A movie adaptation of the musical Little Shop of Horrors, written by Howard Ashman with music by Alan Menken, which was based on the film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman. Despite belief, this film, directed by Greg Berlanti with screenplay by Matthew Robinson, is not a remake of the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Frank Oz. The film stars Ben Platt, Dove Cameron, J. K. Simmons, Matthew Morrison, and Mark Hamill.
The movie centers around Seymour Krelborn, a meek, hapless young man who lives a pathetic life on Skid Row, the worst possible town in America. His life turns around when he discovers a strange and interesting flytrap, which he names the "Audrey II", while searching the wholesale flower district. This new plant makes Seymour the hottest celebrity in town, attracting everyone from everyday customers to the rich and powerful, and re-generating Mr. Mushnik's failing florist shop. Seymour also has a secret (but powerful) crush on Audrey, his co-worker at Mushnik's florist shop, but doesn't think she'd ever love him back.
Meanwhile, Audrey is stuck in an abusive relationship with a Harley-riding, leather-wearing dentist by the name of Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. Audrey, though, has a hidden crush on Seymour, and she secretly wishes to escape Skid Row and live a quiet, normal life in the suburbs with him. But because she has such low self-esteem, she believes she doesn't deserve someone as nice as Seymour, and she sticks with Orin because, as horrible a man as he is, he makes good money.
However, Seymour discovers that the Audrey II actually needs blood to grow, as opposed to things like water or sunlight, and eventually, that it can talk (and sing). Audrey II begins demanding that Seymour provide it with more blood than he can possibly give, even if it means Seymour has to start killing people. But of course, as Seymour says, no one deserves to be chopped up and fed to a hungry plant. Right...?
The film provides examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Audrey II, in this film, initially starts out as a static plant, unable to do anything except open and close its mouth. However, as it grows, it gains more abilities. The first time it grows, Audrey II's tongue becomes movable.
- Then, when it fully comes to life during the song, "Feed Me (Git It!)" (specifically, when it says, "Does this look inanimate to you, punk?!"), Audrey II gains a whole variety of new abilities: its head can now rotate a full 360 degrees; it can stretch out its head and neck to get closer to someone, and pull itself back in; it can extend, retract, and flick its tongue; and its vines are now movable, able to pick up objects and lift a person off the ground. It can also push its pot closer to wherever it wants to be (initially with much struggle) and push itself back to its original spot.
- After it eats Orin Scrivello, Audrey II becomes able to use its leaves as human hands.
- After eating Mr. Mushnik, the plant can now join its vines to form humanlike hands, protract them protract to unlimited distances, and they can now break through barriers (i.e. brick walls). Audrey II's "forehead" can also contort to give off a "death glare" expression, it can smile or frown like a human, its upper lip can now jerk upwards when it has to sniff, and its voice is now powerful enough to cause a brief earthquake whenever it yells very loudly. It's also at this stage where Audrey II reveals its hypnotic powers, carried over (and levelled up) from the original Roger Corman film; it uses them on Audrey, through telepathic communication, to lure her into the shop.
- After Audrey II eats Audrey, the plant becomes able to sprout a seemingly unlimited number of smaller, equally sentient pods (each with their own protractible/retractable tongue, and movable vines and tendrils). In the "Horror Cut" of the film, Audrey II's roots are strong enough to destroy its pot from inside, which allow the plant to move on its own accord (with a sense of weight and menace behind its movement similar to that of a T-rex) and break out of Mr. Mushnik's florist shop with ease, in pursuit of its prey (i.e. Seymour and Ms. Geffen). In the same "Horror Cut", the small Audrey II buds themselves gain abilities of their own: they can break through barriers (i.e. glass windows) with enough force, their teeth are sharp and powerful enough to bite off a body part, their vines and tendrils are able to choke a person to death, and they can protract to seemingly unlimited distances (and retract again).
