Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) is a darkly comic, musical horror about Seymour Krelborn, a shy, hopelessly romantic florist’s assistant who discovers a mysterious, fast-growing plant he names Audrey II. At first the plant seems like a miracle—drawing customers and promising Seymour success and the attention of his crush, Audrey—but Audrey II’s appetite is sinister and increasingly demanding, and Seymour is forced into horrifying compromises as the plant grows and its ambitions grow with it. If you watch this film you’ll get a mix of big, catchy musical numbers, broad and slyly nasty humor, and pulpy horror — all delivered with energetic, campy performances. Rick Moranis brings awkward charm as Seymour, Ellen Greene is sweet and vulnerable as Audrey, and Steve Martin chews scenery memorably as Audrey’s sadistic dentist boyfriend. The plant itself (voiced with soulful menace by Levi Stubbs) is a show-stopping presence, realized through puppetry and effects that go from charmingly small to outrageously enormous. The movie shifts tonally between vaudeville-style gags, satirical bite, and genuinely tense, sometimes grisly moments. Overall the experience is entertainingly offbeat: you’ll laugh, feel sympathy for Seymour’s moral dilemma, tap along to rollicking songs, and squirm as the stakes escalate. It’s a glossy, slightly subversive fairy tale about ambition, desire and consequence—part musical, part horror-comedy—with enough heart and theatrical flair to make the strange premise work.

Actors: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia

Director: Frank Oz

Runtime: 94 min

Genres: Comedy, Horror, Musical

6.7 /10 81 /100 7.1 /10 7.3 /10