Happy month of Halloween everybody! And welcome, to the 13 Nerdy Nights of Horror Year 3, where I’ll be playing catch up, looking at some of the horror films that have come out within the past year, as well as celebrating some classics or personal favorites of mine. If you’re new to what I do, then please redirect yourself to the two previous years that I’ve done as written blogs. Of course, 2016 is already a pretty scary year, considering what’s been going on, but that’s beside the point. Much like last year, we’ll be looking at a horror musical that I’ve discussed in the past. This time around, we’ll be looking over the film that will be celebrating it’s 30th anniversary: “Little Shop of Horrors.”
For those who don’t know, “Little Shop of Horrors” was originally a 60’s B-horror film, directed and produced by Roger Corman, was about a young plant shop worker, Seymour, who comes into possession of a plant that feeds off of blood. The infamy of this plant brings Seymour fame and riches, but at the cost of human lives. If you know anything about Roger Corman, you’ll know that he makes films fast and cheap, and “Little Shop of Horrors” is a prime example of that. However, due to its execution and dark comedic delivery, the film developed a massive following, which lead to the film becoming a successful Broadway musical, and the musical being adapted into a 1986 feature film; the subject of today.
The musical was developed by the duo of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the song writing duo that went on to work on Disney classics such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” and “Beauty & the Beast.” Yeah, try showing THIS to your kids during a marathon. Anyways, when the musical was being developed into a movie, it was going through trouble with finding a proper director for the job, going from people such as John Landis to even Martin Scorsese, who wanted it to be in 3D. However, it didn’t get either, and the job was given to Muppet veteran, Frank Oz, and the rest went from there.
So how did the remake turn out? Much to a lot of people’s surprise, “Little Shop of Horrors” is one of those rare occurrences, where the remake is universally loved more than the original. I think a lot of that came from the fact that the camp value that was present in the original transitioned extremely well, and I think making it a musical made it a lot more acceptable to take in. Not only that, but when it comes to musical to film adaptions, “Little Shop of Horrors” and its camp value manage to make the transition feel really natural, as opposed to usually being in an awkward imbalance between the two. With a story like this, which was kept in the 1950’s, it feels more believable that these kind of characters would be singing out of the blue.
Speaking of the singing, the cast is absolutely perfect in these roles. Rick Moranis as Seymour was such a spectacular choice. The timid nature, the good-hearted attitude, and that optimism for success was realized so damn well. Not only that, but even his singing voice is really damn good. Whether it was performing “Grow For Me” or the duet songs like “Suddenly Seymour” and “Feed Me (Git it),” he showed a lot of effort into them. It makes me wish he did more musicals movies, because he showed some promise. As for Ellen Greene as Audrey, she really sells it with the stereotypical girlfriend who dates the bully, but goes for the nerd later on. While it is a common cliche with most movies, Audrey is well aware of her feelings for Seymour, and the way Greene plays it off is deeply touching, even with her somewhat annoying voice that does fit the character. It was a role that she enjoyed so much that she ended up reprising it decades later, and still does great with it. Let’s not forget, the film is littered with cameos of actors from the 80’s, such as John Candy as a radio DJ, Christopher Guest as the first customer to take notice of Audrey II, Bill Murray as the masochist dental patient (which in the original was played by Jack Nicholson in his first film), and even Jim Belushi (Paul Dooley in the original ending) as the marketing executive that plans to franchise Audrey II.
Of course, it wouldn’t be “Little Shop of Horrors,” without both of its villains. First up, we have Dr. Orin Scrivello, DDS. Oh my god, you could not have gotten anybody more perfect for this role than Steve Martin. Every time he shows up on screen, he’s just chewing the scenery down to it’s every last bit. The energy he has is so radiant, that you can’t take your eyes off of him, no matter how hard you try, and no more is that evident than in his song number, “Dentist!” And last, but definitely not least, is Audrey II. Because it had the masterful Frank Oz at the helm, the effects with Audrey II are absolutely magnificent. Even by today’s standards, they still look amazing, and with it being practical effects as opposed to CGI, it adds to the horror, because its something actually there. Hell, the effects were so good that they were nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. Then we have Levi Stubbs voicing the creature itself, and it is easily some of the best work he has ever done during his career. He gives Audrey II such a perfect blend of a sinister presence and a comedic personality, that it makes it so much more memorable than it needed to be. If you want further proof of that, just watch the number written specifically for the film, “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.” Interesting fact, the song was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar, which Levi Stubbs performed, and was actually the first song with profanity to get nominated. Eat your heart out, “South Park!”
Now one major thing to mention is the ending. When the film was originally shown at test screenings, people who weren’t familiar with the musical were upset about the ending, thus the studio requested a new ending to be shot. Because of this, the theatrical cut was shown instead, and the original was never shown until it was released on DVD in black and white, then put back in on the blu-ray as “The Director’s Cut.” How did I feel about both endings? Well, to be honest, I’m happy with both endings, but I do agree, the original ending that’s from the musical is the one to go with.
If you’re curious, go out and buy the blu-ray and add this to your collection. It’s definitely worth a buy, especially for the Halloween season. After 30 years, it still remains one of the best remakes.
Rating: 10/10
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