- However, it is during the final number, "Don't Feed the Plants", where the Audrey II plants are at their strongest. Their tongues now have limitless protraction and can act like a grappling hook when grabbing and eating people; they can break through barriers using only their heads; they can grow an unlimited number of vines; their leaves can now grab people and pull them into the plants' mouths; and their roots are now strong enough to flatten an army tank.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Seymour is a bit more careful about covering up Orin Scrivello's murder in this film. After Audrey II eats up Orin's remains, Seymour dumps Orin's dentist uniform and the burlap sack the remains were in into a garbage truck, scrubs up most of the blood stains on the shop's floor, and cleans the blood off his clothes with a bucket full of ice water. However, he still forgets one crucial detail: cleaning the blood off the chainsaw he used to massacre Orin, a chainsaw that belongs to Mr. Mushnik! Compare this to the musical, where Seymour leaves his baseball hat and "Mushnik's Florist Shop" bag at the crime scene, stuffs the dentist uniform into a trash can outside the shop, and forgets to wipe the blood off the shop floor.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Mr. Mushnik is a bit nicer in this film than in other adaptations of the story. Sure, he stills treats Seymour like dirt, but he genuinely sees him as like a son. At one point in the film, Mushnik tells Seymour that when Ms. Geffen told him that she saw Seymour murdering Orin Scrivello with a chainsaw, he told Ms. Geffen she was crazy; he could not possibly imagine Seymour being a murderer. That is, until Mushnik saw a trail of blood stretching from Orin's office to his shop, plus little red dots all over the floor. Then, when Seymour begins ranting about how Orin got what he deserved (because he had seen Orin raping Audrey through the shop window) and that he did Skid Row a favor by killing the dentist, Mushnik's first instinct is to pull a gun on him (just like the 1986 film) and tell him to "tell that to the cops". Unlike the 1986 film (where Mushnik blackmails Seymour into leaving Skid Row so Mushnik can take care of the plant himself), Mushnik doesn't care about the money as he's turning Seymour in; he's afraid that Seymour could kill another person. It's safe to say that this version of Mr. Mushnik did not deserve to be eaten alive by Audrey II.
- In the "Horror Cut", after Orin calls Seymour a "worthless nobody", Mushnik tells Seymour not to listen to Orin; he's just a bully and wouldn't know anything about doing good business.
- Adaptational Villainy: Seymour Krelborn gets hit hard with this. In the musical, Seymour sees Orin Scrivello slapping Audrey across the face, and becomes so mad that he decides to shoot Orin dead with a gun. However, he doesn't actually get to fire the weapon, and Orin tells him that he'll be putting on his "special" gas mask (filled with nitrous oxide) before giving him a dental check-up. Once Orin puts on the mask, he finds himself unable to take it off, and Seymour eventually decides to let Orin die from overdosing on his laughing gas. Seymour then chops up Orin and feeds his parts directly to Audrey II. In this film, Seymour sees Orin sexually assaulting Audrey, and he snaps completely, barging into Orin's office and, eventually, grinding him into chunks with a chainsaw. Seymour then puts Orin's remains into a sack and drags it to Mushnik's florist shop, and instead of giving the bag directly to Audrey II, Seymour just leaves it on the doorstep so Audrey II can help itself.
- Then, when Mr. Mushnik confronts him about the murder, instead of denying he had anything to do with it (like the musical), Seymour actually tries to justify it, claiming Orin was an irredeemable scumbag who got what was coming to him.
- Instead of becoming more focused on Audrey II, Seymour in this film becomes more obsessed with Audrey (the human), to the point of actually neglecting to keep feeding the plant, and after successfully asking Audrey out on a date, he subtly implies that he plans on destroying Audrey II now that he finally has gotten the girl he desires (Audrey) out of it. Audrey II overhears this, and it becomes incensed enough to first try and eat Audrey, then plan to take over the world.
