Umm… Yeah. Let's face it: this movie is mainly known for the ridiculous title, which says "hilariously bad" in 5 words. Unfortunately, after 25 years it can't be considered good, and isn't bad enough to fall into the "so bad it's good" category. That makes it fall into another category: "Just kinda lame."

One of the film's better sight gags.

You can surmise the plot from the title: genetically mutated tomatoes turn on their creators and begin a killing rampage. The filmmakers manage to turn this one-punchline joke into a fairly entertaining first 15-20 minutes of film, including a funny spoof of the "cute girl killed in kitchen" horror movie cliché. The government wants to cover everything up, so they bring in "hilariously inept" investigator Mason Dixon to deal with the situation. He's funny for a little while, but it runs dry quickly.

The problem with this movie is that it reeks of filmmakers who thought of a hilarious title, then tried to write a script around it. While this system may work for Cameron Crowe, it doesn't for these guys. It reminds me of any of the terrible Saturday Night Live movies: it was a funny skit idea, but there just wasn't enough to go around for a feature length film.

As for the DVD itself, the cover proudly proclaims "25th Anniversary Edition." Interesting, since this is the first DVD release of this film, and it holds no extras or bonuses whatsoever save the theatrical trailer. Then again, after watching the film, there may just not have been much to add. The sequel Return of the Killer Tomatoes, on the other hand, has been out on DVD for years--most likely because it featured a very young George Clooney in the leading role. Whatever. (Editor's Note: There is also a Collector's Edition of the first movie, which does have a bunch of extras.)

Didn't this guy play Peter Parker on the 70's Spiderman T.V. show?

There's practically no smut in this movie, and when you're dealing with a film like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes that's a real problem. A whole bunch of healthy smut could've made this a far more fun experience. I mean come on, the title itself is a boob joke waiting to happen. Apparently the filmmakers wanted to go for a 1978 "PG" rating, and a lot of what could have been fun about this film got left behind. To sum up: if they were going for "good", they failed. If they were going for "so bad it's good", they failed. If they were going for "tribute to so bad it's good", they failed again. That means failure in my book.

(Click Here for DVD's Technical Specs)

BRYN