Blu-ray Review: Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection (1965 – 1988)

Bill Rebane; that Wisconsin bred mother fucker of a regional schlock-meister… I love him, and I wager after you park your ass in front of this rich motherload of drive-in awesome-fuckery flyin’ your way from Arrow Video (along with MVD Entertainment) you will too!
Kicking off the collection is 1965’s cobbled together mess-terpiece, Monster a Go-Go:
A space capsule (pronounced here as cap-soool, which was too much for me) tumbles back to Earth and the astronaut inside goes missing. Coincidentally, a ten foot tall, radiation scarred mutant begins wandering about, just waiting to put the gruesome murder biz upon anyone that stands in his way of… well, wandering around killing people mostly…
In a flash of cinematic Frankenstein frenzy, the Godfather of Gore himself; Herschell Gordon Lewis acquired the footage to an unfinished Rebane picture from 1961, added some new footage and narration (provided by H.G. Lewis himself), and released the jarring results to horror hounds everywhere back in ’65!
Now a lot of people (read: fuckin’ morons) will tell you slap-dash sci-fi cheapies like this (and it’s closest antecedent, Ed Wood’s 1959 psychotronic sci-fi/horror masterpiece Plan 9 From Outer Space) are nothing but trash… and they are dead wrong! Pictures like this are like pure movie comfort food to those groovy ghouls that dig on them, and they display a charm and heart missing from most studio genre pictures of the day.
Also of note, the creature here is rather understated, but just plain fuckin’ weird in a strange dichotomy that I found particularly effective, and the dirty, garage band surf music that opens the picture is fuckin’ stellar!
If I had to mention a downside here it’s the endless minutes of dog barking sound effects that accompany some scenes… seriously, just let your fuckin’ dog inside mister; it’s dangerous out there… it did elicit some solid laughs however, so all was not lost!
Next up on disc one comes 1974’s Invasion from Inner Earth:
Before I get into the sinister synopsis for this one, I have to mention the theme song to this film which could best be described as “A Casio keyboard demo key version of a score by Ennio Morricone”… it’s absurd as fuck, and has jack-fuck-all to do with he tone of the film… I loved it!
A group of young folk (one of whom I swear is Harry Nilsson with diarrhea of the mouth), take refuge in a cabin in the Great White North as they bear witness to an apocalyptic event involving electronic disturbances, eerie red lights, mysterious radio broadcasts, catastrophic vehicle failure, and, just for spice, a deadly plague.
What could be behind all of these arcane affairs? Why the fuck would I tell you that here?!!
I love Invasion from Inner Earth!
Rebane presents a tale filled with isolated, snow covered locales, outré broadcasts, and an effective use of a limited budget and cast to present a tale of a world teetering on the edge just beyond where our heroes have shacked up… it’s a bit like War of the Worlds by way of H.P. Lovecraft mixed with a sprinkle of Erich von Däniken (trust me, the ending of this is a New Age jaw dropper) and for me it’s a weird tale well told (but beware as this is a bit of a slow burn affair).
The special features on disc one bring us the first two parts of Straight Shooter, a multi-part, warts and all interview with Rebane about the making and release of each film in the set (one chat for each picture in the collection), along with an interview with historian and critic Kim Newman about Rebane’s work, a series of short films that are about… get this… The Twist (you know, the dance… ) and a training film to help bank employees deal with phone based, phony kidnapping centric extortion (a true menace in ’73 apparently)… oh, and that Twist short has a sequel that can only be described as “completely fuckin’ absurd” as it concerns a rotund Frenchman who comes to America and gets overcome from The Twist and has to be hospitalized. Once there he pops pills and travels through time to watch people dance… totally amazing.
This brings us to disc two where 1978’s The Alpha Incident leads the way!
No-nonsense mother fucker Dr. Sorensen (Stafford Morgan) blows in to a small town via a train aboard which is a deadly alien organism that the good doc is in charge of delivering to safety. Naturally that gets derailed (intended) after professional rail worker/full-time dumbass Hank (John Carpenter regular George ‘Buck’ Flower) goes fucking around with the shipment.
