George Clooney’s Cult Horror Comedy From The ’80s Is Streaming On Prime Video

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George Clooney has been one of Hollywood’s biggest stars for nearly three decades. Not just in front of the camera either, as he flexed his muscles as a director frequently in the 2000s, directing films like his black-and-white Edward R. Murrow biopic “Good Night, and Good Luck,” Netflix’s “The Midnight Sky,” and “The Tender Bar.” But everyone has to start somewhere, and for Clooney, it was horror movie sequels — one of which you can stream now.

Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, “Return of the Killer Tomatoes” is the sequel to the 1978 low-budget horror/comedy classic “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.” It was one of Clooney’s first major roles in a feature film, following the “Jaws” adaptation of “Grizzly II: The Revenge,” which wasn’t actually released until years later because it was so bad. So this was an important entry in the actor’s filmography, as it was one of the first times audiences saw him show off his skills on the silver screen.

The events of the second part take place years after the Great Tomato War witnessed in the first film. As a result of that war, tomatoes are still banned throughout the country. However, there is a sinister plot hatched by the evil Professor Gangren (John Astin) as he works hard in his laboratory, transforming tomatoes into perfect human versions designed to help him take over the world. Clooney played a ladies’ man named Matt Stevens.

John DiBello’s “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” was a success on a small budget. It even spawned an often-forgotten animated TV series. It took a full decade, but DeBello eventually returned with the sequel, which was also a success considering its small budget.

It helped give the franchise more life, with two additional series in the following years in the form of 1991’s “Killer Tomatoes Strike Back!” And the movie “Deadly Tomatoes Eat France” in 1992! Perhaps not surprisingly, Clooney did not return for any of those sequels. By then, he was on his way to becoming a bigger star, scoring roles on shows like “Roseanne” and “Bodies of Evidence” in the early 1990s, before making it big as Dr. Doug Ross on 1994’s “ER.”

Clooney left ER after five seasons to pursue his film career, which proved to be a wise decision. He starred in Robert Rodriguez’s vampire thriller “From Dusk Till Dawn” in 1996 before playing Batman in 1997’s “Batman & Robin,” although Clooney has said it ruined the franchise, since the film was not well received at the time of its release. Anyway, for him it was up and up from there.

In the years that followed, he starred in a series of successful films, including “The Perfect Storm,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Michael Clayton,” “Up in the Air,” “Gravity,” and others. He has been nominated for numerous Academy Awards over the years, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Syriana.”

For all that Clooney has accomplished in his career, “Return of the Killer Tomatoes” is a strangely important starting point. One that has continued to achieve cult status, we might add. It even got a special edition Blu-ray from the folks at Arrow Video in 2016. There are definitely worse movies one can relate to.

You can also get “Return of the Killer Tomatoes” on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.