01:34:17.109 --> 01:34:20.170
that adds a little bit, you know, like, dude,

01:34:20.170 --> 01:34:22.109
just get a bigger shirt, but I love you at the

01:34:22.109 --> 01:34:27.590
same time. Yeah. I like, you know, this movie

01:34:27.590 --> 01:34:29.510
is so much camp. We could mention a lot more,

01:34:29.689 --> 01:34:32.119
but. Listeners, you're going to have to watch

01:34:32.119 --> 01:34:34.079
it for yourself and see how much camp there actually

01:34:34.079 --> 01:34:40.399
is in this movie. It's a lot. At the end, we

01:34:40.399 --> 01:34:42.359
always give each movie a rating here on Camp

01:34:42.359 --> 01:34:45.199
Kaiju. As always, our highest rating is it's

01:34:45.199 --> 01:34:47.039
a timeless classic. It definitely stands the

01:34:47.039 --> 01:34:50.380
test of time. Number two, there may be some antiquated

01:34:50.380 --> 01:34:52.520
moments, but overall it's great. It stands the

01:34:52.520 --> 01:34:55.500
test of time. Number three, it may be historically

01:34:55.500 --> 01:34:58.439
significant or just fun, but it does not stand

01:34:58.439 --> 01:35:01.329
the test of time. And our lowest rating, it's

01:35:01.329 --> 01:35:03.649
not worth revisiting. It definitely does not

01:35:03.649 --> 01:35:07.149
stand the test of time. All right. I'm happy

01:35:07.149 --> 01:35:10.250
to go first. Sure. Yeah. If you don't mind, that

01:35:10.250 --> 01:35:17.529
sounds good. I think Swamp Thing from 1982 has

01:35:17.529 --> 01:35:20.409
some antiquated moments. I don't think it's a

01:35:20.409 --> 01:35:24.729
perfect movie, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.

01:35:25.189 --> 01:35:28.680
And I think it does stand the test of time. I

01:35:28.680 --> 01:35:30.800
was not hooked by this movie in the first act,

01:35:30.920 --> 01:35:35.140
but once Swamp Thing or Holland turns into Swamp

01:35:35.140 --> 01:35:36.680
Thing with the fire and everything we talked

01:35:36.680 --> 01:35:41.300
about, this movie dials it up to 11. And from

01:35:41.300 --> 01:35:46.100
then on, every scene just sunk its hooks deeper

01:35:46.100 --> 01:35:49.920
into me until by the end, I was like, this is

01:35:49.920 --> 01:35:53.479
not the movie we started with, people. We have

01:35:53.479 --> 01:35:57.760
gone to a distant planet all of a sudden. some

01:35:57.760 --> 01:36:02.699
sword and sandal monster movie. And it's a James

01:36:02.699 --> 01:36:06.359
Bond movie. It is Wes Craven made a James Bond

01:36:06.359 --> 01:36:09.460
movie. And this is it. It's awesome. I love the

01:36:09.460 --> 01:36:14.140
mix of tone and genre as messy as it is. So I

01:36:14.140 --> 01:36:17.899
think Swamp Thing does stand the test of time.

01:36:18.680 --> 01:36:22.859
Not a classic, but certainly worth checking out.

01:36:23.319 --> 01:36:26.939
I love it. And I totally agree. To me, Yeah,

01:36:26.979 --> 01:36:29.380
definitely some antiquated moments. Overall,

01:36:29.579 --> 01:36:32.460
it's so fun. It's very charming. I think it does

01:36:32.460 --> 01:36:34.979
stand the test of time. In fact, I would say

01:36:34.979 --> 01:36:38.720
that as time goes on, maybe it'll get even richer.

01:36:38.880 --> 01:36:40.859
Like, I feel like there have just been so many

01:36:40.859 --> 01:36:46.399
serious, overlong, CGI -filled superhero movies.

01:36:46.500 --> 01:36:49.260
I'm sorry to dwell on that again. But like, you

01:36:49.260 --> 01:36:51.560
know, in comparison, something like this that's

01:36:51.560 --> 01:36:54.380
so... you know, again, charming and just like

01:36:54.380 --> 01:36:57.399
interesting. It seems to have that sort of like

01:36:57.399 --> 01:37:00.140
comic book innocence to it. It just makes me

01:37:00.140 --> 01:37:03.159
love it even more as time goes on. So yeah, I,

01:37:03.239 --> 01:37:05.520
you know, objectively, is it a great movie? I

01:37:05.520 --> 01:37:06.960
don't know if you could really say that, but

01:37:06.960 --> 01:37:10.600
I just want to stick up for it. I, there's so

01:37:10.600 --> 01:37:12.960
much that I love about it. It's really charming.

01:37:13.039 --> 01:37:16.600
It's very fun. Yeah. It's, you know, sea swamp

01:37:16.600 --> 01:37:18.359
thing for yourself. If you haven't seen it yet,

01:37:18.479 --> 01:37:22.280
I bet you will be delighted or at least. Mystified

01:37:22.280 --> 01:37:25.680
in the best possible way. Mystified. That's the

01:37:25.680 --> 01:37:29.739
word. That's the sentiment. Yeah, I'm Team Swamp

01:37:29.739 --> 01:37:33.939
Thing. Thank you, Matt, for picking this movie,

01:37:34.039 --> 01:37:36.020
though you may not know why you did. Something

01:37:36.020 --> 01:37:40.479
just called to you. Yeah, I guess so. Sort of

01:37:40.479 --> 01:37:42.579
like how Wes Craven had a dream and that led

01:37:42.579 --> 01:37:44.380
to a nightmare on Elm Street during the making

01:37:44.380 --> 01:37:46.739
of this movie. I had a dream where I wanted to

01:37:46.739 --> 01:37:49.359
talk about Swamp Thing, and I'm very glad we're

01:37:49.359 --> 01:37:52.319
doing so tonight. Even better than I thought

01:37:52.319 --> 01:37:54.899
it would be. Well, better in its own way. I'll

01:37:54.899 --> 01:37:58.979
just say that. Awesome. I'm so glad you liked

01:37:58.979 --> 01:38:01.220
this movie, Vincent. Anybody listening, I hope

01:38:01.220 --> 01:38:03.380
you like it as well. We'll see you next time

01:38:03.380 --> 01:38:06.800
on Camp Kaiju for Robot Jocks with Sean and Sean.

01:38:07.279 --> 01:38:10.000
So excited for that. Thank you again for hanging

01:38:10.000 --> 01:38:12.710
out. Please rate and review wherever you listen.

01:38:12.829 --> 01:38:15.210
You can also share this podcast with a friend,

01:38:15.310 --> 01:38:18.409
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01:38:18.409 --> 01:38:21.989
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01:38:22.449 --> 01:38:25.010
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01:38:25.010 --> 01:38:26.930
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01:38:35.770 --> 01:38:38.449
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01:38:38.529 --> 01:38:41.789
for more information. Camp Kaiju is recorded

01:38:41.789 --> 01:38:44.010
in Minneapolis, St. Paul, with Minia's mailbox

01:38:44.010 --> 01:38:47.149
music by Ben Cook Felts. Thanks again, friends,

01:38:47.350 --> 01:38:50.829
and until next time, stay campy. Camp Kaiju is

01:38:50.829 --> 01:38:52.949
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