Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American black comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy…

In September 1960, Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis), a nerdy young assistant in a New York City florist shop, is trying to store pots but breaks them by accident. Seymour and Audrey Fulquard (Ellen Greene), his co-worker, with all the other tenants of their skid row area complain of their surroundings (“Skid Row (Downtown)”). The day of an unexpected total eclipse, Seymour discovers a mysterious new plant (“Da-Doo”), which resembles a Venus Flytrap. He names the plant “Audrey II” in honor of Audrey, on whom he has a secret crush. However, when the shop closes for the day, Seymour discovers that Audrey II is wilting from lack of food. It refuses to eat anything normal plants would feed on, such as soil, water and sunlight. Seymour accidentally cuts his finger and discovers that Audrey II has an appetite for human blood (“Grow for Me”).

As the plant thrives, business booms at Mr. Mushnik’s (Vincent Gardenia) previously failing flower shop (“Some Fun Now”). Seymour becomes a local celebrity, but he is very weak because Audrey II needs increasingly more of his blood every day. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Audrey has feelings for Seymour. She dreams of one day marrying him and fantasizes about moving to a tract house complete with plastic-coated furniture, a “big, enormous” twelve inch television screen, and raising two children with Seymour (“Somewhere That’s Green”). Seymour tries to ask Audrey out, but she has a date with her dentist boyfriend Orin Scrivello (Steve Martin), who is revealed to be sadistic and abusive (“Dentist!”).

Eventually, the now-huge Audrey II (voiced by Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops) begins to talk to Seymour, demanding more blood than Seymour can give, while offering more fame and fortune in return (“Feed Me (Git It)”). Audrey II convinces Seymour to kill Orin after Seymour becomes enraged watching him abuse Audrey. Seymour books an appointment with Orin and arms himself with a revolver, although he cannot bring himself to use it. However, Orin, disappointed with his previous masochistic patient Arthur Denton (Bill Murray), decides to amuse himself by huffing nitrous oxide. His gas mask malfunctions and before Seymour’s eyes, Orin laughs hysterically and soon dies from asphyxiation.

Seymour drags Orin’s body back to the flower shop where he uses an axe to chop it up for Audrey II (per its demands). Mushnik passes by the flower shop and witnesses Seymour’s actions, fleeing in fear without being noticed. Seymour feeds the body parts to the plant and it continues to grow larger as the film progresses. After a sleepless night, Seymour discovers two policemen questioning Audrey about Orin’s disappearance. She says that she feels guilty about Orin’s death, even though she did not cause it, because she always secretly wished that he would disappear. Seymour tells Audrey that she is beautiful and should not have such low self-esteem. They admit their feelings for each other and kiss (“Suddenly, Seymour”).

That night, Mushnik confronts Seymour and accuses him of being an axe-murderer. Seymour confesses, “It’s true, I chopped him up, but I didn’t kill him!”. As Mushnik prepares to hand him over to the police, Audrey II yearns for Seymour to lead Mushnik close to him in order to get him out of the way (“Suppertime”). Before leaving the store, Mushnik suddenly decides to bargain with Seymour, offering Seymour protection if he allows Mushnik to take care of the plant. Seymour is undecided and stands by while Mushnik investigates Audrey II and is attacked and swallowed whole by the carnivorous plant.

Seymour’s fortune continues to grow and he becomes a media star (“The Meek Shall Inherit”), but he is very worried about Audrey II’s growth and insatiable appetite. He is also afraid that Audrey will only love him if he continues to be famous. He decides to get out of town and marry Audrey, leaving the plant to starve. Audrey II catches him leaving and demands another meal; Seymour agrees, but insists on already-dead meat from the local butcher.

When Seymour briefly leaves the shop to get the meat, Audrey II decides to put an end to the distraction Audrey has become to his plans. He telephones Audrey and coaxes her to come over, then tries to eat her (“Suppertime (reprise)”). Seymour returns and saves her just in time, and tries to explain to her what happened. When he mentions that he thought she liked him because of the plant and his fame, Audrey reveals that she would still love him even if he were poor again (“Suddenly, Seymour (reprise)”).

As they share this moment together, they are interrupted by a salesman, Patrick Martin (James Belushi), from World Botanical Enterprises, who offers to breed Audrey II and make a fortune by selling the plant to families around the world. Seymour, shocked, realizes that Audrey II planned for this all along, and that it is out to take over Earth.

Seymour confronts and fights the gigantic plant, which by now has little offspring buds in tow. Audrey II bursts out of its pot and reveals to Seymour that it is an alien from outer space (“Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”). After a brawl with Seymour that wrecks the entire shop, Audrey II manages to latch onto the store’s support beams and completely yank the shop to pieces, assuming that Seymour is killed by the mass amounts of debris and bricks that bury him. However, Seymour’s arm bursts through the rubble and he grabs a broken exposed electrical wire, using it to electrocute the massive plant and its buds, blowing them all up.

Seymour survives the explosion, and he and Audrey are safely together again at last. They wed and move to the same suburbs that Audrey dreamed of; however, just before the end credits start to roll, there appears a new, smiling Audrey II bud in their front yard.