[year/rating] 1978 PG [genre] Horror Spoof [director] John De Bello [starring] David Miller George Wilson Sharon Taylor J. Stephen Peace

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Summary Capsule

Mutant tomatoes attack America; only a bottom-notch CIA team can defeat them.

Mutant Meter

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Justin's Rating: Tally-Ho Zootelo! (literally: pretty darn good)
Justin's Review: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes marked the beginning of my interest in very strange movies. I love rooting for the underdog flick, particularly when I am able to find a movie that everyone else hates with a passion normally reserved for IRS audits. 'Course, I don't get invited over to dinner parties much, but I can live. I have my Killer Tomatoes.

"Think of the worst 70's-era folk music, then add some screeching cats and a car stripping its gears, and you might be close to the experience of listening to 'Puberty Love.'"

Mean-spirited little vegetables, brought forth from a secret government project, the Tomatoes seek to take over the world! And only one thing can stop them! Carrot Top! No, sorry, that's a bald-faced lie. A top-secret CIA team (so secret no one knows who they are) is recruited, consisting of a very fat man named Mason Dixon, a fanatical WWI-clad soldier (Lt. Finnletter), Sam Smith (the only disguise expert you'll ever see who disguises himself as an African-American Adolf Hitler), Greta (the Russian olympiad), and some guy who swims underwater. And before you can say "reverse play special effects!" the tomatoes are on the run.

This movie is so hokey -- and on purpose -- that it's ferrific fun (I made that up; the word that is). Great Naked Gun-like humor abounds, with everything from references to Jaws, The Birds, wood paneling, and a really sucky song -- indeed, the worst song you'll ever hear in your life -- named "Puberty Love." Think of the worst 70's-era folk music, then add some screeching cats and a car stripping its gears, and you might be close to the experience of listening to "Puberty Love." Like the film itself, the song is so incredibly awful that it's an imploding joke, ready to suck you down with it. Which is not a bad thing, not at all.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes set such a high standard in campiness that I'm hard pressed to think of any film that beats it. If you get into the spirit of paper-maché tomatoes in reverse-motion film chasing small children through a parking lot, well, you've just scratched the surface of the red cake. As a teen and now as an adult, I still find the library sequence absolutely hilarious. A man sitting in the library says "tomato" in such a funny little voice, and everyone panics (since the nation is gripped in fear of the red veggies).

AOTKT is a must-rent, must-see, must-own, must-love, must-must film for any and all cult enthusiasts.

Ahh! Killer dodgeball on the loose! There's nothing about this picture I don't find unattractive ...and you should see the celery aisle!

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Near the end of the credits: ...every nut case in San Diego County
• J. Stephen Peace actually became a California Senator
• In the opening credits, a "This Space Available" ad listed the actual phone number of Four Square Productions at the time. For many years, the company received calls from all over the world -- including more than a few from business people who actually wondered how much it would cost to advertise in the credits. "After the area code was changed, we stopped getting the calls," says DeBello. "But somewhere, some poor guy has our old number. ..and to this day, it must be driving him nuts." The number is 1-877-470-8273.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

The credits are at the start of the film, and have quite a few jokes during them.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

The helicopter crash was unintentional. After being pulled from the wreck, Jack Riley and George Wilson adlibbed the rest of the scene. The crash used up more of the budget than all other aspects of the film combined.

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" was re-released not too long ago as a director's cut. Additional footage is added, as well as some behind-the-scenes interviews. Also, if you buy the tape, it comes with tomato seeds (I am not kidding about this). The end credits of the director's cut features a "Where are they now?" update on David Miller, Sharon Taylor, Costa Dillon, "Rock" Peace, and a tomato. The director's cut features a mockumentary called "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! Director's Cut: A Masterpiece Restored" on the restoration and the making of the film. The director's cut doesn't include "The Mindmaker Song", but it restores cut scenes, jokes, and dialogue.

Groovy Quotes

Japanese scientist [who is obviously being dubbed over]: Technically, sir, tomatoes are fags.
Military scientist: He means fruits.

Richardson: I can say without fear of contradiction, that under no circumstances, and at no time has that current administration expended any public monies what so ever for the purchase of the fluffy flower print toilet paper.

News Announcer: And today the president closed the nation's last remaining submarine base at Groton, Connecticut. When ask why he had made the startling decision the president responded, "Those funny little black ships just keep sinking anyway."

Commercial Spot: Last year, more people were killed by automobile accidents, heart attacks, lung cancer, and natural causes combined than by any one tomato.

Swan: We have to convince the little housewife out there that the tomato that ate the family pet is not dangerous!

Sam Smith: [Infiltrating the tomatoes and is eating with them] Hey, can somebody please pass the ketchup?

President: Take air force one.
Richardson: Sir, Air Force one is broken
President: Broken?
Richardson: Yes sir.
President: The whole plane?
Richardson: In a sense sir, you remember where the Washington monument used to be?

Soundtrack Review

The song "Puberty Love" was performed by Matt Cameron, who would later go on to be the drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Return of the Killer Tomatoes
• The Killer Tomatoes Strike Back
• The Killer Tomatoes Eat France