Starring
David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor, Stephen Peace, Ernie
Meyers, Eric Christmas, Ron Shapiro, Jack Riley, Al Sklar, Dana
Ashbrook. Directed by John DeBello. (1978, 87 min).
About
halfway through reviewing Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, my daughter came into the room just as a character was
fleeing in terror from one of the titular creatures - obviously
rolled like a bowling ball by a crew member just off-camera. She gave
me a questionable glance and quipped, "Really? Why?" I
replied that it inspired fond childhood memories.
As
part of MVD Visual's "Rewind Collection," this Blu-Ray of
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is obviously intended to evoke
nostalgia in the slightly-south-of-sanity crowd, who once ventured to
Mom & Pop video stores in search of lowball laughs. Chances are
you once had this title among the stack of tapes tucked under your
arm, either to laugh with it
or at it.
But I can do VHS vanguards one-better. Not to date myself, but yours-truly actually paid
to see Attack of the Killer Tomatoes at the Mall 205 Quad
Cinema (RIP) when it was first released in 1978, choosing it over
Heaven Can Wait playing next
door (hey, I was15). I laughed, both with it and at it, as
well as my own self for throwing away perfectly good lawn-mowing
money on a one-joke premise built around an
intentionally stupid title...a common gimmick nowadays, but pretty rare
40 years ago.
 |
| James Cameron, eat your heart out. |
40
years??? It seems like just yesterday that I found the film's
deadly ditty, "Puberty Love," supremely chuckleworthy
because it had 'puberty' in the title. But indeed, Attack of the
Killer Tomatoes turns 40 this year, long-since earning the status of cult classic. No point in voicing an opinion here, since anyone
interested in this disc already knows if it's good, bad,
so-bad-it's-good, a good attempt at a bad movie or a bad attempt at a
bad movie. I think it goes without saying the film is all those things.
Newcomers, however,
might be surprised to discover the concept of making an intentionally
bad movie didn't start with Sharknado. It probably didn't
start with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, either, though it
was arguably the first to get everyone's attention. And while
non-sequiturs are a common staple of modern parodies, this one beat
Airplane! into theaters by a few years. This may not make one
appreciate the film any more - it still plays like an overlong
Saturday Night Live sketch - but let's give credit where it's
due.
 |
| "What do you think? I paneled it myself." |
Disciples
of DeBello & Friends, on the other hand, will find lots to love here. For
such a scrappy homegrown movie, this Blu-Ray features a pretty
impressive video transfer; I don't recall the film looking this good
even in theaters. It's also loaded with informative and entertaining
bonus material (listed below), and fans should be pleased that many
of the featurettes are as irreverent as the film itself. If nothing
else, the filmmakers have no illusions about their place in movie
history.
None
of us who remember the film have any illusions, either. Attack of
the Killer Tomatoes is what it is...a silly farce made by a bunch
of guys whose ambition exceeded their finances (and talent). Whether
we're laughing with it or at it, the fact we're still talking about
it has to count for something.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES
(most are of the tongue-in-cheek variety):
"Legacy
of a Legend"; "Crash and Burn" (how the accidental
copter crash was incorporated into the film); "Famous Fowl"
(an 'interview' with the San Diego Chicken); "Killer
Tomatomania"; "We Told You So"; "Where Are They
Now?"; "Slated for Success" (a profile on the film's
slate clapper)
"SUPER
DUPER 8 PREQUELS" - Two shorts made before the film, including a
'rough draft' of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
SING-ALONGS
OF ALL SIX SONGS (including everyone's favorite, "Puberty Love")
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By director John DeBello, Steve Peace & Costa
Dillon.
DELETED
SCENES
TRAILER
RADIO
SPOTS
MINI
POSTER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...AND YOU THOUGHT MATT CAMERON WAS SIMPLY A GOOD DRUMMER.
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