Celebrating the 35th anniversary of The Return of Swamp Thing, director Jim Wynorski took time out from making his latest movie to remember the swamp. Known at the time for helming Deathstalker II and the glorious cult horror film Chopping Mall, Wynorski might not have been the most obvious choice to lighten up Wes Craven’s original Swamp Thing. In fact, you might have expected he’d make it even darker. But as his long career has since proven, he’s a filmmaker that can strike many tones. Though I’ve mostly seen his horror work, I can honestly say he always delivers a good time, and it was a pleasure to talk to him over the phone last week.
A legitimate comics fan, Wynorski talked about his days in the swamp, briefly reminisced about his work on Vampirella, and shared the comic book project he’d love to do if he could. This interview has been slightly edited for length and clarity.
Derek McCaw: How did you get involved with The Return of Swamp Thing?
Jim Wynorski: I believe Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan heard of me through friends of theirs. I’d just finished two films. They called me and asked what were my thoughts about Swamp Thing. I told them that I’d seen the first movie — the Wes Craven movie — and I thought it was very stately and well shot. They said, what would you do to improve upon it?
And I told them what I thought, which was more action. Fix the suit, which was wrong (in the first film), and add some kid elements. Which I did. Put some kids in it.
Derek McCaw: You had been known for horror and action, which made you right in a lot of ways for Swamp Thing. You worked in some of Alan Moore’s stuff. The Return of Swamp Thing launched the concept in a different direction — it became an animated series and got a toy line. Did you get any pushback from your suggestions? Was there anything you were told you had to do knowing what was to come with licensing?
Jim Wynorski: No! They were open to all my ideas. I read the script, which I thought was pretty good, and said I want to add some more action and I want to add some kids. They were all for it.
Derek McCaw: You’d seen Wes Craven’s film, but were you familiar with the comics?
Jim Wynorski: Yes, I’d read it. I was a big comics guy. I knew what Swamp Thing was all about, and I thought okay, as a feature film I wanted to make it move like a house on fire. Get it done and have some fun with it. That’s what I did.
Derek McCaw: 35 years on, is there anything you look back on and do differently if you could?
Jim Wynorski: I’ve seen the film recently, and I don’t think I would change much. I looked at the film and I said to myself, this is pretty good for what it is. It wasn’t a lot. They had some money. We built some nice sets. To me it was my biggest budget up to that time. I used it well by getting costumes, and getting that suit for Swampy. And getting Heather Locklear to show up! It was a lot of fun.
Heather was my first choice. I gave them three choices, but she was my first. And they got her.
Derek McCaw: You created or worked on several film franchises afterward. In your mind, what makes a good one work and last?
Jim Wynorski: You’ve always got to be true to the source, (In this case) the comic book origin. I tried to do that in all the comic things I’ve done. Of course it comes down to money. I’ve had some problems. When I did Vampirella, Showtime wanted Talisa Soto in the role, and I thought she was wrong. But in order to get the movie done, I had to accept Talisa Soto as Vampirella. Some people love it. As far as I’m concerned, she did a very credible job in the acting role, but I just don’t think she is Vampirella. In that instance, I had to bend a little bit.
With Swamp Thing, I had Dick Durock, who had done the part originally. I had Heather Locklear, who was great and wanted to do it. Louis Jordan was a little bit of a stickler. He came from that old MGM huge musical budget, and he was a bit difficult to deal with. But you know, I got through it.
Derek McCaw: I read recently and hadn’t know that Dick Durock was dubbed. Is that right? You didn’t use his voice?
Jim Wynorski: No. He had a good voice, but in the end they worked with another guy. I was at the recording studio. We recorded over and dubbed all his lines. The guy who did it, did a great job. It’s too long ago to remember his name, but he did a very credible job.
Derek McCaw: I’ve looked at your IMDb page. You’ve got horror, slashers, action, sex comedies… and then this super-powered dog “Doggone” series. Which genre do you like to work in best?
Jim Wynorski: I always like to change up and do something different. I like Westerns, and I made one of those. I like comedies, I like kid movies. Action movies, I like comic book movies. I think I’ve gone through almost every genre. It’s a lot of fun, because you get to NOT do the same thing all the time.
Derek McCaw: The Return of Swamp Thing hit theaters about a month before Melniker and Uslan’s other superhero franchise, Batman. Did you think that comic book movies were going to have the impact on Hollywood that they have?
Jim Wynorski: You know, I kind of saw it in the wind. Times were always changing, and I’d always hoped when I was a little kid that people would do more comic book movies, but they didn’t. You had your Superman TV show and a couple of things, but after that, nobody did superheroes again until Superman the Movie. When Superman took off, they did part 2 and then the Swamp Thing movie was made. I saw that and said, “it’s coming!” There’s all kinds of comic book characters out there that could be made into movies.
Derek McCaw: Is there one still that you’d like to make?
Jim Wynorski: You know… yes. I would like to make my version of EC Comics’ Vault of Horror. Do it the way they really did it. Keep it scary. Keep it gory. I’m a big fan of EC Comics. I always loved what Graham Ingels drew, and what other great artists like Wally Wood would draw. I think I would be happy if I was directing a version of Vault of Horror.
Derek McCaw: Was it Amicus that did a version in 1974?
Jim Wynorski: Yeah, but they didn’t get the comic book feel. They tried, but they didn’t get it. It’s all about location. Swamp Thing is set in the swamp, lots of smoke, lots of murkiness. And that’s what I’d like to do for Vault of Horror, as an anthology film. I’ve always had a hankering to do a version of an EC Comic.
Derek McCaw: I hope that’s still in your future, because that would be great to watch. Thank you for taking the time, Jim.
Jim Wynorski: My pleasure. I’m glad you’re doing a piece on Swampy, and thank you for checking in.
The Return of Swamp Thing 4k UHD is available on February 7, 2023.
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