Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Attack of the Killer Tomatoesis a 1978 Americanparody filmproduced byJ. Stephen Peaceand John DeBello, and directed by John DeBello based upon an original idea byCosta Dillon. The film stars David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor, andJack Riley.
The screenplay was written by Dillon, Peace, and  DeBello. The film spoofsB moviesand was made on a budget of less than $100,000. The story involvestomatoesbecoming sentient by unknown means and revolting against humanity.
Critical reception ofAttack of the Killer Tomatoeswas mostly negative. The box office success of the film led to three sequels, all co-written by the same three writers and directed by DeBello.
The film opens with a scroll stating that whenAlfred Hitchcock's filmThe Birds(1963) was released, audiences laughed at the notion of birds revolting against humanity. However, when an attack perpetrated by birds occurred in 1975, no one laughed. This is followed by a pre-credits sequence of a tomato rising out of a woman'sgarbage disposal. Her puzzlement turns into terror as the tomato draws her into a corner. Following the credits, the police investigate her death. One officer discovers that the red substance covering her is not blood but tomato juice.
A series of attacks perpetrated by tomatoes occurs, including a man dying by drinking tomato juice made from a killer tomato, a boy heard being gobbled up by a killer tomato, and a sequence where the tomatoes attack innocent swimmers in a parody ofJaws.While the President's press secretary, Jim Richardson, tries to convince the public that no credible threat exists, the President puts together a team of specialists to stop the tomatoes, led by a man namedMason Dixon. Dixon's team includes Sam Smith, a disguise expert (whose unconventional disguises includeGeorge Washington,Abraham Lincoln, andAdolf Hitler); scuba diver Greg Colburn;Olympicswimmer Gretta Attenbaum; and parachute-toting soldier Wilbur Finletter.
Smith is sent out to infiltrate the tomatoes at a campfire, eventually blowing his cover while eating a hotdog and asking if anyone could "pass the ketchup". Colburn and Gretta are sent to sectors, while Finletter stays with Mason. Meanwhile, the President sends Richardson to the fictitious ad agency Mind Makers, where executive Ted Swan spends vast amounts of money to develop virtually worthless ploys, including a bumper sticker with "STP" for "Stop Tomato Program" on it, a satirical reference to both the real "whip inflation now" campaign with its widely ridiculed "WIN" slogan andSTP motor oildecals and bumper stickers, which were commonplace in the 1970s.
A human is revealed to be also plotting to stop Dixon when a masked assassin attempts to shoot him but misses. A senate subcommittee meeting is held where one secret pamphlet is leaked to a newspaper editor, who sends society writer Lois Fairchild on the story. While she tails Finletter, he mistakes her for a spy and trashes a hotel room attempting to kill her. He then chases the assassin as the masked man fails again to kill Dixon but loses him.
Gretta is killed, and further regression has led leaders to bring in tanks and soldiers to the West Coast in a battle that leaves the American forces in shambles. Dixon, walking among the rubble, sees a trail of tomato juice and decides to investigate. He ends up being chased by a killer tomato to an apartment where an oblivious child is listening to the radio. The tomato is about to kill Dixon but suddenly flies out the window. Dixon peers out to see if it has died, and he spots the assassin hijacking his car. He chases the assassin in a "slow car chase" that has since been copied by other comedies. Dixon is eventually knocked out by his own car. Awakening, Dixon finds himself captured by Richardson. Though he did not create the killer tomatoes, he has discovered how to control them and plans to do so once civilization has collapsed – leaving him in control. He is about to reveal his secret of control to Dixon when Finletter charges in and runs him through with his sword.
Dixon, picking up some strewn records, realizes that he has seen the tomatoes retreat at the sound of the song "Puberty Love" but had not put two and two together until now. He orders Finletter to gather all the remaining people and bring them to the stadium. Finletter remarks that "only crazy people" are left in the nearly deserted city, resulting in a motley assortment of people in costumes facing the attacking tomatoes at the stadium.
