'Swamp Devil' DVD Review

A passable low-rent monster movie diversion.

To say that Swamp Devil is one of the best of the Maneater series of killer animal movies (airing periodically on the Sci Fi Channel) is sort of like saying that Ashley is the chubbiest Olsen twin. That is, it's not saying much. Still, there are simple pleasures in this straightforward creature feature.

The plot is basic: after a decade away, Melanie Blaime returns to the small town of Gibbington, Vermont when her father, Howard, is accused of murdering a young woman. The body was found in the nearby swamp, similar to the way Melanie's mother died years ago. Town locals suspect the eccentric Howard, who claims that a monster is lurking in the swamp.

As Howard goes on the lam, Melanie bonds with Jimmy, the young man who'd phoned to tell her of her father's plight. He seems nice enough, but there's something not quite right about him and his mother, local shopkeeper Shelly. Melanie continues to snoop around and uncovers dark secrets in her father's past that tie him to Jimmy and the monster, which turns out to be quite real and quite tree-like.

One of the main draws of a film like Swamp Devil is the creature concept and design, and the tall, thin "tree man" is one of the sillier ones to air on the Sci Fi Channel (see also Rock Monster). The CGI monster looks like a homicidal version of the walking trees in the Lord of the Rings movies, on the budget of a Mentos commercial. And strangely, there's never a good explanation as to how the monster came into being.

Still, despite a silly concept and even sillier-looking villain, the content is treated with a straight face that's oddly admirable. The cast commits fully, and Bruce Dern's veteran presence anchors the film. The pace is thankfully brisk, elevating it to the level of benign background filler rather than irritating, change-the-channel garbage.

The DVD

No special features.

Movie: C
DVD: F