Skip to main content

Halloween Day by Day: "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" (1978)


The 1970's and 1980's was a bit of a strange time in history.  The threat of Cold War nuclear annihilation was balanced by whimsy and silliness.

Oh, and killer produce...

Random innocent people are being murdered.  At each scene, there is evidence of tomatoes being present.  Are tomatoes rising up and revolting against humanity?  Can they be stopped?  Will they be stopped?  SHOULD they be stopped?

And most importantly... WHO is the singer of the hit song, "Puberty Love"?

In an age where parody films consist of mostly vignettes using random pop culture references to tell a loosely coherent story while possibly garnering cheap laughs, it's kinda sad that we have to travel to the late 1970's for a decent, clever- albeit silly, horror parody.

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" is such a film  It parodies the classic B-movies that came before it, featuring creatures mutating and turning against humanity.  And it does so in a funny, honest, and entertaining way.  The story is extremely silly, but is just so much fun.  When I watched it as a kid, I laughed and enjoyed myself through out the whole movie.

As an adult, I found myself chortling and chuckling throughout the whole thing- and enjoying it as well.

Everything is fun about this movie.  The silly story, the silly characters, the silly acting, the silly effects- everything.  Modern parodies should watch some of the older ones- like this one, and take a few lessons from it about how to poke fun at- and have fun with, a genre like horror.

One of the things I've grown to dislike about modern parody movies is the lack of respect for the genre.  They mock it without appreciating the value that the genre has.  While "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" is making fun of the horror genre, by using some of the sillier tropes involved- you can still feel the affection and love the film makers have for the old B-movies that inspired it.

While this movie wouldn't be for everyone, I fully enjoyed it.  I will re-watch it from time to time- especially if I'm under the weather.  Give it a watch and decide for yourself.  For me though, it sits in "The Good".

Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  Nearly forgot!  The person that sings, "Puberty Love"?  Well, that's a teenaged Matt Cameron... who would later become lead drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.  Listen to it below!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zombie Bikers From Detroit (2001)

Over the years, it has been shown that with very little money, a skillful director can put together a high quality horror movie (John Carpenter's " Halloween ", " The Blair Witch Project ", and " Paranormal Activity " being a few of them).  So, when it comes to determining a movie's quality, budget is no longer a negative... Ken and his mother have moved from Hell, Michigan to Grosse Pointe near Detroit.  Upon his arrival, he meets the lovely Courtney, and her jealous suitor Chad.  While Ken and Chad square off, an evil is growing within Detroit and slowly spreading towards Grosse Point... where Ken will meet his destiny ... This week's " What Movie Wednesday " winner was " Zombie Bikers From Detroit "- a low budget horror movie that feels like it was put together as a school project.  High School, or College... I can't really tell. The premise- as stated in my little synopsis is interesting- as was the title.  ...
9 comments
Read more

Meridian: Kiss of the Beast (1990)

Sometimes, a director/producer will surprise you- such was the case during " Terrorpolooza 2012 " when I watched Charles Band's " Meridian: Kiss of the Beast " Catherine Bomarzini has come home after her father's death.  Needing company, she asks Gina to stay with her.  Soon, the two meet a wondering troupe of performers that Catherine invites to dinner at her castle. Catherine find herself pulled into a love triangle and an ancient curse that only she can break. After watching movies like " Evil Bong ", and " Demonic Toys ", I really wasn't expecting too much from this Charles Band movie- but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The story is actually quite interesting with lots of potential for eerie scenes, and character development.  It's a nice twist on the classic " Beauty and the Beast " story.  It's a bit slower than most of Band's other works, but moves smoothly and draws you with it. I have to ad...
Post a Comment
Read more

Demon Seed (Dean Koontz)

  Susan has withdrawn from the world  after her divorce from her abusive husband.  Her mansion contains state of the art household automation.  She is secure from the dangers of modern Life.  She is safe from an unsafe world... Too bad her mansion had other ideas... The idea of a Alexa/Siri controlled house going haywire may sound like something written within the past decade, but you might be surprised that Dean Koontz actually wrote this book back in 1973. That's right.  Just five years after " 2001: A Space Odyssey " hit theatres, Koontz wrote this book brining HAL to a more personal level, while predicting the advent of programs like Alexa and Siri. This book is actually a pretty quick read at 301 pages.  The story progresses and builds at a steady and fast pace.  The writing is smooth and seamless as the tension and events unfold before you.  I lost track of time as I turned page after page.  I loved that this book was written from ...
Post a Comment
Read more