The tomatoes are cornered in a stadium. "Puberty Love" is played over the loudspeaker, causing the tomatoes to shrink and allowing the various people at the stadium to stomp on them repeatedly. Fairchild, meanwhile, is cornered by a giant tomato wearing earmuffs, hence cannot hear the music. Dixon saves her by showing the tomato the sheet music to "Puberty Love". He professes his love to her, in song. The film ends with a carrot that rises from the soil and says, "All right, you guys. They're gone now."
The film also contains the first screen appearance ofDana Ashbrook, then aged 10 or 11, as Boy on Boat (uncredited).
Filming took place inOceansideand other parts ofSan Diego County.The finished film contains footage of a real helicopter crash. In a scene showing law enforcement officers firing their weapons to ward off tomatoes in a field, a $60,000Hiller AircraftUH-12E that had been rented for the production was supposed to have landed in the tomato patch behind the officers. But during the landing the Hiller's tail rotor struck the ground, causing the craft to spin out of control near the ground, roll over, and burst into flames. The helicopter pilot escaped without serious injury.The crash was caught on film, as the cameras were rolling at the time, and later worked into the final product with added dialogue about a "kamikazetomato" hitting the helicopter.
The theme song, written by DeBello, describes the tomatoes' rampages through the world, describing that they have killed a man named Herman Farbage while he was taking out the garbage, that the mayor is on vacation to get out of stopping them, that they have scared off theNational Guard, and that they have even eaten thenarrator's sister. This theme song is used in different variations over the course of the series, here simply sounding like the score of an old monster movie with lyrics and a more catchy tune. All other music was written byGordon Goodwinand Paul Sundfor with lyrics by Dillon, DeBello, and Peace.
The song "Puberty Love" was sung by the then-teenagedMatt Cameron, who later became the drummer forSoundgardenand since 1998 has been the drummer forPearl Jam.
Upon release,Varietywrote that the film "isn't even worthy of sarcasm".Emanuel Levygave the film a score of 2 out of 5.Time Outcalled the film a "one-joke spoof".Eric Henderson, reviewing the DVD edition forSlant Magazinein 2003 opined that "even more so than theSamuel Arkoff-like opportunism of the producers, and more so than some of the worst framing this side ofColeman Francis, the really frustrating thing about Tomatoes is the toothlessness of its satire. And that's a major missed opportunity, considering that the irony of using a stereotypically foreign genre (Japanesemonster movies) against a parody of America's jingoistic reliance on military power (the Army is useless against the giant tomatoes) should've been a comedic gold mine."Rue Morguewriter Michael Gingold later wrote, in a review of theBlu-rayedition in 2018, that "Attack of the Killer Tomatoesmay be one of history's most misunderstood films. It has often been celebrated as a prime example of 'so bad it's funny' cinema, when in fact it's an attempt at intentional comedy that is, at best, a scattershot success."
The review aggregatorRotten Tomatoesreported that 27% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 4.30/10.OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 9 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike".
Attack of the Killer Tomatoeshas become acult film.A number of sequels and other spin-off material have been done in various media as a result of this movie. They include three movie sequels:
The sequelReturn of the Killer Tomatoespicks up the story 10 years later. The film is notable for the casting ofGeorge Clooneyin one of his first film roles.
American composer and orchestrator Gordon Goodwin, one of the original composers for the film, later wrote an Emmy-nominated, big-band piece inspired by the music for this film, to be played with his jazz ensembleGordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band.
In 2008, a remake was announced. Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, creators ofAsk a Ninja, were developing the project. This was to be Nichols' directorial debut. M. Dal Walton III was co-producing along withEmmett/Furla Films.In 2011, John DeBello said that theAsk a Ninjacreators were no longer involved.
Screaming Soup! Presents the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective, a documentary film focusing on the history of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes franchise with interviews including cast and crew fromAttack of the Killer Tomatoes, was released in February 2023 on YouTube.