- Finally, instead of saying, "You're a monster and so am I!" when Audrey II reveals its true plan to take over the world, Seymour just says, "You're a monster," implying that Seymour still sees his own murderous acts as justifiable.
- Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. is also much viler and more sadistic than in other adaptations. In his first scene alone, Orin, in succession, kicking a woman in the groin, dropping a bear trap on a man's head, and twisting a child's neck with a loud crack. In the "Horror Cut", instead of the bear trap, Orin rips out the poor man's jaw. Later, instead of simply smacking Audrey in the face during "Feed Me (Git It!)" (which makes Seymour decide to feed Orin to the plant), Orin goes so far as to try to rape Audrey, which, again, makes Seymour decide to feed Orin to the plant. Orin's only redeeming quality is him taking genuine interest in Audrey II, telling Seymour to leave Skid Row with the plant and "go big on Wall Street". However, in the "Horror Cut", Orin is completely irredeemable; instead of taking interest in Audrey II, he tells Seymour that, no matter what he does, he'll forever be a worthless nobody.
- All-Star Cast: Ben Platt as Seymour Krelborn, Dove Cameron as Audrey, J. K. Simmons as Mr. Mushnik, Matthew Morrison as Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., Destiny's Child as Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon; Ellen Greene as new character Ms. Geffen, and the voice of Mark Hamill as Audrey II. It also features appearances from: Jack Black, the voice of Corey Burton (in the "Horror Cut"), John Cena, Roger Corman, Macaulay Culkin, the voice of Brian Cummings (in the theatrical cut), Pam Ferris, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin James (featured in the theatrical cut only), Richard Kind, Jet Li, Matthew Lillard (in the "Horror Cut"), Steve Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daniel Radcliffe, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Samberg, Adam Sandler (in the theatrical cut), Imelda Staunton, Kenan Thompson, the voice of Alan Tudyk, Billy Zane, and others. In addition, Megan Fox provides the motion capture performance for Hedy Lamarr, who appears dating Seymour Krelborn during the song "Feed Me (Git It!)" (specifically, when Audrey II sings, "How about a date with Hedy Lamarr? / You're gonna get it"). Frank Welker and Dee Bradley Baker are also credited for "Special Vocal Effects".
- Audrey II's principal puppeteers are: Martin P. Robinson, Anthony Asbury, Karen Prell, David Rudman, Joey Mazzarino, Kevin Clash, Noel MacNeal, Bill Barretta, Matt Vogel, Peter Linz, Eric Jacobson, Tyler Bunch, Pam Arciero, Jennifer Barnhart, Tim Blaney, Cheryl Blaylock, Rickey Boyd, Lisa Buckley, Julianne Buescher, Kevin Carlson, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Ryan Dillon, Alice Dinnean, John Kennedy, Donna Kimball, Jim Kroupa, Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, Rick Lyon, Jim Martin, Drew Massey, Paul McGinnis, Alison Mork, James Murray, Carmen Osbahr, Michelan Sisti, John Tartaglia, Allan Trautman, and Victor Yerrid.
- An Aesop: Do not fall for promises that sound too good to be true.
- Apocalypse How: During the closing song, "Don't Feed the Plants", it heads towards Class 3a: planetary-scale extinction of the dominant species on the planet, with the military unable to even phase the rampaging Audrey II plants. At the end of the song, however, Earth explodes in a massive fireball, ramping it up to Class X.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Audrey II eats Seymour, and after cuttings of it are developed into tiny Audrey IIs and sold across the country (and then the world), the plant's offspring grow to epic proportions and work to overthrow the entire human race.
- The Berserker: Seymour. Once he sees Orin assaulting Audrey, Seymour takes it upon himself to kill Orin via a chainsaw. Then, when he discovers that Audrey II has a secret goal for world domination, Seymour throws everything he has at it, including a flamethrower, a lit stick of dynamite, and even the chainsaw he used to kill Orin!
