All 'Killer Tomatoes!' Movies In Order
When Attack of the Killer Tomatoes debuted in cinemas in 1978, it proved that almost anything could become a movie monster. Made for less than $100,000, the independent parody film takes aim at the low-budget B-movies and monster films of its time, imagining a world where ordinary tomatoes suddenly become sentient and decide that humanity has had its day.
The film was not exactly a critical success, but its deliberately ridiculous premise eventually helped it become a cult favorite. That was enough to turn one very strange little movie into a franchise, with three sequels and a remake. Let's take a look at how to watch these movies in order, on streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+, before checking out the latest installment.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes begins with a series of bizarre attacks as tomatoes suddenly turn against humanity. While the government scrambles to calm the public, Mason Dixon (David Miller) and a specialist team prepare to fight the tomato invasion. But even the military is powerless against the increasingly aggressive vegetables (or fruit, if you want to be technically accurate).
The movie is deliberately cheap-looking, and jokes can be a little meh. But there's an interesting energy to the whole thing, especially when the film starts parodying disaster movies and government propaganda. It also helps that the filmmakers are willing to throw almost anything into the story. The film is perfect for fans of Knives Out (2019) who want something with a slightly stranger vibe.
Return of the Killer Tomatoes! begins 10 years after the Great Tomato War. Since tomatoes have been outlawed, disgraced Professor Mortimer Gangreen (John Astin) decides to use a bizarre machine to turn ordinary tomatoes into people. Things get complicated when he creates Tara (Karen Mistal), an attractive tomato who starts falling for pizzeria co-owner Chad (Anthony Starke).
Return of the Killer Tomatoes! is much more confident about being completely ridiculous than the first film. The movie constantly breaks the fourth wall and openly jokes about running out of money. It's ideal for viewers who enjoy self-aware comedies like The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), where the cast knows they're in a ridiculous movie and decides to have fun with it.
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! sees police assistant Lance Boyle (Rick Rockwell) team up with Tomatologist Kennedy Johnson (Crystal Carson) to investigate a string of strange murders in the woods. At the same time, Professor Mortimer Gangreen (John Astin), disguised as a talk-show host, is using subliminal mind control to brainwash members of the press into helping him take over the world.
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! leans hard into movie parodies and references to the earlier films, with the shower scene from 1960's Psycho and Lethal Weapon's (1987) Riggs and Murtaugh getting some especially goofy treatment. The movie is perfect for anyone who doesn't mind when stories get increasingly silly, like Spaceballs (1987).
Killer Tomatoes Eat France! sees Professor Mortimer Gangreen (John Astin) escape from prison and set up shop in a castle outside Paris, where he comes up with another plan for world domination. This time, the scheme involves an old prophecy, the return of King Louis XVII and his assistant Igor (Steve Lundquist), who happens to look just like the monarch.
Killer Tomatoes Eat France is very much a movie made for people who already understand what kind of nonsense they have signed up for. The French setting also gives the filmmakers plenty of room for goofy stereotypes, royal impersonation gags, and some genuinely strange tomato business. The sheer stupidity of the plot can be fun if you are already on the franchise's wavelength.
The latest installment in the franchise, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence, revolves around a young genius who creates a genetically engineered vegetable called MyTomato to help solve various food-related problems. Things go terribly wrong when a rogue produce-delivery AI merges with the experiment and gives the tomatoes a mind of their own and a dislike of humans.
Organic Intelligence takes the original movie's ridiculous B-movie premise and gives it a 2026 problem to make fun of. And bringing John Astin back as Professor Mortimer Gangreen is a nice bit of continuity. It's still very much a Killer Tomatoes movie, though, so anyone expecting polished modern horror is probably looking in the wrong place.
