Twister's Revenge! (1988) User Reviews

Like "Dukes of Hazard" Meets "Benny Hill" If Those Shows Had Been Abysmal

[evanston_dad · 2/10 · 7 July 2010]

"Twister's Revenge" is a redneck's wet dream of a movie, or anyone's who thinks there's no greater pleasure in life than watching giant vehicles roll over things. But the rest of you need not despair, because you can still enjoy this movie by making fun of all the people (or maybe the two or three people) who like this movie for legitimate reasons.

Three dumbasses hatch a plan to steal a talking monster truck, and when their plan fails, they decide instead to kidnap the wife of the truck's owner and hold her for ransom. She spends the rest of the movie tied up in a cave with a stack of dynamite and a coffee maker, while Twister (the truck) and his owner drive all over the countryside knocking down the houses of the three dumbasses. The climactic duel takes place between Twister and a fully functional army tank, which happens to be sitting in a junkyard garage. Along the way, one of the dumbasses falls into a hole filled with outhouse sh*t (which a makes a good metaphor for the entire movie, by the way), and a girl band led by a heifer in blue spandex performs a musical number in a bar where the patrons wear gas masks for some inexplicable reason.

This film is like "Dukes of Hazard" crossed with "Benny Hill," except that to compare it to either of those other shows implies that it's anything other than a grade Z movie. It's quite terrible, but also terribly entertaining.

The actors are all horrible, but one of them, R. Richardson Luka, who plays Bear, the dumbest of the dumbasses, manages to deliver something resembling an appealing performance. He's a good looking guy with a terrific build, and maybe it's just the fact that he doesn't look like he crawled out of a pig trough that makes him appealing, but whatever it is I felt that the movie wasn't quite the same whenever he wasn't on screen. Fortunately, he's on screen almost all of the time.

Grade: D- (I can't give an F to a movie that made me laugh as much as this one did)

I Laughed and My Stomach Hurt

[lgunderson-1 · 4/10 · 23 March 2007]

Maybe this movie wouldn't be written by people who are so mean if some people thought "Hey, maybe it's the only thing a 8-year-old kid with a stomach-ache has to watch when he's stuck at home." I laughed at it even though it made my stomach hurt even more.

I liked it because it was not too hard to figure out and it's funny to see adults dumber than me.

None of the people who saw this movie mentioned the junk yard scenes were probably filmed in a real junk yard!! And the back-ground music was at least as good as the Eagles Greatest Hits.

Hint: the ending involves a tank! So watch it.

I got the plan. it cannot fail.

[lastliberal · 3/10 · 3 July 2009]

One thing is certain; you probably have not seen this film. I'm not saying it is low budget, but Bill Rebane was director, cinematographer, writer, production designer, editor, producer, camera department member; everything but actor. In fact, most of the actors were probably friends and family. That's OK if you are making a drive-in movie.

Three good old boys, who are five beers short of a six pack, are trying to steal a monster truck - a talking monster truck. Why do people fine this exciting? Watching some big truck run over crushed cars is about as thrilling as watching NASCAR - round and round we go. Whee! Anyway, these boys are dumber than dirt. But, they weren't the only colorful characters in this movie. The patrons of a local biker bar reminded me of that bar in Star Wars.

As expected over 75% of the movie was chase scenes: through the town, through the woods, and through the junkyard with a tank! Lots of shotgun blasting and explosions, but no one ever gets hurt.

This had to be a big hit down in Alabama and Mississippi.

crazy as an outhouse rat

[Andy Sandfoss · 1/10 · 26 August 2007]

One wonders how Bill Rebane every raised money to make films over and over again, after his first disastrous attempt with "Monster A Go-Go!", a film he could only partly finish before putting it up for sale. It is quite telling that the buyer was Herschel G. Lewis. But I digress... Someone has indeed given money to Bill Rebane for film-making and I am grateful for it. What would the world of cinema be without "Giant Spider Invasion", "Demons of Ludlow", "Invasion from Inner Earth", and this, arguably Rebane's "opus magnum"? Never mind that it was partly ripped off from the "Knightrider" concept. Never mind that the acting, writing, editing, etc., are sub par even for failing students at the worst community college film class in the country. Never mind that the only way an ordinary movie goer could possibly sit through such witless trash is to be drunk or stoned out of their mind. Never mind that the film stands as the ultimate proof that Bill Rebane is, indeed, crazy as an outhouse rat. Just consider how much duller life would be. Then go ahead, pop "Twister's Revenge!" in the DVD player, open the first of several fermented malt beverages, and revel in the experience. Try not to puke too many times....

