Swamp Thing

A very unpleasant fate met the long-awaited adaptation of Swamp Thing. At first, I was mainly interested in what the brilliant source material of Alan Moore is actually about, and why there is so much talk about it, and the turbulent changes in the post-production of the series did not lift me out of my seat too much, nor even the subsequent cancellation of the series after airing the first episode (!). That is until several months after it ended, when I finally decided to finish watching the series (without the purchase of HBO Go, it might not have happened, as I got bored with it after four episodes) and once again the established formula worked for me, that a series may not completely grab me either after the pilot, or even after five episodes, but it eventually compensates me appropriately. Of course, it saddens me that a second season will probably not be produced even on another streaming platform (see article above) and so I was kind of hoping that there would be no cliffhanger when the creators cut down from the original 13 episodes to 10 at the last minute. I was already expecting a rather half-hearted conclusion and thought, at least that..but after the credits, the cliffhanger arrived. :-) oh well (18.01.2020)

Swamp Thing is one of those shows that instantly caught my eye when it hit HBO, mostly because of its DC Comics roots. But honestly, the fact that it got canceled after just one season held me back from diving in right away. Still, with this year’s Comic Con coming up and Crystal Reed (who stars in the show) set to attend, I figured it was time to give it a go. And I’m glad I did—it wasn’t a waste of time at all, actually. From the very first episode, I was hooked. The eerie vibe of the Louisiana swamps, paired with some seriously unsettling moments, reminded me of classics like The Fly and The Thing. It's gruesome in all the right ways, keeping you intrigued throughout. The special effects didn’t hold back, which I really appreciated. At 10 episodes, it’s a bit of a time commitment, but I didn’t mind. The story has that typical Hollywood flair, and while the ending leaves things open, it feels complete enough given the cancellation. Plus, I got to discover Crystal Reed’s acting chops—now I’m even more excited to see her at Comic Con. (08.02.2021)