Hello and welcome back to KID NOSTALGIA, your online guide to monster, science fiction and horror movies ranging from the classics that we all love to see to the more… obscure releases – ones like this! The Geffen Company presents a Frank Oz film LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Vincent Gardenia. Earlier today, I reviewed the original 1960 film by Roger Corman, but in 1986, Frank Oz remade the film to follow the stage production that had debuted in 1982, that Ellen Greene had also played Audrey in. So, having just watched the original, it’ll be interesting to make comparisons, and if it’s on YouTube, I might check out the stage production in my free time.
The film features several well known comedians from the time such as Steve Martin, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest and Bill Murray, essentially making this another feature length SNL skit. I mean, with a cast like this, it’s a guaranteed good time. Let’s not waste any more time and get right into it… after I’ve warned you that, as always, this post will contain spoilers, so viewer discretion is advised. Sometime in the early 60s on Skid Row, Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia) runs a small flower shop with his employees Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) and Audrey (Ellen Greene), and business is slow, so Seymour unveils a plant he got from a Chinese man just after a total eclipse. Okay, maybe not Biolantte, but I’m sure I could probably find something to do with the Chinese New Year to reference… uhm… nope, nevermind.
He names the plant Audrey II, and business immediately gets better, but the plant begins to wilt because nothing he gives it seems to sustain it. He accidentally pricks himself on a rose, and Audrey II seems to come to life and beckon for it by making sucking motions, so Seymour makes the dumb decision of feeding it. At least we get some neat stop motion effects from it, though. The thing grows to… well, they never specify, by a foot sound right.
Seymour takes Audrey II over to John Candy’s radio station, making him a local celebrity and also teaching us that Audrey II is a natural ass eater. Audrey’s stuck in an abusive relationship with Steve Martin, a “demented dentist” as the poster puts it, but she secretly shares Seymour’s feelings, and dreams of them moving to the Edward Scissorhands neighborhood and being a housewife… I’ve never heard someone actually want to do that, which just shows you how bad Skid Row is.
I’ll tell you now, the best thing about this, song wise, is probably the Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell as the backing singers, they have talent. Seymour continues to feed Audrey II his blood, making it grow to the size of a human quickly, making the place more popular than ever before. Audrey II starts talking and beckoning for more food and, for some reason, Seymour doesn’t question it at all. What follows is easily the best song in the movie, not necessarily because it’s a good song, but because of the puppet work and voice acting of the plant, I mean, this stuff looks convincing.
Seymour is against the moral implications of what the plant is suggesting, but when Twoey points out the dentist hitting Audrey in the window across the street, the next day, Seymour heads to the dentist’s with a gun. Nevermind killing people accidentally or in self defence like the original, Seymour is just willing to murder this guy, chop him up, and feed him to a goddamn talking alien plant. It might as well be self defence though, when you watch what happens. That said, Steve kills himself when he puts on a venturi mask full of nitrous oxide and accidentally breaks the valve.
Seymour chops up the body and feeds it to the frenzied plant, but Mushnik spots Seymour dismembering the body. The next day, Seymour and Audrey confess to each other, which seems very wrong considering he dismembered her boyfriend and fed him to a plant… but whatever, we’re supposed to be chill with this because the guy was such a dirt bag… I mean… okay, I guess. So remember, next time your crush is in an abusive relationship, kill their partner, then they’ll get with you… hang on a seco- Yeah, this movie’s mad.
That night, Mushnik confronts Seymour at gunpoint, and Seymour attempts to explain everything, but the now giant sized plant devours Mushnik whole, the second major difference to the original next after Audrey being in a relationship with the dentist. TV people are expected to arrive the next day with money to do a botany show, so Seymour plans to spend this last day in Skid Row and then use the money to leave with Audrey.
Audrey II demands for more food, but Seymour refuses to kill anyone more, so Seymour leaves to go to the butcher’s. However, while he’s gone, the plant manages to use the phone and ring Audrey and manages to convince her to go into the shop to attack her. Okay Audrey, but whatever you do, watch out for those tentacles, the plant was sold by an Asian! I joke, but… just watch. Seymour manages to rescue Audrey when Jim Belushi turns up to ask for Seymour to breed the plant for a lot of money to sell for the masses, but he then realizes that, for the sake of humanity, he must destroy the plant.
He goes inside and confronts the plant and realizes that he is way out of his depth, and learns that Audrey II is from outer space, which was already hinted from it turning up at the before pretty empty market after the eclipse, but just for the slow ones back there. It traps Seymour, but he grabs an exposed wire and makes Audrey II into a salad with it in an effect that kind of ruins the overall pretty convincing effects because of the bad animation, but whatever. Seymour comes out of the wreckage and embraces Audrey.
Some time afterwards, they get married and move into a little subburban house like Audrey wished, but in their guardan is another small Audrey II. Anyhow, how are they gonna explain all the murder and property destruction? Whatever, the end. That one’s still a lot of fun and a good budget homage to 50s B movies – the sort of thing that stuff like Night of the Creeps (1986) and Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) kind of wish they were. Anyway, that’s it for me. La- hang on a minute, alternative ending! Originally, Oz wanted to do the ending of the stage production, but producer David Geffen was against it, but let them make it because his heart was set on it, but test screenings went well… until the ending. And so, they changed it to the one we just watched. The ending we just watched was the theatrical ending, while what we’re about to watch it the stage ending, which I’ve never actually seen before, but I know what happens.
The plant calls Audrey and manages to get her to come into the store where it attacks her. Seymour turns up and manages to free Audrey from the plant’s grasp, but she’s too badly injured and dies after, for some reason, wishing for her remains be fed to the plant. But… why in the hell would you want that?! Apparently she wants it so it can get bigger and bring Seymour more success, but… whatever. He hesitantly follows her wishes and then attempts to kill himself by jumping off the roof of the shop, but is interrupted by Jim Belushi, saying he cut a piece off of Audrey II that then grew into another Audrey II, and is offering to pay him to cut more pieces off to grow and sell. Seymour confronts Audrey II, but instead of frying it, he is again caught under the rubble and then fished out by the plant and devoured. The plants are sold all over America, and promptly spread across the world, becoming giant sized, destroying buildings and eating people. The army attempts to fight them, but we don’t know the outcome, as one of the plants burst through the screen. Yeah, humanity’s probably screwed. This ending has impressive model work and puppetry, but being an upbeat comedy musical, killing off both of the main characters seems a little out of place. Neither of the endings are actually loyal to the original, which I guess makes sense because… well, you know what I mean if you saw the original or read my post on it. For now though, that’s it for me. Later!
Kid Nostalgia 