1986
Rated PG-13
94 minutes (102 minutes Uncut)
Summary from Netflix: Plant yourself in front of the tube and veg out with Frank Oz's horticultural horror flick. Gawky Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis), looking for a way to save his job in a ramshackle, skid row flower shop, purchases a curious exotic plant hoping it will make business bloom. And it does. There's just one problem: The little creeper possesses a rapacious appetite for fresh human plasma … and it's mushrooming out of control!
My rating: ★★★★ out of 5
"Feed me, Seymour!"
Remakes are a tricky thing but Little Shop Of Horrors kinda holds a unique place in film history for holding it's cult status as a musical comedy horror film. There is a rumor that in 1960 Roger Corman placed a bet that he could make a budget movie in just a few days and figured by redressing already constructed sets and a group of actors willing to work for small pay he could even make a successful movie while doing it. That black and white film grew enough of a cult status in small theaters over the decades in midnight showings that a musical producer picked up the rights for making a stage play which also grew quite an audience of it's own over the years in off-broadway circles. Frank Oz, Howard Ashman, and Charles B. Griffith decided to adapt the musical version into a modern musical comedy and finally create a big budget version of Audry II using the skills of Lyle Conway.
I first watched this film when it was released in 1986 in a movie theater with my parents and a few of my friends. It was quite an experience from what I remember because I never really had gotten into musicals before and yet it kinda held my attention since it featured many actors I enjoyed as well as an awesome scary puppet beyond anything I've seen up to that point including Jabba The Hutt in Return Of The Jedi. Audry II just held the audience in stunned silence every time he was on screen and I could imagine that every kid sitting in the audience had many nightmares that night and never could look at a Venus flytrap the same way again afterwards. As a muscial it was very well done and got fantastic reviews and the special effects even earned the movie an Academy Award nomination for the groundbreaking work that was done on Audry II alone.
However there is a whole different ending to the film that was long rumored to be true because of special screenings of the movie that left quite an impression on the audiences that viewed it. Many behind the scenes photos and reports claimed that extensive sets were constructed with multiple versions of Audry II but never seemed to be shown within the movie as it was widely released. The cult status of the movie even grew wider over the years from rumors of that "lost footage" being locked away and interviews with Frank Oz who claimed that the film was drastically changed when Warner Brothers forced him to film a happy ending. Those who had seen the off-broadway musical version confirmed that the original ending which was made for the movie followed the story of the play and had Audry II's seedlings taking over the world.
For the 12th Anniversary of Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz was rumored to be finally making a special edition DVD that would make fans of both movies incredible happy. News through the video collectors grapevine buzzed when it was revealed that a rough cut of the "missing ending" was going to be included as a special feature along with more behind the scenes interviews and even a commentary by Frank Oz which covered everything including the original ending. It was released in 1998 for only a day before Warner Brothers was forced to recall the entire shipment because David Geffen still retained the rights for the unfinished footage of the ending and he was never asked for permission.
One can only imagine the level of cult status the film reached now as die hard collectors had refused to return their purchased copies and other fans wanted to see the special features that the later DVD re-release had removed. Those looking for a unopened mint or used copy of the special edition can expect to pay around $150 and upwards in the collector's market for a copy if they want it. Hollywood press has revealed that Declan O'Brien who directed Wrong Turn 3 had purchased rights for a modern horror remake of Corman's original film and that a possible 25th Anniversary Edition of the musical will be released in 2011 as well. Providing that Frank Oz and David Geffen can wrangle out further rights issues and David can finally release his own copy of the original cut to help restore the film for an official Director's Cut. I very much enjoy watching both the original Corman version AND the musical version every year as part of my Holloween marathon and having this special edition in my collection allowed me to enjoy both of them.
And for those who want to see the "original ending"... well, I'll be nice and help you along since finding a copy of the DVD is next to impossible.
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