“Excuse me, I couldn’t help noticing that strange and interesting plant. What is it?” The question on the minds of every patron that walks into Mushnik’s Flower Shop. The Audrey II is all the rage thanks to Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) and his secret gardening tips. Those tips just so happen to involve blood coming from the tips of his fingers. Pricked from the tips, to be exact. It’s all blood, puppetry and high musical notes as Doc, Thomas and Christopher come together to discuss Little Shop of Horrors in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary.
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 98 — Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Based on the Off-Broadway musical that was based on the 1960 Roger Corman B-Feature, Little Shop of Horrors takes the Mean Green Mother from Outer Space into the stratosphere. Directed by Muppeteer and Yoda himself Frank Oz, the film manages to balance the heavy musical heft of songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (known for their early 1990s era Disney work on Beauty & the Beast and The Little Mermaid) and the demanding special effects needs of the Audrey II puppet seamlessly. This Faustian tale of poor schmuck Seymour trying to impress the gorgeous girl he works with and respects Audrey (Ellen Greene) by feeding this plant (voiced by Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops) human blood is oddly relatable. Sure, there’s a raving mad dentist (Steve Martin) and a Greek chorus of Mo-Town back up singers, but that doesn’t stop this rousing story of love, death and foliage from making even the most cynical heart melt as it’s fed to a giant plant monster.
Doc, Christopher and Thomas are here to talk the laughs, the horror and the music on this one. It’s a mutual lovefest. Doc admits his initial shame from enjoying it among his circle of friends. Christopher regals us with tales of how he played the dentist role in his days as an actor. Thomas in particular is excited because Little Shop of Horrors is his most admitted favorite film of all time. That’s right. Favorite. Film. Of. All. Time. Naturally, Thomas takes the reins to guide Doc & Christopher through Skid Row. The discussion ranges from the origin point of the original Roger Corman film to the special effects wizardry that got Frank Oz, Lyle Conway and his team to bring Audrey II to life, creating what Thomas argues is the best special effects creation of all time.
We want to hear from you — the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or docrotten@decadesofhorror.com. We also want to be sure to thank Neon Devils for their killer track “Bone Chillin'” which we use for the intro and outro of this show.
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Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