I was there!

[thefox79 · 28 March 2004]

Twister's Revenge is one of the most hilarious movies I have ever seen. Absolutely full of bad acting and bad filming. I grew up in Wisconsin, in the very area where all of Bill Rebane's crazy movies were filmed. I have even been to his main location many times as he is my cousin's grandfather and they lived next door to each other when my cousin and I were little kids growing up. I know quite of a few of the extra actors in this zany film about a monster truck with artificial intelligence. Yes, it's a bad movie, but has fantastic value as comic relief when you just don't feel like thinking. I actually have an original tape somewhere. If you're into cheesy plots, half naked women and bad guys with that are definitely not the brightest crayons in the Crayola box, then this movies is for you!

Meh

[Bezenby · 5/10 · 19 February 2013]

Bill Rebane's an erratic director, eh? I loved the low budget daftness of The Giant Spider Invasion and thought The Game was interesting, if a little dull. My copy of the Alpha Incident is sadly faulty but what I've seen of Demons of Ludlow was pretty impressive. Here, with Twister's Revenge, Rebane takes on comedy, mixes a little Knight Rider in there, adds a bit of Benny Hill and comes up with a film whose enjoyment will depend on the viewer's forgiving nature. Either that or you'll hate it right away.

Twister is a monster truck with a very expensive computer on board, and three hicks want to steal it and sell it. Easier said than done, as the hicks aren't very bright and Twister is very smart. After several failed attempts the hicks get touch, capture the fiancé of Twister's owner, and set off with a bazooka to get the truck. Many buildings explode or get destroyed, cars are crushed, and much slapstick ensues.

Is it good though? I don't know. It's always good to see what folks can do with a low budget, so you've got to give Rebane his credit there, but on the other hand your enjoyment for this film is all down to your tolerance for slapstick. And B-movies. And bad actors.

Twister triumphant !!!

[MarplotRedux · 5/10 · 21 June 2012]

There seem to be only two reactions by reviewers: Gaaaaaaah! (thus its overall 2 rating) and Yay! (burp). I watched it sober, with a few intermissions while doing other things, and found it a good slapstick comedy with acting quite adequate for what it was trying to accomplish. But then Curley Howard is one of my three or four favorite actors. The female lead had a fairly easy role: mostly one of being gagged, bound, and tied to a chair next to a ticking bomb. She also was quite adequate. The monster truck was more than adequate: it was noble, inspiring,overcoming all obstacles; sadly, its eventual tank opponent lacked personality. Delightfully, indeed considerately, all characters, both primary and minor, survived explosions, the houses they occupied being flattened, and numerous other deadly experiences with no worse effects than soiled clothing and temporary confusion. None of the characters, including the tank, could shoot accurately, but this is typical of such movies … unlike the "blood and gore all over the floor, and me without my spoon" ones. The sound on my copy was dreadful, but I've been having trouble with sound on my laptop anyway, so this may not have been the fault of my very inexpensive DVD. Would I watch this again? No, but the once was fun.

A film by morons, with morons, for morons

[gridoon · 1/10 · 11 December 2006]

I didn't really want to write a comment about this "movie", but I felt that the other two comments on this page didn't get the necessary point across strongly enough, so I'll try to do just that:

DON'T EVER WATCH THIS THING!!!!!

Or, to be more specific, don't ever watch this thing, UNLESS:

a) You are a redneck moron

b) You like being treated like a redneck moron

c) You find the Bud Spencer-Terence Hill comedies too intellectually challenging for you

d) You find the idea of a grown man who doesn't know his left hand from his right hand incredibly funny

e) You find endless shots of a huge jeep wandering around and occasionally crushing junkyard cars and rickety houses thrilling.

