Review of Little Shop of Horrors (1986) by Laura M — 07 Jul 2010

Ready for something weird and wonderful? Do you miss the old-school movies of your youth? Tired of movies with more special effects than story lines? Good, you should be. If musicals aren't your ilk, suck it up and get out of your comfort zone. So few movies blend more than two genres successfully, let alone be regarded as comedy, horror, musical and science fiction all at once. Hollywood doesn't really make musicals anymore, unless you count High School Musicial, which you wouldn't unless you're ten years old, so it's nice to see that a musical has been made into a cult classic.

I first watched Little Shop of Horrors when I was very young, and very scared of the talking plant, but it's always stayed with me, so naturally I'm biased.

The movie opens with three singers walking through the streets of Skid Row, in downtown New York, eventually arriving at the little shop in question. We meet Seymour, played by Rick Moranis, a fumbling, clumsy employee of Mr Mushnik, the frustrated and unsuccessful owner of the florist shop in a rough, rundown part of town. As a child Seymour lived in an orphanage, until Mushnik took him in. That's not to say they have a good relationship though, as Mushnik constantly undermines Seymour. Audrey arrives to work late, overdressed, but sporting a black eye, evoking the sympathy of Mushnik. One day during a total eclipse of the sun, Seymour finds an unusual plant in an Asian shop, similar to a Venus fly trap, and puts it in the shop window. This prompts sales for Mushnik, as people are so intrigued by the plant that they come into the shop and buy flowers. Seymour, who has named the plant Audrey 2 in honour of his colleague whom he has feeling for, discovers that the plant is hungry for more than plant food and water. Seymour soon realises that Audrey 2 feeds off human blood to survive, as he learns at the expense of his own fingertips.

Steve Martin is Audrey's sadistic boyfriend, Orin, a dentist who enjoys inflicting pain on his patients, and demeaning Audrey. Audrey is a sympathetic character, low in self-esteem, who secretly believes that Seymour is too good for her, but dreams of having a life with him. Predictably, their thoughts cross paths- needless to say-through the medium of song.

Audrey 2 grows bigger and bigger as it feasts on human flesh, unapologetically devouring its victims. Luckily, no one is suspicious of the plant's rapid growth, nor do they suspect Seymour of murdering residents of Skid Row.

The musical numbers in the film serve to educate the viewer on the thoughts of the character, and their circumstances, and frequently replace conventional conversation. The characters are essentially exaggerated caricatures of archetypal characters of other movies: Seymour, the down on his luck geek who has a happy ending; Audrey, the beautiful girl stuck in a bad relationship because of low self-esteem; Mushnik, the mean boss looking for profit; and Orin, 1950s-style villain.

Ok, so by today's over indulgent cinematic standards, Little Shop of Horrors is far from perfect, but considering it's nearly twenty-five years old, it's not bad. I predict that there will be a remake in years to come, but despite advanced special effects available today, it won't beat with this version. Little Shop of Horrors is a thoroughly entertaining movie that has something for everyone, if you can get past your disdain for musicals that is.

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