Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 15, 2021

Somewhat hilariously considering the geographical focus of this collection, I have previously disclosed that I discovered some time ago that undeniably weird Wisconsin is evidently the presumed center of the universe. That is a conclusion I not so coincidentally came to after I married a woman from that state, but it's a sentiment which has been regularly reinforced by a truly gobsmacking number of Wisconsin set films that have crossed my path in various ways in the time since I said "I do". There have also been an unusually high number of Wisconsin-centered or actually filmed titles that have as a matter of fact entered my queue to write about over the years, and though not part of my official reviewing duties, two wildly disparate films, American Movie and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox, actually have a more or less direct connection to the tiny town my wife grew up in, Menomonee Falls. As if to make the circle complete, one of American Movie's aspiring filmmakers shows up as a talking head in the documentary about Bill Rebane included in this set. That documentary starts off with a kind of joke where a critic is asked to sum up the impact of "someone like Bill Rebane", to which the critic may understandably respond, "Who is Bill Rebane?" For those who are either unacquainted with this kind of delirious "regional" filmmaker, or in fact for those who have already fallen under the sway of "classics" (?) like Monster A Go-Go!, this new collection from Arrow provides a nice selection of Rebane's work, with the typically broad and deep assortment of supplementary material that has become Arrow's stock in trade.

For reviews of the films included in this collection, please click on the following links:

Monster a Go-Go Blu-ray review

Invasion from Inner Earth Blu-ray review

The Alpha Incident Blu-ray review

The Demons of Ludlow Blu-ray review

The Game Blu-ray review

Twister's Revenge! Blu-ray review

Who Is Bill Rebane? Blu-ray review

Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplementary material on each disc is detailed in the above linked reviews. This is another beautifully packaged release from Arrow, with four keepcases, a hardback book and a folded mini-poster housed in the sturdy slipbox. The two sided poster and reversible sleeves feature nice newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil, and the great looking hardback book includes an essay by Stephen Thrower, a compendium of complete casts and crew on each of the films aggregated by Julian Grainger, and information on the transfers.

Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another collection, kind of like Arrow's own The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast or He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection where the films included could hardly be termed masterpieces (or in some cases even passably competent), but where a certain entrepreneurial spirit seems to suffuse the proceedings to a point where things are almost adorable. This is another Arrow release that has been really nicely packaged and adorned with copious supplements, both on disc and accompanying things as non disc swag. With an understanding that technical merits can only do so much with badly damaged elements, and with a perhaps kindly eye aimed at a guy who might be thought of as Wisconsin's answer to Ed Wood, minus a cashmere sweater or two, Weird Wisconsin comes Recommended.