Blu-ray Review: RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES (1988)

RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES
Directed by:  John De Bello
Distributed by Arrow Films / MVD Entertainment Group

  Just when you think it's safe to go back to the produce isle comes RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!   I have to admit, I had never seen this film before now. It's a cult classic that I have always known about, but somehow just never managed to watch.  Here is the plot of the film from the MVD website:

  THE VEGETABLES OF DOOM! The killer tomatoes are back! But this time around, they're going to have to contend with late '80s George Clooney and his wicked mullet... Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Nope, it's Return of the Killer Tomatoes! Ten years on from the Great Tomato War, mankind lives in fear of another uprising by the waxy red menace. Meanwhile, Professor Gangreen - played with gusto by the great John Astin from TV's The Addams Family - sets out to pursue his own evil ends by creating a burgeoning army of tomato militia men (who, somewhat conveniently, look just like regular men). Following on from the 1978 cult classic Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Return of the Killer Tomatoes came armed with a healthy sense of its own ridiculousness and would expand upon a franchise that now comprises four films, two TV series and a video game. So what are you waiting for? Make Return of the Killer Tomatoes one of your five-a-day now!

  Ok, you know what you are getting yourself into as soon as you put in a movie about killer tomatoes.  You expect cheesiness and that's exactly what you get.  This is 80's cinema at it's finest and it is a lot of fun! The first thing this film made me think of was some of the old Troma films, like CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH, and TOXIC AVENGER.   If you love those types of movies, then you will love this one for sure!  It follows the exact same mold of those films.  

  One thing I always knew about this film was that it had George Clooney  in it.  I expected a very small role, but he was one of the main stars in the film.  It was interesting to see him acting at such a young age, and while most of the acting  (or over-acting to be more precise) was pretty bad, you could see at early in his career he was way ahead of most of the other actors.
 
  Overall this was an extremely fun film that I encourage you all to check out.  Arrow Films has done another great job with this release.  RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES is available now from Arrow Films and MVD.  The Blu-ray contains the following special features:

*  High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
*  Original Stereo audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
*  Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
*  Brand new audio commentary with writer-director John De Bello
*  Brand new interview with star Anthony Starke
*  Original Theatrical Trailer
*  Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
*  Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by critic James Oliver


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray