ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES: BETTER THAN EXPECTED

I can remember back in 1977 when a low budget film began to get noticed and discussed, even though it never played where I lived. It was called ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES and it was hailed as being one of the worst movies ever made. Considering the amount of bad movies out there that's a bold statement to make. And yet that was the reputation the movie had.

A spoof of the old giant monster/Godzilla films it featured a secret government organization aided by the military facing an organized attack from, well, tomatoes. Yes, the concept seems silly (and it is) but the tomatoes eventually grow to enormous size and are able to face off against those protecting humanity.

Leading an elite team, and I use the term loosely, is Mason Dixon (David Miller), an FIA agent who hasn't worked since the Bay of Pigs. His team is composed of a master of disguise (a black man wearing a white fake nose and glasses), an Olympic swimmer, an underwater expert complete with scuba gear and soldier Lt. Wilber Finletter (J. Stephen Peace) who comes equipped with his own parachute...which he drags behind him throughout the film. As the team tries to find out more about the tomatoes and their plans they also face the press in the form of Lois Fairchild (Sharon Taylor).

The battle between man and fruit rages on with solo attacks on the team by the tomatoes and a co-conspirator helping them as well as the occasional major attack by the military with plenty of explosions. Eventually a secret is found that will help overcome the terrifying tomatoes and the entire population left in San Diego come together at the nearby stadium with secret weapon in hand. But is it enough?

No, this is not a serious movie. And the fact is it was never intended to be one. The makers state quite clearly in the extras here that they set out to make a bad movie on purpose but to give it their all. And the biggest surprise is that it isn't as bad as many have found it to be.

The production values are low lever but then so was the budget. For all that they did here, which includes an actual helicopter crash with one of the major stars of the film (Jack Riley who was Mr. Carlson on THE BOB NEWHART SHOW) in it at the time (everyone survived the crash and then got into it, insisting they shoot footage with them nearby as it was in flames), giant tomatoes, costumes galore and a theme song that will stay in your head long after the movie is over.

As I said I'd seen the movie once long ago and remembered bits and pieces but watching it again I was stunned at just how funny the movie actually was. There are tons of jokes in the film that had me laughing out loud. To even describe some of them would be to ruin it for anyone that is watching this film for the first time so I won't. I will say that I found the jokes in this film to be funnier than anything I've seen on SNL in the past few years.

The movie has been restored with a 4k transfer and it looks amazing considering the source material. I know watching it I thought it looked far better than the last time I saw it back when VHS was the source material for most movie fans. Looking good might not make it a great movie but it does make it easier to watch.

The extras on this one are numerous and include and audio commentary track by writer/director John DeBello, writer/co-star Peace and creator Costa Dillon, 3 deleted scenes, LEGACY OF A LEGEND a collection of interviews, CRASH AND BURN a discussion about the helicopter crash scene, FAMOUS FOUL an interview with the San Diego Chicken, KILLER TOMATOMANIA a number of interviews with people on the streets of Hollywood about the film, WHERE ARE THEY NOW? tells you what the cast and crew are up to these days, WE TOLD YOU SO! takes a look at the fact that the topic at hand here is now news with people upset over GMOs, SLATED FOR SUCCESS an interview with the slate girl on the crew, GONE WITH THE BABUSULAND the original 8mm short that inspired the film, the original theatrical trailer, a production design photo gallery, radio spots, Eater eggs, a collectible small poster and for the first pressing only a limited edition retro 'Video Store Style' slipcover/O-card.

The release is the second of MVD's Rewind Collection, films that were not the most popular titles but that lined the shelves of video stores across the country. Here's hoping that they continue to do as good a job with their following titles in the collection. This one is not the throw away item that most would think it was from past reviews or hearing about it back in the 70s. Instead it's a movie that one you see will be one to keep on hand. It makes a good movie to get a laugh out of or to put on during a party one night. The end result is the movie isn't nearly as bad as those making it hoped it would be.

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