How to Watch Every Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! Movie in Order
If you were born in the ‘80s and grew up in the ‘90s, you likely caught at least one episode of kids' cartoon, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
What few realised is that the cartoon was actually based on a series of very silly B-movie films. The movies themselves have never achieved anything beyond cult status, but with a new film on the horizon, that could all change.
Ahead of the release of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence, why not deep dive into the cult franchise’s lore? Full of wacky and weird goings on, these movies might not be the most rooted in reality, but they are sure to leave a big dumb grin on your face. For the full experience, don’t forget to track down the cartoon series, too.
The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! franchise began in 1978 when director John De Bello decided to make a parody of classic B-movies.
Given the source inspiration already featured wild and wacky antagonists such as giant ants and bunny rabbits, coming up with something silly enough was a challenge. Then, the idea to turn the humble tomato into a terrifying threat came about, and movie mayhem ensued.
The story follows a series of attacks on people perpetrated by tomatoes of varying sizes. These tomatoes are happy to kill everyone, man, woman, or child, in their bid for domination. The film never explains the reasons for their uprising; they seemingly have just had enough of being eaten. A group are called in to investigate the strange occurrence and, after realising the tomatoes' weakness is a song - 'Pubertly Love' - they manage to put a stop to the invasion, only for a carrot to appear at the very end announcing “All right, you guys. They're gone now."
Sadly, a killer carrot movie has yet to materialise.
Exactly a decade after the first Killer Tomatoes! film came its sequel, Return of the Killer Tomatoes!
Of all of the Tomatoes! movies, this is the one most widely available and that audiences may remember, mainly due to its inclusion of a very big actor. Way before he made his name as Dr Doug Ross on ER, George Clooney played a hapless human tasked with helping save humanity from even more killer tomatoes.
This time, the origins of the tomatoes are revealed to be the result of experiments by a mad scientist, Professor Gangreen. Toxic waste is key in the tomato growth this time around, and the plot follows Clooney’s character and his friends trying to take down the professor, who is played brilliantly by the horror comedy icon that is John Astin.
The sequel also introduces tomato/human hybrid Tara and her cuddly tomato buddy, FT, characters that cartoon viewers will be very familiar with.
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! is the third film in the parody series and marks the first time that the mutated fruits were given faces. This was a key element in the cartoon, but it took till film three for the idea to enter director John De Bello’s head.
Having been established in the previous film, Professor Gangreen returns to cause more tomato havoc, this time by wielding mind control to assert his dominance over the human race.
If the previous movies aren’t zany enough, the third film is when the Killer Tomatoes! franchise jumps the shark with its heroes having to battle not only giant tomatoes, but also an enormous bacon, lettuce, and human sandwich.
In 1992, director John De Bello made his final film in the Tomatoes! franchise, Killer Tomatoes Eat France!
John Astin’s Professor Gangreen is back again, this time with a plot for global domination that involves a trip to France. Believing a prophecy from Nicodemus involving Louis XVII, Gangreen, with the help of his assistant, Igor, intends to claim France’s throne and use that as a springboard to take over the rest of the world.
As always, he has his giant tomato henchmen to take down any humans that stand in his way. This time the tomatoes, or one of them at least, can breathe fire, which leads to some horribly hilarious deaths. Luckily for humankind, a washed-up actor and the French woman he meets are on hand to put a spanner in Gangreen’s plans. The movie ends with Gangreen swearing he’ll be back.
It might have taken 24 years, but Professor Gangreen has kept his promise from the finale of the fourth film, returning in 2026 for Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence.
As Astin is now in his 90s, quite how prominent his return will be remains to be seen, but fans of the other movies will be delighted by his reappearance, no matter how small.
The first film not to be directed by John De Bello, David Ferino climbs into the directing chair for this modern-day tale of tomato torment. Envisioned as a reboot of the cult series, Organic Intelligence throws killer tomatoes and AI into the mix together to create smarter, faster, more bloodthirsty produce intent on enslaving humans.