If, however, you do not fall into any of the above categories, try to find a $h*thouse like the one featured in a scene and flush this garbage right down the drain.

People watching

[fourhundredboys · 2/10 · 6 April 2011]

I've enjoyed it mostly for observing how people are dressed, and how they look. Lots of interesting looking characters, particularly in the Tanglewood bar. :)

I really enjoyed the scene where the big girl and her backup singers were performing a song ("Love Birds"?). The performance was really charming.

I'm pretty sure the scene was also a reference to Star Wars as the bartender was wearing an alien mask, and one of the bikers looked like Chewbaca!

I really wasn't paying much attention to the "plot", however, and neither of the leads is very interesting. The villains were slightly more interesting, specially the dumb one (looks slightly like Chuck Norris).

Don't Expect Much And You'll Be Fine

[mtipton-77328 · 5/10 · 15 November 2019]

Probably Bill Rebane's best movie. Unlike others he has done that basically had grandiose pretensions without the budget to back them up, and turn into a character play with one setting, this one feels like an actual movie. The best thing about it is, that it is a great period piece that kind of embarrasses you, if you lived during the eighties, that we actually thought we were cool. What passed for "cool" back then, is now, prototypically the classic "white trailer trash" look. Amazingly, it seems as if Bill Rebane had some type of crystal ball telling him that this would be the case decades into the future. There was a lot of subtle comedy that, it would seem, influenced future films. The part where one of the main characters is having supper with his parents and he asks his mother to realize he is a grown man, and his father chimes in with his age, which happens to be younger than his son. A similar gag was used in the movie, "Don't Be A Menace To Society While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood". The bar scene which resembles a scene from "Star Wars", is surreal and absolutely hilarious. This movie seemed to be making fun of itself, and especially the era in which it was filmed.

Awful But Kinda Funny

[Rainey-Dawn · 3/10 · 10 October 2015]

This film is just awful yet does have some dorky comedy in it - just enough it entertained me to a degree. Basically the three are wannabe Three Stooges - from what I got out of it anyway.

The movie is a bunch of non-sense: Three stupid criminals trying to get their hands on the control box of Mr. Twister. Mr. Twister is a thinking and talking monster truck - much like Knight Rider's KITT in the way it operates.

I got enough giggles out of the film that I watched it until the end - even though it is a terrible flick. If you like dorky comedy films and talking computerized vehicles then you might like Twister's Revenge.

3/10

Gripping . . .

[bluemule75 · 10/10 · 18 February 2004]

Twisters Revenge was one of those rare films that fell through the cracks. In spite of the films $12.67 budget - it packed a cinematic punch. Laughable plot scenarios so vile, that you find yourself begging for more. When I first watched the film, I was unable to view the entire feature without "pausing" the action and phoning a friend in a hysterical fit of disbelief. Oh yes - it is advisable to drink fermented beverages while enjoying this film. The director "Bill Rebane" toys with your mind throughout this thrilling, evocative, masterpiece . . . The writers (Larry Dreyfus and William Aurthur) must have found their inspiration from perhaps, binge lamp oil drinking, or extreme tail pipe smoking. Make no mistake - I am a fan of this film. It delivers vomit worthy laughs your whole family will enjoy - regardless if you fathered your cousins . . .

Monster Sucks

[Zeegrade · 1/10 · 26 March 2010]