- Big Applesauce: The story takes place on Skid Row in New York City.
- Big Bad: Audrey II, as usual.
- Brainwashed: Through telekinesis, Audrey II hypnotizes Audrey into coming into the florist shop while Seymour is away.
- Burp of Finality: It's made clear that Audrey II has eaten Seymour when the plant burps out the chainsaw he was intending to kill it with.
- California Doubling: Averted; the scenes taking place outside on Skid Row were actually shot at the Bowery in Lower Manhattan, and Skid Row, Los Angeles. However, the indoor scenes in the florist shop were shot on the soundstages of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.
- Canon Foreigner: Ms. Geffen, Audrey's next-door neighbor and caretaker, is exclusive to this film.
- Character Catchphrase: "Feed me!"
- Composite Character: Ms. Geffen's role in the story, dissuading Audrey from continuing to date Orin and telling him that Seymour is better for her, was originally played by Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon in the musical and the 1986 film.
- Copiously Credited Creator: Martin P. Robinson is not only credited for designing the Audrey II puppets from the original theatrical production (which served as the basis for the design and build of this film's Audrey II puppets, by Jim Henson's Creature Shop), but he also worked on this film as principal puppeteer for Audrey II, puppeteer performance coordinator, creative consultant, and puppet design and build supervisor.
- The Cover Changes the Meaning: "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", the song written for the 1986 film, is sung by Mark Hamill during the end credits. The original version, sung by Levi Stubbs, has Audrey II boasting about how big and bad it is, while also taunting those who dare to get in its way. Hamill's cover, on the other hand, sounds more bitter and defensive.
- This film's rendition of "Suppertime" sounds much more somber, as if Audrey II is genuinely tearful and terrified of Seymour going to prison.
- Curse Cut Short: When Mr. Mushnik gets eaten by Audrey II:Mushnik: Seymour Krelborn! (chomp!) You son of a— (chomp!)
- Dark Reprise: The reprise of "Somewhere That's Green".
- Darker and Edgier: Than even the musical.
- Deadpan Snarker: Audrey II in this film is much snarkier than the one from the musical and the 1986 film.Audrey: Am... am I dreaming this?
Audrey II: No, and you ain't in Kansas, either. - Deal with the Devil: Audrey II promises Seymour the love of Audrey, the girl she loves (plus all the fortune and fame he could possibly want), so long as he keeps getting more blood for the plant to eat.
- Death Glare: Seymour gives off this look as he watches Mr. Mushnik being eaten by Audrey II.
- Audrey II, despite having no eyes, manages to give Seymour this look after he offers the plant "a nice medium rare" to keep it fed, and he screams, "It's my last offer! Yes or no!" As the plant gives him this look, it punctuates it with a threatening-sounding, "It better be fresh."
- Defiant to the End: See Curse Cut Short.
- Depraved Dentist: Orin Scrivello, even more so in this film.
- Despair Event Horizon: Audrey's death is this for Seymour. So much so that once Audrey is eaten by the plant, Seymour goes outside to commit suicide. Unfortunately, the gun he uses jams on him.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Audrey dies in Seymour's arms.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. In the musical and the 1986 film, Orin dies from overdosing on nitrous oxide, while stuck in his gas mask, while Seymour just stays there and watches him suffocate. In this film, Orin meets his end when Seymour grinds him into chunks with a chainsaw.
- Dirty Coward: When Seymour barges into Orin Scrivello's office wielding a chainsaw, Orin begs for mercy and even promises to leave Skid Row and never come back. Seymour considers sparing the dentist, but then Orin just had to go and badmouth Audrey one more time...
- Downer Ending: Audrey and Seymour are eaten by Audrey II, and cuttings of the plant are distributed and grow into behemoths that take over the world. Oh, and as the cherry on top, the Earth explodes.
- Driven to Suicide: Seymour, after Audrey's death. He's only pulled out of this by the arrival of Patrick Martin.
