ReView: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is a Chomping Cult Classic

The 1986 movie-musical is a gut-busting, essential Halloween watch.

Directed by Frank Oz, “Little Shop of Horrors” is an adaption of the 1982 off-Broadway musical, which is in turn an adaption of the 1960 movie “The Little Shop of Horrors.”

Set in the ‘60s slum of an unknown city known as Skid Row, the film follows Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis), a geeky florist in love with his high-pitched coworker Audrey (Ellen Greene). 

When Seymour discovers a venus flytrap-esque plant after a solar eclipse, he names the alien succulent Audrey II (voiced by Levi Stubbs). While pursuing Audrey’s affection, Seymour increasingly struggles to satiate Audrey II’s diet — human blood.

Greene reprises her role as Audrey from the off-Broadway musical, a performance that seamlessly translates from the stage to screen. Greene walks a fine line as Audrey, careful to not reinforce the dumb blonde stereotype while still showing emotional vulnerability in her portrayal. 

In “Somewhere That’s Green,” Audrey sings about wanting to be a suburban housewife, but not because she desires docility — because she wants a caring family to be important for, a stark contrast to her life in Skid Row with her abusive boyfriend.

In a similar vein — or, rather, vine — Moranis’s character is depicted not as a stereotypical awkward nerd, but as a shy botanist who hasn’t had the chance to prove himself. Seymour begins the film as a klutz, but gradually builds his confidence to finally stand up for himself by the film’s murderously floronic end.

Seymour’s growing confidence is first seen in “Feed Me (Git It),” where he discovers Audrey II can talk, and more grimly, that it requires a diet of a whole human body to grow. Audrey II convinces Seymour that Audrey will only love him if he nourishes him, a gruesomely symbiotic relationship. Finally breaking under pressure, Seymour vows to kill, much to the hungry sprout’s delight.

The film’s highlight is its soundtrack. Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken combined rock, doo-wop and Motown on the original off-Broadway soundtrack, who’s songs the film rerecorded with a more cinematic and full sound. Some songs were completely reworked, such as “Some Fun Now,” which became a calypso-infused track.

Three Skid Row teens — Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon — act as a sort of Greek chorus in the film, providing background vocals for nearly every song.

“Mean Green Mother From Outer Space,” a song written specifically for the movie, reveals Audrey II’s plans for world domination in the climatic final fight. The song’s visuals aid its absurdity, as an array of evil plant buds sprout from Audrey II to sing maliciously in chorus. The boastful, taunting song was later nominated for Best Original Song at the 59th Academy Awards.

Another bright spot of the film is its mix of slapstick comedy, one-liners and visual gags. The comedic bits don’t take away from the sinister atmosphere of the movie but instead, build upon the dark comedic environment the characters inhabit. 

Several comedians make surprise cameos in the movie, such as Jim Belushi, John Candy and Christopher Guest. Among the guest stars, Bill Murray plays an overtly masochistic dental patient, stealing the scene from Steve Martin’s sadistic, nitrous oxide-addicted dentist, Orin. 

As Audrey’s abusive partner, his pleasure from enacting pain is foiled by Murray’s over-the-top delight at his dental “procedure.” 

The practical set design of Skid Row captures the damp griminess of a slum, complete with a working train in the background. The suburban set for “Somewhere That’s Green” looks straight out of a 1960s magazine — a perfectly cut green lawn, a green facade and a patio complete with plastic white chairs and a yellow umbrella.

One of the film’s most notable achievements lies in its standout puppetry. Six differently-sized variations of Audrey II puppets — the largest of which needed 60 puppeteers to operate — are a pinnacle of practical effects used by Oz (“The Dark Crystal,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan”). 

Filming the puppets at a lower frame rate of 12 to 16 frames per second, Oz sped the footage up to the standard 24 frames per second afterward. 

As a consequence of the slower frame rate, actors had to move/talk in slow motion to maintain their speed in relation to Audrey II’s. They then later dubbed over their lines. The final product is hyper-realistic, with fluid movement from the puppet making it seem like Audrey II is truly alive.

Even more than 30 years later, “Little Shop of Horrors” bleeds with charismatic performances, a killer soundtrack and stunningly timeless visuals.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is available for video on demand.