I didn't think it was possible for Bill Rebane to repeat the same fatal flaws that were so prevalent in "Monster-a-go-go" making it one of the worst movies I have ever watched. That was until I saw lightning strike twice in the form of "Twister's Revenge" an attempted comedy that is anything but. If there is a bottom of the barrel that extends through the substructure of the planet into the very depths of the universe finally spiraling infinitely into a black hole this is approximately where this film belongs. Painful doesn't even scratch the surface as most of the "comedy" comes in the form of three clueless dopes that for some uncertain reason want to steal a computer possibly to pawn it for cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Cheez Whiz to huff. When that proves unsuccessful they resort to kidnapping the soon-to-be wife of Wisconsin's lone cowboy (I'm surprised his hat wasn't made out of foam cheese) who in turn must team up with Twister, a talking monster truck. Thus begins a Tango and Cash like team with both inanimate objects blistering each other with mundane quips. Sort of like if someone called you stupid and you replied with "I know you are but what am I?". This movie is like telling the same knock-knock joke for ninety minutes. What's even more grating is how it quickly degenerates into amusing the lowest common denominator on Earth. If there was ever a film made for cavemen this is it. The cowboy and the leader of the three idiots trade rifle shots throughout the film as if attempted murder is somehow funny which is only topped by Twister's strategy of simply running friends and family members of the trio down. Vehicular manslaughter. Ha ha. The most horrific scene is easily the jaw-droppingly hideous "love birds" song performed by a beast of a woman in spandex with too much makeup. There is nothing redeeming whatsoever to watch here as not one iota of "Twister's Revenge" made me even crack a smile. If there ever was proof that man is devolving as a species this is certainly it. How many times can you watch a car get "runned over real good" before it becomes pablum even for the slowest of dolts? It's clear to me that at this point in his career Bill Rebane just plain gave up trying. Recommended only for those that are in the first stages of learning how to use your opposable thumbs.

Dumb, dumb, dumb

[wbswetnam · 2/10 · 20 February 2012]

Here's another movie courtesy of Bill Rebane, director of such other cinematic gems as Monster-A-Go-Go and Giant Spider Invasion. In the movie Twister's Revenge we have a talking monster truck which takes on three 2nd grade drop-outs. When the 2nd grade drop-outs fail in their plan to take the truck, they decide to take the pretty lady computer programmer as a hostage instead. Endles footage of a giant truck roaming around the countryside is featured, with it occasionally running over other vehicles and smashing through hillbilly homes and outhouses. Toward the end we are treated to a showdown between the truck ("Twister") and a US Army tank loaded with ammo which happens to be parked off-base for some unexplained reason.

Perhaps if you are seven years old then this movie might be entertaining, but otherwise forget it.

A Six-Pack Extravaganza

[jery-tillotson-1 · 2/10 · 22 March 2020]

While watching this movie flop across my television screen, I imagined this was the product of a movie-maker who'd drunk too many six-packs of cheap beer and gorged on too many bags of chips and onion-flavored dip. It's a delirious experience watching this non-stop train-wreck of non-stop racing cars and motorcycles and monster vehicles plowing through homes and outhouses and trying to figure out whose driving what and to what purpose. The summary says that this is the story of three bumbling idiots who want to get their hands on a computerized tank. So the movie is stuffed full of insane scenes of these three stooges falling over each other in trying to win the prize. Actually, the male characters are not bad. They do what they do convincingly and throw themselves into the action, performing their own stunts. But the one big saving grace for me and for any other gay reviewer or for any woman looking out for beefcake, the character of "Bear"--played by big, brawney, handsome, muscular R. Richardson Luka--was the focus of my attention in every scene he was in. He played the idiot, the bumbling bozo who seemed more than retarded. Yet, one kept hoping he'd have his shirt torn off or the rest of the clothes because he was so damned cute. He had a marvelous, sexy way of moving around in his tee shirt and jeans. Instead, director Bill Rebane has him wearing a tee shirt through most of the movie until the final scene where he FINALLY bears most of his manly chest. The other male performers make good eye candy and the scene in the bar with customers wearing animal masks as they enjoy a huge Divine looking woman and her two partners shake and bump and grind is still jaw-dropping. And there's another bizarre character of a woman in a short dress who keeps racing away on foot in cowboy boots and we see streaking across fields, railroad tracks, through downtown and we have to ask Why? What is she running from? Filmed in Wisconsin, on probably a budget that would barely buy you a six-pack at the Piggly-Wiggly, "Twister's Revenge" has a bizarre fascination that would make a good second feature to John Water's "Pink Flamingos."

Weird!

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 3 November 2021]

What's more amazing?

This monster truck move was made by Monster a Go-Go, The Alpha Incident, Blood Harvest, The Game and The Giant Spider Invasion director Bill Rebane.

It's about a talking monster truck named Mr. Twister who is very much KITT from Knight Rider two years after that show was cancelled.

