Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes Essay

The movie The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978) by John DeBello is defined as a musical-horror-black-comedy, but most importantly it is known as a cult film. The movie depicts a world in which tomatoes are killers. Due to attacks, the president must create a specialist team to take down the killer vegetable. The team, composed of a lieutenant who never abandons his parachute, an underwater expert, and a master of disguise, must try and fight the seemingly indestructible tomatoes across the world. However, in the end it is a screechy teen pop song, “Puberty Love”, that makes the tomatoes retreat and the town rejoice. The B level film, produced by John DeBello with less than a hundred thousand dollar budget, was released in the United States

During the late 1970’s, horror films developed into a popular genre, beginning with The Exorcist, and cult horror films saw popularity as well, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre. However, teens were more inclined to see the blockbusters coming out in the later years, causing Grease to be one of the highest grossing films in this time period. The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes fit in with Cult horror popularity, but it was more humorous than the films becoming big hits, and it was not a blockbuster. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes became a cult film because of questionable content, not fitting society at the time, a minuscule budget, and through gaining a small following. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes has become a cult film that is so bad it is good, “It lacks so much logic, effects, story and talent that it is really worth looking at” (IMBD Commenter). One reason it has become a cult film is due to suppression, meaning the film is subject to censor, ridicule, lawsuit, or exclusion. The film contains violence and guns because the people are trying to kill the tomatoes, which can make it age censored to exclude young children and it may be ridiculed for the