"We have to convince the little housewife out there that the tomato that ate the family pet is not dangerous! "
"Attack of the killer Tomatoes" belongs in the small group of movies which are so bad, that they are actually worth watching, just for academic purposes. Other members of this small, elitist group being Plan 9 from outer space, Kentucky Fried Movie and Titanic. But while Titanic and Plan 9 are incredibly boring, Tomatoes actually holds (at least for most of the time) the hapless viewer in his seat with a mixture of masochistic fascination and unbelieving laughter.
The movie was made on an ultra tight budget: the extras are mainly students, the special effects are neither special nor effects (when the killer tomatoes attack, all you hear is a "lololollololololololollolo" chant and some run of the mill tomatoes rolling towards the "victim"), and when Jack Riley (then a minor TV-Star), had a helicopter accident on camera, the botched landing was kept and went straight in the film, making this the only believable action sequence.
The plot is quickly told: Tomatoes, genetically modified by poisonous pesticide, attack the population of San Diego, and only hapless Policeman Mason Dixon (David Miller) and his crew can save the world.
The production values are horrible: No ambient sounds, skipped frames, horrible lighting, boom mikes frequently hanging in the picture, crap sound that has to be believed. Then there's the god-awful theme song and the horrible Puberty Love. The couture is right out of Starsky and Hutch and the jokes have dated with time.
Nevertheless:
Some of the jokes work really well, some verge on the hilarious, and it is just a masochistic joy to sit through it all.
A classic that should be seen to be believed!
Source: A tomato whispered it last night in my ear.
No, Wait: imdb.com