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!

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