The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
Directed by:
Roger CormanCast:
Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, Jack Nicholson, Myrtle Vail, Karyn Kupcinet, Toby Michaels, Leola Wendorff, John Herman Shaner (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
In this darkly comic cult classic, Gravis Mushnik's (Mel Welles) skid row flower shop is financially floundering, and he's ready to fire his inept assistant Seymour Krelborn (Jonathan Haze). But then Seymour shows Mr. Mushnik the unique, new plant species he's created called Audrey Jr. With visions of dollar bills, the opportunistic Mushnik uses the plant to draw people into his shop and is successful at drumming up business. But the plant soon begins to wither and Seymour fears that Audrey Jr. is going to die - unless he can figure out what it needs to grow. It seems like Seymour's problems are over when he accidentally cuts himself and a drop of blood lands on the plant, instantly reviving it. But as Audrey Jr. grows bigger, it demands more and more blood, forcing Seymour to go scouting for fresh human flesh. Luckily, Seymour won't have to go far, because on the seedy side of town there are plenty of undesirables who won't be missed - like Wilbur Force (Jack Nicholson), a pain-loving masochist. And then there's Seymour's psychotic, sadistic dentist… (Echo Bridge Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (2)
The Little Shop of Horrors has nothing to do with the horror genre except for the hungry carnivorous plant prop that feeds on human flesh. It is a low-demand comedy, somewhat similar to the Czech film Adela Has Not Had Her Supper Yet, but without the sophisticated artistic aspect, magical dialogues, and the screenwriting brilliance of Jiří Brdečka. The presence of Jack Nicholson is episodic and only documents the beginnings of his acting career. It is an unambitious, cheap, and quickly made film, but as a one-time watch, it's decent because it does not pretend to be anything and does not go beneath the surface of general taste. The dialogues also contain a few decent jokes, and the film has a certain social dimension due to its setting in a poor neighborhood. Overall impression: 50%.
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Little Shop of Horrors is an American production that is a beautiful example of the fact that Roger Corman made really great movies, not simply the incredibly low-budget ones, where it was easy to overlook the quality and the message. This is a low-budget movie, albeit with a really good plot. In addition, because the movie was also conceived as a slapstick comedy, it has that extra something. Even after sixty years, this movie is great and there is not much to fault it for.
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