It's a vigilante revenge film - like Death Wish - and also a comedy.

It was made in 1988, three years after Bigfoot had his cartoon.

This was released by Arrow as part of their Weird Wisconsin The Bill Rebane Collection The answer? All of these things blew my mind.

Also known as Ein Supertruck auf Gangsterjagd! (A Supertruck on a Gangster-Hunt!) in Germany, this movie is about three criminals trying to steal Mr. Twister - after all, his computer is worth $200,000 - before they just decide to kidnap his designer who just so happens to be married to his driver.

The driver wants to grab a shotgun and kill everyone in his path, which I generally endorse, except that Mr. Twister talks - he never has before - and gives him a better plan. Or maybe the driver has a mental disorder brought on by the stress of his wife's kindapping and we're inside his mind. Who can say?

Man, Bill Rebane, you get me every time. There's no reason why I should like this movie and every reason why I should love it.

Silly, lightweight drive-in fare

[lemon_magic · 3/10 · 29 March 2008]

Here, in a nutshell, in the plot for "Twister's Revenge": three morons try to steal a couple's "Monster Truck". Yes, it's just that exciting!

No wait, there's more. Rebane and the screen writers seem to be trying for a cross between "The Love Bug" and "Dukes Of Hazzard" and maybe "Every Which Way But Loose". In stark contrast to those films, though "Twister's Revenge" appears to have no visible budget - or talent - to speak of. The screenplay appears to have been written under the influence of several beer bongs, cast with the talents of anyone local who wanted to act but couldn't get into the high school drama department's school play, and shot without benefit of rehearsals or dialog coaches or,well, anything much. Rebane appears to come from the "I just point the camera and let it roll" school of directing, so what you see is pretty much framed and set up like an 8 MM home movie.

In its favor: the movie has the lead "actress" - who couldn't deliver a natural sounding line of dialog if she were 3 times as good as she actually is - spend most of the movie gagged and tied up in a cave. Also in its favor, the last 30 minutes of the movie features a tank playing "Tag" and "Hide and Seek" with the Monster Truck. Not that Rebane can make this scenario any more compelling than anything else in the film, but at least you have two giant vehicles rolling over cars and through houses. Two of the morons ("Dutch" and "Bear") who want to steal the truck are actually better than the film deserves. They can't act, of course, but they do manage do deliver several OK readings of lines, if only by accident. They are slightly, just ever-so-slightly - amusing in a couple of spots. And there is one - ONE - decent payoff when the hero walks into a biker bar, asks a question of the local patrons and gets tossed out a window. Finally, it's pretty obvious that none of this is meant to be taken seriously, or as anything more than a good natured waste of time.

That's not much to go on, but it's still more than "Giant Spider Invasion" and "Monster-A-Go Go" (the other two Rebane moves I know about) put together. So it is isn't a good film in any sense of the word, but at least you can watch it without losing your will to live.

Not recommended for any reason other than masochism or background video wallpaper for your next drinking binge, but still not as loathsome as it might have been.

Missed but not without talent

[TheCaliGula · 5/10 · 4 October 2013]

--- SPOILER ALERT ABOUT THE 'PLOT' (if there's one on this film) ---

This film is definitely crappy, its aesthetic repulsive (as far as I could tell from a Millcreek entertainment DVD). Nonetheless, once you get to the first chase scene you start to realize this z-movie is actually trying to accomplish something, helped by a three stoogian lead with at least one good actor. Then you go deeper into the plot : you discover the monster truck, Twister, blessed with an IA given by a surrealistically sexy 20 year old to his boyfriend for his championship of Monster Truck; a program at first designed to control the monster truck to crush cars in a line. Then the sexy scientist gets taken hostage by the three stooges and next thing you know, a revenge plan appears in the monster truck mind, by love for its creator (she has a voice by then). Improbability ensue. The music has its moments, with classical melodies, junctioned with blues and raw country, even by some Jaws blinks. The film itself offers some weirdly fine jokes, a la Troma, and then some good storyboarding about nonsensical chase scenes. I couldn't help but fall for some great dialogs and laugh at this mess of morons. The last shot is a shot's dream for any silliness fans. To maintain the poorness of this mess is true, but this could need a remake a-la Cohen brothers. I wouldn't even be surprised if they saw this film and though about it, how better it should have been.

