6.13.2008

Twister's Revenge (1987)

Three retarded rednecks plot to steal a robot truck that they claim is worth a million dollars. When that doesn't work, they kidnap the woman who made the truck. So now it's up to the robot truck and the woman's husband to rescue her.

Have I found the perfect movie? Twister's Revenge is close. It's like a buddy movie mixed with LOVE DOES NOT COMPUTE robot hijinx and the Dukes of Hazzard. Here is a (partial!) list of things you will find in this movie:

- evil redneck getting kicked in the balls
- a robot truck
- people running around in fast forward mode while silly sped-up music plays
- a girl "computer expert" who says things like "the logarithmic AI subsystem is state of art" that completely and utterly stun her cowboy boyfriend, forcing him to admit "now honey, I'm just a cowboy"
- JAWS ripoff music
- crazy man hungry woman who says "man" like "MAY-AN" (you know, like in the cartoons... "It's a MAY-AN!!")
- a part where the robot truck chases one of the evil hillbillies into an outhouse, helpfully labeled "SHIT HOUSE!" in big block letters. Of course, robotruck crashes into the outhouse, forcing the hillbilly to jump into the cesspool under the structure.
- two shotgun fights

This movie is like a cornucopia of awful movie pleasure. The script is awful but not awful in the way that something like Alien Species is. Whereas that movie seemed like it was trying hard to be edgy and cool, Twister's Revenge is trying really hard to make you laugh and it just isn't working.

The acting runs the gamut from "hick with a New York accent" to the guy who says "...my caaaarrrr...." when his car is destroyed by robot truck.

Robot truck, conceptually, is pretty stupid. It drives around on his own, navigating obstacles and cracking robot jokes with his cowboy buddy and all the while I'm thinking, "why a monster truck?" I mean, obviously the draw of the movie is that there is a monster truck and there are obstacles for the monster truck to drive over in slow motion. But the AI aspect of the storyline never really blossoms into anything. I mean, sure, the robot/cowboy banter is legendary but other than that you could have a guy driving the truck and it would be pretty much the same movie. And this woman develops some kind of revolutionary AI and the first thing she thinks of is, "I should put this on a monster truck! Think of all the things it could drive over using SCIENCE!" Why not make a robot person or dog or something?

If I were to remake this movie, I would have it so that the cowboy would be driving the robot truck but they would crash into a (flaming) outhouse (because it's funnier that way). After making a sufficient number of comments about how stinky it is, robot truck would catch on fire and then explode! Of course the first person on the scene would be the woman that made robot truck so instead of notifying the police or whatever she would take both her boyfriend and the truck back to the lab and would have no choice but to put the man's brain into the truck!!! Then it would totally be like a buddy movie mixed with Robocop!!!

7 comments:

@riel said...

i tried to look it up on netflix, but they don't have it. mind if i borrow your copy sometime?

newtmonkey said...

now how are we going to arrange that? actually, it is a public domain movie so you might be able to find it online.

the huntington public library allows you to download limited time rentals... dunno how you become a member:

http://suffolk.lib.overdrive.com/F6384D41-6380-4170-999F-5B61BFA7CB6B/10/265/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=%7B187897C0-5BFF-431E-B6E4-EFB21B30C3B6%7D

joncalibur said...

is 'shucks' or 'goshdarn' used at any point of the movie?

newtmonkey said...

I am pretty certain shucks is. I liked Twister's Revenge but not enough to watch it again (by myself) to find out. Maybe we can watch it together sometime. :D

Anonymous said...

Hey I just watched this, it was great. It's part of the 'Drive-In Movie Classics 50 Movie Pack' for those interested.

The bar scene was worth the price of admission and then some. Bikers, the worst band on earth fronted by an obese redheaded woman, three guys in gasmasks, and some kind of monkey alien bartender. Awesome!

newtmonkey said...

thank you for the comment, Anonymous man!!

These public domain DVD packs are such a bargain. I know you can download most if not all of these movies online, legally, but nothing beats having an instant library of 50 movies for $10... many of which are actually entertaining!

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