Little Shop of Horrors
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
One of the last great back-lot musicals, Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors tells the tale of a weaselly flower-shop assistant named Seymour (Rick Moranis), who finds fame, fortune and love while growing an unusual giant plant. The only problem is that the plant – named Audrey II after Seymour’s crush, Audrey (Ellen Greene) – prefers human blood and flesh to sunlight and water.
The blackly comic musical is full of catchy ear-worms and top-notch puppetry and boasts a who’s who of eighties comic talent in supporting roles. In addition to Rick Moranis as the sniveling Seymour, we’re also treated to Steve Martin as a Elvis-esque, psychotic dentist and cameos from Bill Murray, John Candy and Christopher Guest.
Test audiences didn’t get on with the film as originally conceived by Oz, and Warner Brothers insisted he add a happy ending for the films original release. Luckily, time has seen the studio come to its senses, and the re-released Director’s Cut, which is showing at HOME, restores Oz’s original, hilariously apocalyptic B-movie ending. This one comes highly recommended.