Abysmal comedy and tons of monster truck ""action""

[cheekyfilm · 2/10 · 20 January 2022]

Most of this movie is a slog, moving from one poorly paced comedy scene (containing exactly zero laughs) to the next, watching 3 hateable redneck three stooges battle an effeminate redneck hero, his girlfirend, and his sentient Knight Rider truck. It sounds like a lot more fun than it is, trust me. The worst part is the constant bad comedy and the complete lack of positive aspects. The best you can ask for here is a bizarre bar scene with a scantily clad BBW singing to a rowdy crowd, and 10-15 scenes of a monster truck running over a house façade with accompanying explosions. Pretty rough stuff.

I got a plan.

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 4 September 2017]

Dave (Dean West) runs a monster truck he uses in county fair competitions. It has a computer that acts like something out of Knight Rider but looks more like a TRS-80. Three bumbling thieves attempt to steal the computer, but end up getting Dave's scantily clad bride (Meredith Orr) and hold her ransom. Dave uses his truck named Twister to enact revenge...hence the not-so-clever title.

The humor was brutish and slapstick and not good at that. I had no idea what they had in mind when they came up with this one.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

WHAT A WONDERFUL FEEL GOOD MOVIE

[ABADDONCORLEONE · 10/10 · 21 July 2021]

This is absolutely director BILL REBANE's best work!! Some of the best acting i've ever seen!!!

Tale of the talking monster truck tanks

[Chase_Witherspoon · 2/10 · 12 February 2024]

Budget filmmaker Bill Rebane's 'Twister's Revenge' concerns a talking monster truck (or as the actress made-up to look like an old biddy describes it, 'one of those big Japanese cars') pursued by a trio of dolts culminating in them haphazardly driving around in a tank blowing up barns, cars, tearing through houses as they constantly bicker in atrociously looped dialogue.

Little attempt to maintain a coherent plot (which by the way involves the aforementioned bumbling crooks kidnapping the wife of newly married cowboy inventor who possesses technology which makes his monster truck speak and drive independently), puerile dialogue and some atrocious acting - it's budget filmmaking at its most egregious. I'm not convinced it would even satisfy an ardent monster truck enthusiast, and the boneheaded slapstick humour isn't going to generate many laughs if you've tuned in hoping for mild comic relief.

Inexplicably right in the middle of the film, there's a bizarre musical interlude featuring a trio of lycra-clad punk rockers who dance suggestively whilst entertaining the tavern crowd singing 'Lovebirds'.

It's not often that a film is so inept it has no redeemable features (save perhaps long-legged damsel in distress Orr who is attractive), but Rebane has disappointingly accomplished just such a rare feat with this near-hopeless hillbilly caper.

Artificial Intelligence meets No Intelligence

[toyguy-31519 · 21 March 2022]

Toss in a Zombie and a couple bucks towards the budget and Ed Wood would have been proud to direct this masterpiece of $#!+. I have write at least 150 character's to submit my review. Ok, Where were the Police?

Not hilariously bad, just bad

[Wizard-8 · 7 December 2013]

"Twister's Revenge!" is undoubtedly one of the finest movies made by Wisconsin filmmakers. It also happens to be one of the ONLY movies made by Wisconsin filmmakers. Compared to just about any other movie ever made, this effort is lacking in any kind of entertainment value you can think of. There's no audience for this movie - adults will find the characters and the story to be so simple-minded that the movie is insulting to the intelligence. And kids should probably not be shown the movie because it is filled with scenes of violence, profanity, (mild) sexual moments, and visible fecal matter. Even if the movie were smarter and/or more family friendly, adults and children will find the movie very badly made, with the constant feeling that footage is missing, the story being very obviously stretched out far past the breaking point, very little in the way of production values, and much of the dialogue obviously post-dubbed in the editing room. If you want to see monster truck action, go to the next rally at your local arena instead of seeing this sorry "movie".