Return of the Killer Tomatoes

PLOT:

Set twenty five years after the events of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!(referred to as the Great Tomato War in the movie), the basic plotline is that after the events of the first film (where the tomatoes were stopped by the worst song ever composed called “Puberty Love”) the misanthropic villain, Professor Mortimer Gangreen (Played by John Astin), has created a tomato transformation chamber by which he can turn ordinary tomatoes into humans. By dipping ordinary tomatoes into vats of toxic waste and then placing them into the chamber, Gangreen uses music to his advantage, as the juke box that is hooked up to the chamber syncs up with the tomato transformation chamber, allowing him to create virtually anything by the use of whatever song he’s picked. With these, he plans to conquer the world. Though the veterans of the Great Tomato War have something to say about that…

This film marks the appearance of FT, the Fuzzy Tomato. Other notable characters are Chad Finletter (Anthony Starke), nephew of Wilbur Finletter (the semi-main, but more popular, character of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!) and his girlfriend Tara (Karen Mistal), who is actually a female Killer Tomato turned into an attractive girl by the device. Tara turns back into a tomato when she hears the opening musical notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; however, the musical notes of the theme to Gone with the Wind restores her to human form.

REVIEW:

A mad scientist who uses toxic waste to turn tomatoes into humans. Sounds like guaranteed entertainment, right?

This film is along the line of the Toxic Avenger series, a horrific spoof that never takes itself too seriously and makes no apologies for its badness.

John Astin somehow manages to fit the role of a mad scientist perfectly. Maybe its because this role is as eccentric as  the one he’s best known for, Gomez Addams from the original Addams Family. Professor Gangreen seems to have an unhealthy obsession with tomatoes, and beefcake men, apparently.

This film is one George Clooney’s earliest film roles. My jaw dropped when I saw his name in the credits, but now that I think about it, many stars got their start in small films such as this. Clooney shows flashes of the brilliant actor he will go on to become…or at least tries to with the material he’s given.

Karen Mistal is a total babe and may very well be the breakout star of this film. Such a shame she more or less disappeared after this film. She plays Tara, the runaway tomato who hooks up with the Finletter boy. Mistal has many of the film’s best scenes and lines, and apparently has a love for cooking toast.

Since the film is about tomatoes, you’d expect to see giant tomatoes, right? Surprisingly, there are none. The only tomato that isn’t normal size or turned human is the one called FT (Fuzzy Tomato), who functions as a pet of sorts for Tara and plays a very important role in the films climax.

One review  read about this film said it best, ”If you’re looking for a serious horror film, then you’d best look elsewhere.” This is so true, though when I would see this film in the video store when I was growing up, I thought it was a serious horror film. I was so wrong.

This is not the best film in the world. As a matter of fact, it loses momentum after the first hour or so. The scene where they initialize product placement, while meant to be funny, just kills the little momentum it has growing and eventually just becomes a lame joke. I think this could have been done better. The filmmakers should take a lesson from Mel Brooks when doing such jokes. Still, this wasn’t a total waste of time. It’s a good B-movie to watch, as long as you know what you’re getting into and don’t expect anything more. Still, there really isn’t anything to brag about here.

3 out of 5 stars