Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
| The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | John DeBello |
| Produced by | John DeBello Stephen Peace |
| Written by | John DeBello Costa Dillon Stephen Peace |
| Based on |
Original Idea: Costa Dillon |
| Starring | David Miller George Wilson Costa Dillon |
| Music by | John De Bello |
| Cinematography | John K. Culley |
| Edited by | John De Bello |
| Distributed by | NAI Entertainment |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $567,000 |
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a 1978 musical horror black comedy film directed, produced, edited, scored and co-written by John DeBello and co-writer David Miller, who also starred as the lead role. The film is a spoof of B movies. Made on a budget of less than US$100,000, the story involves tomatoes becoming sentient by unknown means and revolting against humanity. Writing credits were shared by DeBello, Costa Dillon, and Stephen Peace.
The success of the film led to three sequels, all directed and co-written by DeBello.
The film opens with a scroll saying that when Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963) was released, audiences laughed at the notion of birds revolting against humanity, but when an attack perpetrated by birds occurred in 1975, no one laughed. This is followed by a pre-credits sequence of a tomato rising out of a woman's garbage disposal unit. Her puzzlement turns into terror as the tomato draws her into a corner. Following the credits, the police investigate her death. One officer discovers that the red substance she is covered with is not blood, but tomato juice.
A series of attacks perpetrated by tomatoes occur (including a man dying by drinking tomato juice made from a killer tomato, a boy heard being gobbled up by a killer tomato, and a sequence where the tomatoes attack innocent swimmers, in a parody of Jaws). While the President's press secretary Jim Richardson tries to convince the public that there is no credible threat, the president puts together a team of specialists to stop the tomatoes led by a man named Mason Dixon. Dixon's team includes Sam Smith, a disguise expert who is seen at various points dressed as, among other things, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler; Navy diver Greg Colburn; Olympic swimmer Gretta Attenbaum; and parachute-toting soldier Wilbur Finletter.
...
Wikipedia