DVD Review: Swamp Devil
Swamp Devil (2009)
Studio: Genius Products
DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009
Directed By: David Winning
Cast: Bruce Dern, Cindy Sampson, Nicholas Wright
Brutal As Hell Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Review By: Marc Patterson
Melanie Blaime (Sampson) heads back to her childhood home to find her scurvy derelict father hiding out in the swamps, accused of murder. Old man Blaime knows what’s going on though and may be the one who can stop it. In short order it becomes clear that the cook isn’t the murderer, rather it’s a twisted inhuman monster strung together from tangled vines, vegetation, and mud. In order to stop this devil some secrets will need to be brought to light, and in short order.
There’s a certain level of guilty pleasure that exists in the Maneater series from Genius Entertainment. They’re dumb cheap films that offer minimal thrills, but somehow manage to entertain thanks to decent direction and just enough money put into effects to not seem too inherently hokey. Though hokey is exactly what this film is. The horror of Swamp Devil comes at you not from visceral heart pounding, edge of your seat thrills, but rather from fun and uplifting moments of action that horrify in a midnight movie kind of way. Swamp Devil isn’t my favorite of the series thus far. One only has to look to Tara Reid in Vipers to be assured of a more schlocky good time, or even the more recent killer bee flick Black Swarm, but nonetheless it gets the job done.
While I’d clearly like to see more in the way of real animals turning on humans, Swamp Devil was still moderately fun. If you choose to watch make sure to bring your popcorn and beer, and leave your expectations at the door.
