Director: Frank Oz
Screenplay: Howard Ashman
Based on the: 1982 musical Little Shop of Horrors, which was based on the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors
Starring: Levi Stubbs, Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest, Bill Murray
Country: United States
Running Time: 94 min (theatrical cut), 103 min (director’s cut)
Year: 1986
BBFC Certificate: 12
Actor Rick Moranis starred in some of my favourite films of the 1980s. Roles in my all-time number one movie Ghostbusters (1984) and its first sequel in 1989, Spaceballs (1987), Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989), and Parenthood (1989) made him a beloved star of the silver screen for my young self.
But perhaps his best performance – certainly one that allowed him to flex his theatrical acting muscle from comedy to drama to romantic lead to singer – came in 1986’s Little Shop of Horrors.
The film was directed by Frank Oz, voice of Star Wars jedi master Yoda and Miss Piggy, and by the mid-1980s director of cult classics The Dark Crystal (1982) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984).
Adapted from a 1982 off-Broadway musical by composer Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, itself adapted from a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman, the 1980s feature film version of Little Shop of Horrors is a fabulous musical horror comedy.
It follows Seymour (Moranis) who works at Mushnik’s Flower Shop on Skid Row, a rundown area of New York City, with Audrey (Ellen Greene), whom Seymour secretly loves, and their boss Mr Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia).
Mr Mushnik is about to shut down the shop due to a complete lack of customers and income, but Seymour attempts to save it with a special attraction, a strange plant he bought from a shop in Chinatown during a solar eclipse.
Named Audrey II after Seymour’s love interest, it turns out that the cute plant is both sentient and has a taste for blood, and is nurtured by Seymour who lets it suck blood from his fingers. It grows rapidly but inevitably eventually wants more than blood and tries to persuade Seymour to commit murder.
Meanwhile, a love triangle ensues between Seymour, Audrey and her boyfriend, a nasty dentist who is abusive to her, played by the always brilliant Steve Martin.
There is so much to admire and enjoy in the film, from the wonderful production design for the sets to the outstanding design of Audrey II, a character brought to life by a number of puppeteers, and the distinctive voice of Levi Stubbs. His voice is perfect for a marvel of creature design. Stubbs also plays a character in the early Skid Row musical sequence.
Moranis is terrific throughout. Charismatic, likeable and just perfect in the role, and equally great is Greene as Audrey, reprising her role from the original theatrical production. Their relationship is the heart of the film.
There are some wonderful cameos from the likes of John Candy as a radio DJ and Christopher Guest as the first customer to have his interest piqued by seeing Audrey II, to Jim Belushi and Moranis’s fellow Ghostbusters star Bill Murray as a masochistic dental patient.
And then there is Steve Martin as a sadistic dentist, who is introduced on a motorbike that he can seemingly stop with a flick of his hair. Dressed like a cross between James Dean and Elvis, he has a cracking song for his entrance that shows him performing dental surgery, the camera even looking at him from inside a mouth as a visual flourish in the song.
That’s just one of the terrific visual flourishes that feature, with others playing with time, jump cuts and other elements that keep the viewer visually engaged.
There are also some quite wonderful songs. Standouts include the title track that opens the film and introduces us to the world, one that takes us back to the solar eclipse that hit when Seymour bought Audrey II, and the fantastic Suddenly Seymour, which is reprised several times.
Special mention here for Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell who play a Greek chorus that appear throughout the film. They are outstanding singers.
Returning to the production and set design, one of the musical sequences features Audrey dreaming of a future with Seymour, which even involves an animated bird like a Walt Disney animated classic.
The disc includes the theatrical cut and the longer original director’s cut, which has a much, much darker ending based on the musical. There are some small changes from about halfway through the film, building to a significantly different ending that begins after Audrey II calls Audrey and she goes to the shop and comes face-to-face with the now huge plant.
Jim Belushi is absent from the director’s cut, his character entering at a different time and played by Paul Dooley. Audrey and Seymour die in the director’s cut and Audrey II and an army of man-eating plants – initially seen as the must-buy item before turning on the human race – go on a rampage and destroy the city, killing its citizens. It’s an apocalyptic ending which is brilliant and incredibly well choreographed and realised.
The director’s cut was the original cut but the downbeat and ultra dark ending failed to resonate with audiences, leading to the theatrical cut that viewers will be most familiar with.
I really like the theatrical cut for the happy ending I look for in a musical but I can’t deny the quality of the director’s cut, which I think is probably the incarnation I like most, simply because of how incredible the finale is.
Little Shop of Horrors is a terrific musical horror comedy. It is beautifully brought to the screen thanks to fantastic production and set design and, in giant plant Audrey II, has a superb antagonist which is fabulously voiced by Levi Stubbs and performed by a number of puppeteers.
It is a brilliant showcase for the great Rock Moranis who is ably supported by a committed cast and a treasure trove of star cameos, and features some fantastic songs and set pieces. It is among my favourite films of the 1980s, and one of my favourite musicals.
Film: 
Little Shop of Horrors is released on 4K UHD by Warner Bros on 19th October 2026. The transfer on both theatrical and director’s cuts is excellent, with plenty of rich detail showing the intricate design of Audrey II and the material in the costumes. It feels very natural and filmic with fine grain and strong colours. The audio is equally good, allowing the songs to boom, whilst dialogue, Miles Goodman’s score and effects are also given a chance to shine.
Special features:
Commentary on the theatrical cut by director Frank Oz
To Feed or Not to Feed: For the Love of Little Shop – new featurette
Mean Green Mother – Creating Audrey II – new featuretteÂ
Frank Oz and Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut
A Story of Little Shop of Horrors
Outtakes and deleted scenes with audio commentary by director Frank Oz
Director’s cut ending with audio commentary by Frank Oz
The archival commentary is fascinating. Oz is brilliant throughout all of the extras, and it is no different here with the director on fine form, providing plenty of insight and background on many aspects of the film and creative process.
The two new extras for this release are featurettes To Feed or Not to Feed: For the Love of Little Shop and Mean Green Mother – Creating Audrey II.
To Feed or Not to Feed is 15 minutes long, features Frank Oz and Ellen Greene and is really good for the short length. The challenges of bringing the musical to the screen are explored and there is a warm discussion about the creative elements and some of the cast, as well as the original ending.
Mean Green Mother runs for eight minutes and features Oz discussing Lyle Conway, who created the plant in the film, and also featuring special visual effects creator Brian Ferren in a nice but short creative look at the film. It gives some great insight into the challenges of bringing Audrey II to life, filming at 12 frames per second. Behind the scenes footage is included, which is fascinating.
Frank Oz and Little of Horrors: The Director’s Cut is an 11-minute piece that talks about the original ending. There are some decent insights from Oz and special effects artist Richard Conway, but these crossover with the other extras.
A Story of Little Shop of Horrors is a 23-minute making-of which was made at the time of the film. It features clips from the 1960 version and plenty of clips and short contemporary interviews. Director of the original version Roger Corman is interviewed, as are other creatives involved, as well as fans of the musical. It is a much a better than average promotional making-of, that also includes some neat behind the scenes footage.
A total of nine minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes are included, which are a delight, and can be viewed with a commentary with Frank Oz, as can the original ending.
So, Warner Bros have provided an marvellous audio-visual presentation of both cuts of the cult classic musical horror comedy Little Shop of Horrors for its 4K UHD debut, supplemented by a couple of decent new extras and plenty of strong archival content, which collectively provide plenty of fascinating background on the making of the film.
Disc/Package: 