Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Rating: **/*****, or 4/10

A not very successful attempt to parodize the monster-on-the-loose subgenre of horror and science fiction films of the fifties. The intriguing title unfortunately cannot live up to its expectations, though the plot does indeed revolve around giant tomatoes attacking and killing people, necessitating the US government to deploy a team of silly experts to combat this threat. Obviously shot on a very low budget, this movie does contain a few good jokes as well as a  fabulous opening song, but is otherwise rather dull and drags on for too long. It nevertheless managed to spawn no less than three sequels, the second film, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, generally being considered to be the only really worthwhile flick of the bunch for being genuinely funny and surprisingly co-starring a young George Clooney.

Starring: David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor

Directed by John De Bello

USA: Four Square Productions, 1978