Sorensen throws the entire train station, and it’s handful of personnel, into quarantine and good thing too, as that virus is ready to fuck up people but good… and by that I mean if you fall asleep, the organism gets ya and makes your skull split open like a rotten tomato and your eyes fly out of your skull…
Contained to one small location with a great cast (much like Invasion from Inner Earth); The Alpha Incident is a nice bit of slow burn suspense as our cast of characters desperately try and stay awake for days on end while scientists race around the clock to try and figure out a way to neutralize those galactic germs before everyone loses their minds… all over the walls.
Speaking of that cast, the leads on display here are fantastic with the stoic Morgan facing off against John F. Goff as oversexed, hysterically horny, and eternally obnoxious Jack Tiller a man desperate to keep control of the situation even though he has no idea what he’s up against. It also goes without saying that Flower is awesome as always.
Finally, the effects utilized to show the end result of an alien infection run amok, although used sparingly, are pretty damn stellar and realized through some solid, if cartoony, practical wizardry!
Next up comes 1983’s The Demons of Ludlow:
During the bicentennial celebration of the rural, dilapidated town of Ludlow (just held in a barn somewhere which definitely made my ass laugh), the town is bequeathed a gaudy white piano (that sounds like a harpsicord setting on a Casio keyboard) that belonged to the town’s founder way back in ye olden days.
Well, as it turns out, the ancestors of the residence of Ludlow were right shit to the founder, and before you can say “haunted piano” the ghosts of the past are brought forth to commit all manner of supernatural vengeance upon Ludlow!
This is Rebane doing his best imitation of an Italian fright flick (unintentionally), and it’s glorious!
Full of fever-dream imagery, lurid lighting, lavish costumes, freaky floating furniture, gore, unexpected nudity (trust me, Rebane picked a tacky choice to showcase in the buff), and a real Lovecraftian streak, The Demons of Ludlow is small-town horror done to a fuckin’ “T” and I loved every psychotronic minute of it!
It also doesn’t hurt that the film has a great atmosphere with surreal hallucinations and hauntings thrown against the bleak snowy landscape and run-down nature of the town, and outrageous (and often silly as fuck) set-pieces contrasted with a strong sense of dread. Shit shouldn’t work, but boy howdy does it ever!
The special features on disc two bring us parts three and four of Straight Shooter, a visual essay by historian and critic Richard Harland Smith that serves as a retrospective on The Alpha Incident as well as a look at it’s legacy and place in current history, trailers for both pictures, and an image gallery.
Disc three begins with 1984’s The Game:
Three rich-ass geezers get together once a year to throw a lil’ game… a game where nine contestants compete for a million dollar prize by facing their greatest fears within the walls of a lavish mansion… I’m sure this will be not at all ridiculous in any way, shape, or form…
Anyway, the contestants (who’s ranks include a breathy beauty, a man with a mustache and sleaze to spare, a Pat Benatar/Bee-Gees country western mash-up band who’s members have lucky bandanas… at least one of them does, a dude that looks like Max Zorin, a law student, and a really cute Italian chick… go ahead and pick just one of these fully fleshed-out and believable characters to root for… I’ll wait… ) soon find themselves trying to cope with pool sharks, a hunchback, demon winds, inappropriate music cues (and dance numbers)…  pretty much all manner of bullshit that just so happens to be absolutely none of their fears… or really anyone’s (well maybe one sequence involving a gun)… oh and there’s a puke spewing, rather bitey, fleshy dick snake… not ridiculous at all…
The Game is absurd… absolutely fuckin’ Grade-A absurd!
