When one thinks of the camp films of the 1980s - and there are many, many to choose from - what comes to mind are classics like Xanadu, Flash Gordon, and Mommie Dearest. There is one, however, that doesn't get the love it deserves. It's a sequel to the classic “so bad it’s good” film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and given the original's cutting-edge special effects, Oscar-level acting, and memorable soundtrack (ah, "Puberty Love", how you did not win the Academy Award for Best Song is a disgrace), one would be forgiven for being unaware – or in complete disbelief – that it spawned a sequel, let alone a franchise. Yes, a franchise: three sequels and an animated television series. It certainly would not be much of a stretch to assume that these sequels are just as bad, if not worse, than Attack, and to give them a pass as a result. To do so, however, is to miss out on its first sequel, and the most underrated camp classic not just of the 1980s, but perhaps of all time: Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

What Is 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes' About?

Set ten years after the events of the first film's Great Tomato War, Return of the Killer Tomatoes picks up in an America where tomatoes have been outlawed. The absence of tomatoes has led to illicit affairs like tomato smuggling, and creative new ways to interpret classic tomato-centric recipes. Take pizza, for instance, where one can order pepperoni, extra cheese, and boysenberry sauce for delivery from Finletter's Pizzeria, which is where we catch up with Wilbur Finletter (Steve Peace), the great hero of the war, and his nephew Chad (Anthony Starke, the 3rd-person-speaking character Jimmy from the Seinfeld episode "The Jimmy"). Chad delivers a pizza to the home of Dr. Gangreen (John Astin) and is greeted by Tara (Karen Mistal), a young, attractive woman who claims to be Gangreen's lover. The truth, however, is a much darker red.

Dr. Gangreen is the mad scientist behind the rampaging tomatoes of the first film, and has developed a process where toxic waste and music can transform a tomato into a human replica, intending to take over the U.S. Tara is one such replica, as is his assistant, Igor (played by American Olympic gold medalist swimmer Steve Lundquist). But when Gangreen casts aside a mutated, fuzzy tomato, Tara comes to its rescue, dubs it F.T. (Fuzzy Tomato), and escapes to Finletter's Pizzeria and to Chad. The two start a relationship, but soon Tara is captured by Igor and returned to the lab, forcing Chad and his roommate Matt (George Clooney... yes, that one) to come to her rescue. They discover Gangreen's evil plan, and Chad - believing that Tara has been turned back into a tomato - tries desperately to bring Tara back. But Gangreen and Igor return to the lab, throw Matt and Chad into the dungeon, and squash "Tara" before Chad's eyes. But thanks to the heroics of F.T., Matt, and Chad are freed, the special forces team of the first film is reunited, Tara is found unharmed, and Dr. Gangreen is stopped.

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The Campy 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes' Is Legitimately Funny

Chad (Anthony Starke) and Matt (George Clooney) stand alongside the heroes of the Great Tomato War in 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes'
Image via New World Pictures

Insane? Yes. So why give Return of the Killer Tomatoes a chance? For starters, it’s genuinely funny. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes got its laughs by delivering on the sheer absurdity of its premise. There were tomatoes that attacked and killed. Return is more in the vein of a standard studio comedy, but one that consistently has something humorous happening on screen. The challenge of topping a pizza without using outlawed tomato sauce. A TV in the background with complete coverage of the "Full Contact America's Cup" yacht race ("It's the United States versus England, A rematch of a great rivalry going back some 200 years"). The KIGR news van is actually a dump truck. For those that suffer from metamfiezomaiophobia (fear of mimes... the silent killer), a pantomime that won’t go away gets punched in the face. Chad comes to the sobering realization that the lovely Tara is a tomato… because she’s eating a bag of plant food. A movie, Frankenstein's Mummy, plays on the TV and drops critical plot information, over and over until Chad pays attention. Return knows that it is ridiculous and has fun with it.

Elements are exaggerated, too, which only adds to the campiness of the film. Beautiful tomato-woman Tara's talents are over the top. In her own words, "I speak perfect English. I also cook 815 international dishes, perform 637 sexual acts, and use all the popular home appliances." Lundquist's Igor is so far removed from the stereotype it borders on parody. Rather than the hunchbacked sycophant, this Igor is a Greek god of a man, with a dream to become a news reporter. Think Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy mixed with He-Man, except with a blue sports jacket and shorts (it's a shame Lundquist hasn't appeared in more films - he has a real comic talent). Astin is, well, Astin. Few actors have ever perfected camp, and Astin is among the top. His Dr. Gangreen is brilliantly crazed, an exaggerated mad scientist, but reined in just enough so that the preposterous nature of his mad science doesn't go too far off the rails. Really, the only character that isn't exaggerated to some degree is Clooney's Matt, which makes his character all the funnier in comparison.

The Campy 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes' Is Brilliantly Satirical

Costa Dillon and George Clooney skewer product placement in 'Return of the Killer Tomatoes'
Image via New World Pictures

Return of the Killer Tomatoes is also rife with pointed satire. Much like Gremlins 2: The New Batch, it uses the platform to poke fun at product placement, rom-coms, merchandising, and more. The film begins with a parody of the local cable show, One Dollar Movie, with host Bob Downs (Michael Villani) introducing Return as the movie of the day. What begins playing instead is Big-Breasted Girls Go to the Beach and Take Their Tops Off, a hilarious riff on teen sex movies. Later, Chad and Tara have a rom-com montage to the song Touch Me There, which has lines like, "Boy, am I glad you’re not tomato paste."

Halfway through the film, the movie breaks the fourth wall as the picture has run out of money. Clooney suggests product placement, and what follows is a two-minute plus game of one-up-manship as Clooney’s Matt and another character (Costa Dillon) converse solely using product placements. Then, throughout the film, the placements keep showing up, including a Pepsi billboard at Gangreen’s mansion. News stories with, shall we say, additional "facts" to make the story more interesting are skewered by a televised exchange between a news reporter and a guest at a restaurant where a tomato was sighted. The reporter berates the woman ("Do the words 'fat cow' mean anything to you?") until she is appropriately too 'distraught' to talk on camera. And at the end of the movie as the hero of the film, F.T. is being lauded for his actions, the camera focuses on a little girl holding a plush F.T. doll, which then turns into a plug for the F.T. plush dolls being sold in the lobby of the theater (I love you, F.T.!”), a jab at merchandising that arguably is even funnier than Mel Brooks' Yogurt pushing Spaceballs merch in Spaceballs.

Return of the Killer Tomatoes would be followed up by Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! and Killer Tomatoes Eat France!, and a Saturday morning cartoon. The franchise has stalled since then, although kept alive in comics, homages, and even an April 2023 novelization of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes by author Jeff Strand. Return stands as the best, the ripest, if you will, of the Killer Tomatoes films. It's camp at its best, and while you may disagree, remember this: George Clooney – actor, director, Oscar winner, philanthropist – is often asked about any missteps in his career. His answer is consistently Batman and Robin and not Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Infer what you will.