Killer Tomatoes Strike Back!

This is the third in the four films of the Killer Tomatoes trilogy. Unlike the others, this one didn't even attempt a theatrical release and went straight to video. In fact, it almost seems to have been fit into the production schedule during a lull in the preparations for the climatic KILLER TOMATOES EAT FRANCE.

This installment takes the form of a police thriller. Rick Rockwell (the future "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?") stars as Lance Boyle, a Dirty Harry parody. J. Stephen Peace does his third and final turn as Wilbur Finletter, hero of the Tomato Wars and now a police captain. Crystal Carson is this installment's obligatory gorgeous blonde, in this case the biochemist Kennedi Johnson.

The ever-delightful John Astin returns as the nefarious Professor Gangrene, this time setting his sights on conquering through the world through the medium of daytime talkshows. Aiding him is the ever-faithful and ever-dim Igor, played as always by Steve Lundquist.

Aside from the original, this is probably the lowest-budgeted of the Killer Tomatoes series. Still, the creative team makes the most of their resources. Look for appearances in front of the camera by various members of the creative team.

The Killer Tomatoes series is almost a world in itself. The cast and crew do not appear to have been involved in many other film or TV projects. Given the gorgeous leading ladies, this is a bit of a tragedy. Still, given how few people ever get to make a single film, let alone complete a four-part trilogy, De Bello and his team have pulled off quite an accomplishment. Thanks, guys!

Professor Gangreen (the indefatigable John Astin) has returned once more, still intent on global domination. In KILLER TOMATOES STRIKE BACK!, he's decided to use television to create a world of stupefied tele-zombies (art imitating reality?). Through his insidious TV persona known as "Jeronahew", Gangreen sets his plot in motion.

Yes, there are plenty of killer tomatoes rolling around as well.

Can super-cop Lance Boyle (Rick Rockwell) and stunning tomatologist Kennedi Johnson (Crystal Carson) save us from Gangreen's plan to turn the world into a tomato-induced, talk show hell?

Another goofy entry in this juicy series, with plenty of social satire amidst the absurdity...

This is a silly, silly movie without a serious intent in its entire running time. But funny, it certainly is, and the high points are the all-too-brief scenes featuring Kevin West as a mad bank teller. I've bought the movie just for these scenes (though it is fun in general). West is one of the underrated comic wizards of our time, and the bank scene will convince you. I won't spoil it with details, but it's Deliverance meets PeeWee. A second Westian moment, in which he's held captive by the villains and discusses his odd proclivities, is priceless. I can say no more.

Overall, the film lacks the out-of-the-box wildness of the original, but hey, it's a Killer Tomatoes film and therefore not without some fruitful redeeming value. John Astin is, as always, John Astin. The premise is strictly Saturday morning cartoon. It's neither Brecht nor Hemingway, though it's both absurd and mercifully brief. But Kevin West is the draw, and no tomato is safe.

Unlike the others who have commented on this movie, I am not going to complain about it not being humorous or anything like that. (Before you go on, I want to remind you I am an insane, dumb, anime-obsessed 13-year-old who has nothing better to do, and I have not seen the other Killer Tomatoes movies.)

This movie strikes me as rather dumb. To me, that's okay, because I like dumb movies. Dumb movies make me laugh, and I love to laugh. This one has to be the dumbest of them all, though. I mean, tomatoes trying to kill people? That may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. But that's why I like it - it's a strange idea overall and that makes it funny.

This film essentially begins with an attractive woman (played by Debra Fares) running in the woods at night while being chased by an unseen attacker. Once the attacker catches up to her it is revealed that he is a man in a hockey outfit that looks eerily familiar to Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise. However, rather than being alarmed by his appearance, the young woman is relieved that he isn't a killer tomato. Just then, a noise is heard and both the woman and the goalie let out screams of horror when they find themselves surrounded by killer tomatoes wearing hockey masks and wielding chainsaws. The scene then shifts to a detective by the name of "Lance Boyle" (Rick Rockwell) getting an assignment to investigate a double homicide out in the woods. Being the rather clueless detective that he is, he immediately rules out killer tomatoes as the culprits even though a tomatologist by the name of "Dr. Kennedi Johnson" (Crystal Johnson) tries to convince him otherwise. It's also during this time that the notorious "Dr. Gangreen" (John Astin) makes a return appearance with plans to, once again, use killer tomatoes to take over the world. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film turned out to be one of those comedies that just wasn't very funny. At least, not to me. It does, however, have pretty good special effects and having an attractive actress like Crystal Johnson certainly didn't make matters worse. But even so, on the whole, I found the movie to be rather tedious and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.