Where else can you find geriatric fools controlling the arcane action in a manner that would make a Scooby-Doo villain stand up and say “You’re the man now, monster dog!”, a great atmospheric setting (with an abandoned resort standing in for our antagonists murder mansion), a woman dancing so hard her tit flies out of her dress (fly on o’ brave be-nippled Icarus!), carnival funhouse/dark ride thrills (a welcome addition indeed in my not so humble opinion), monsters, gore, and an off-kilter tone that just may warp your fragile mind? No where else but right fuckin’ here!
Also, this film was originally called The Cold which is relevant to about 3.7 seconds (approx.) of screen time…
Last up is 1988’s Twister’s Revenge… oh shit…
Less than three minutes into Twister’s Revenge we get a monster truck show and some quality sleaze rock… fuck man, this movie is reading my fuckin’ mind!!! Additionally on of the trucks is named “First Blood” (but on the door it also says “monster truck” in case a mother fucker forgets what they are lookin’ at… ), so 50 “fuck yeah” points to Gryffindor.
Besides all that, we are treated to (way too much of) the misadventures of a trio of what I like to call “Stupid Fucks” as they attempt to steal the computer brain of a sentient monster truck named “Twister” or “Mr. Twister” if the trucks body detailing is to believed. Revenge ensues.
If you love buffoonish jack-assery, then this is the picture for you. And truth be told, there were some good laughs (especially with the ultra-shit ADR Rebane used), but man this comedy-laden first act drags… probably because I want to see monster trucks running over things, not hijinks.
Maybe I was too fast with my “fuck yeah” point givings…
But wait… the movie really comes to life after Twister runs his ass through a sexy ladies house as she prepares to get her fuck on, then chases her (sometimes in fast motion with wacky music… two big ass plusses in my beastly book) through a field as her tits pop out of her dress (and this becomes a running gag… pun always fuckin’ intended)… then Twist and his human buddy go on a madcap destructive rampage to rescue said human’s galpal (who invented Twister’s brain) from the clutches of those idiots mentioned up yonder. Now this gets all of the points back… and the action-packed third act gets even more (How on Earth did Rebane afford the end sequences of this picture?!! I mean he explains it in Straight Shooter, but let me have my moment damn you!)!
Speaking of laughing until you cry (were we?); there’s a musical number in this that looks exactly like the dopey vids they used to show on G.L.O.W. in the 80’s… it’s full of workout moves, stupidity, spandex, and improbably enough, sincerity… an unholy combo if ever there was one.
The special features on disc three contain parts five and six of Straight Shooter, a fantastic conversation with legendary Swamp Thing artist/Rebane super-fan Stephen R. Bissette, trailers for both films, and an image gallery.
While the films may have come to an end, this collection definitely hasn’t… on to disc four!
Disc four contains David Cairns’ nearly two hour long exploration of Rebane’s career with the aptly-named Who is Bill Rebane? an absolutely essential deep-dive into the insanity of Rebane’s oeuvre (as well as a glimpse at the crack-pot Rebane can be at times), the full ninety-three minute cut of that interview with Bissette I talked about a bit ago, a collection of silent outtakes from Invasion From Inner Earth, The Demons of Ludlow, and The Alpha Incident, a trailer for The Giant Spider Invasion (Rebane’s most well-known film, not included in this collection… which gives me hopes for a second volume!), and image galleries featuring images of Rebane, promo shots for The Giant Spider Invasion, The Capture of Bigfoot (so yeah… volume 2), Rana the Legend of Shadow Lake (ditto), and Blood Harvest (… and again), and images from Bissette’s collection of Rebane memorabilia.
As if all of the above wasn’t enough, Arrow has also tossed in a beautiful, fully illustrated 60-page collector’s booklet featuring extensive new writing by historian and critic Stephen Thrower, a reversible poster featuring new artwork by The Twins of Evil, as well as reversible sleeves with art by the same!
Rebane certainly knew his way around an exploitation cheapie, and his work never failed to entertain (in ways both intentional and unintentional) so wrap your eerie eyeballs on this creepy collection if you’re down for such ghoulish goodness… and monster trucks.