Film Review | Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Released: 1978
Starring: David Miller, George Wilson, Costa Dillon, Stephen Peace
Director: John DeBello
Distributed by: NAI Entertainment
Rated: PG (UK – PG)

“You’ve never seen a film like it.”

The perfect film for those out there that hate their vegetables. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a low budget horror-comedy musical that is as endearing as it is bad. This film spawned three additional sequels of diminishing quality and a cartoon series. Also, I recently read that a new sequel is in the works, which really doesn’t surprise me in this age of scavenging old properties.

People across the United States of America are being attacked and killed by common garden tomatoes. The Department of Agriculture wants to keep the sentient and deadly tomatoes quite and the U.S. government starts an investigation led by one of the least qualified agents they can find, Mason Dixon (David Miller; Gunpowder, Speak of the Devil). Along with a team of misfit agents, and being shadowed by a newspaper reporter, Mason attempts to find the solution to stop these dangerous vegetables before they take over the world.

The effects for the film were not exactly revolutionary at the time the film was made, and have not aged well since. Stop motion animation, rubber foam props, and models all make an appearance in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. These poor effects do not impair the film. If anything, they make the comedy more humorous and ridiculous plot more palatable. When you see a red-painted foam tomato chasing a character down the street, a laugh may escape your lips and terror will be the farthest thing from your mind.

The actors in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes do the best with what they have. Some of them put on pretty good performances while others underperform. Most of the lead actors don’t appear to have much of a career after this movie. David Miller as Mazon Dixon does a decent job acting as a straight man for all the wackiness that is happening around him. But there is no real top-notch acting going on in this film. Some characters will stay with you once the film is over though. The off-beat, parachute-wearing Lt. Wilbur Finletter (J. Stephen Peace; Return of the Killer Tomatoes!, Killer Tomatoes Strike Back!) even returns in the sequels and cartoon show likely due to the audiences connecting his character to the film.

As for the biggest part of the film, the comedy, it falls in the same line as movies by Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (Hot Shots, Airplane!). The situational comedy, sprinkled with a bit of slapstick is a good combination, but not every joke is going to hit your funny bone. Some of the jokes either take to long to set up or literally hover around to try and make awkwardness funny. For example, there is a block of transition running scenes late in the movie where Mason discovers the way to defeat the tomatoes and runs from his location to the location of the military. This series of scenes seem to go on for far too long and there isn’t even much a punchline at the end. In contrast to the bad bits in the film, one should be able to find quite a bit to laugh at just based on the sheer volume of jokes they squeeze into Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

You will also notice that Attack of the Killer Tomatoes calls itself a musical on its marketing and there are a few songs in it. However, I never really consider it a musical. Besides the classic theme song, there are three other songs that come to mind during the film, but they are not really catchy and feel a bit out of place. While not sung by any cast of the film, the song “Puberty Love” (performed by a young Matt Cameron, future drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) plays a big part of the plot. The Rocky Horror Picture Show this is not though.

MVD Rewind distributors recently released Attack of the Killer Tomatoes in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo that is really nicely put together. It boasts a 4K transfer of the film resulting in a clean and sharp looking 1080p Blu-Ray and a large number of special features. Some of these special features are a group of interviews about the film with different cast and crew, deleted scenes, and the original 8MM short film that inspired the feature-length film. The last one contains a bunch of scenes that were later used in the feature film and it was fun to watch the growth between the two. The release also comes with a small poster that is folded up inside of the case. For the collector of cult classics and bad films, this is a release you will want.

So, what can I say about Attack of the Killer Tomatoes? It is a grade-Z film. The premise is out there (although it may not seem like it when we have Sharknado and similar films around), the musical numbers are bad, the attractiveness of the comedy will depend on your tastes, and the acting is only acceptable. Nothing in this review would make me want to see this film if I read it. But, somehow it is charming, funny, and memorable. Audiences who saw it at release talk about it with fondness and new audiences are being introduced all the time. Since its release, it has gain cult status. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is able to do what movies are supposed to do, entertain. So pop it into your player, squash any tomatoes you have in your kitchen (just in case), relax on your couch, and save me some popcorn!