- Eaten Alive: Mushnik and Seymour.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: Ms. Geffen, the character exclusive to this film, mainly for being one of the few characters who is openly concerned for Audrey's wellbeing. Being played by Ellen Greene, the original Audrey, doesn't hurt a bit.
- Establishing Character Moment: The moment we see Orin, he's already inflicting pain on anyone he sees.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: During the song, "Dentist!"Orin: Somewhere, somewhere in heaven above me
I pray to God that my mama's proud of me!
ARE YOU PROUD OF ME, MAMA?!? - Even Evil Has Standards: Audrey II shows clear disgust when it sees Orin Scrivello raping Audrey, and it gives Seymour the greenlight to kill him.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending: Thanks to Patrick Martin's distribution deal, Audrey IIs across the globe begin eating and killing anyone and everyone in sight.
- Evil Is Hammy: While his performance is not quite as bombastic as Levi Stubbs, Mark Hamill still sounds like he's having a ball as the voice of Audrey II.
- Evil Laugh: Considering Mark Hamill voices Audrey II in this film... The plant gives a particularly nasty laugh after Seymour pulls Audrey out of the plant's mouth, saying, "No dessert, huh, Krelborn?"
- Evil Sounds Deep: Audrey II, courtesy of Mark Hamill. The interesting part about this is that, when Audrey II first speaks, it's in a high, whiny voice, just like Charles B. Griffith's Audrey Jr. from the 1960 film. However, the bigger it grows, the lower its voice gets.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Mr. Mushnik is ready to turn Seymour in, he says that he's doing this for the greater good, asking, "Who's to say you won't kill again?" Only moments later, Mushnik becomes plant food for the ravenous Audrey II.
- Gender-Blender Name: Audrey II, named after the human woman Audrey, has a male voice.
- Hate Sink: Audrey II may be a bloodthirsty plant alien from outer space, but its hammy moments and bombastic personality (plus the fact that it's voiced by Mark Hamill) makes it almost impossible to truly hate it. The same cannot be said for Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., the sadistic dentist who is turned on by inflicting pain on everyone around him and, at one point, tries to rape his abused girlfriend, Audrey. To drive home how utterly unlikable he is, Orin's last words are before getting killed are, "Honestly, I don't know what you see in a pathetic slut with a lotta ass but no balls."
- He Really Can Act:
- Ben Platt, who had previously earned an HRCA moment with his performance in Dear Evan Hansen, turns in a genuinely unnerving performance as Seymour Krelborn, who goes from being an insecure, gutless buffoon trying to impress the girl of his dreams, to a cold-blooded, vindictive killer who becomes increasingly obsessed with the girl of his dreams.
- Dove Cameron had been known for her roles in Disney Channel productions, like Liv and Maddie and Descendants, but very few had faith in her ability to pull off the role of Audrey, especially since she had to live up to Ellen Greene's performance. Come release day, however, and critics agreed that Cameron did justice to the role.
- Matthew Morrison, known for his role on Glee, gives a disturbing performance as Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., being completely different from Steve Martin's performance from the 1986 film while also being just as over-the-top.
- No one said Mark Hamill wasn't a terrific actor already, but his casting as the voice of Audrey II came as a shock to many, not necessarily because of his legendary voice acting chops, but because he wasn't necessarily known for his singing abilities. On top of that, Hamill also had to follow the iconic performance of Levi Stubbs from the 1986 film. However, Hamill took the role of Audrey II and made it his own, not even bothering to imitate Stubbs' mannerisms and instead adding his own personal flair to the character, while also doing justice to the plant's musical numbers. Special mention to this film's version of "Suppertime"; Hamill sounds like he's legitimately in tears while singing.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Seymour, eaten by the talking, man-eating plant he cultivated.
- Horror Hunger: Audrey II is as obsessed with human blood as ever.
- Humans Are Bastards: The final song, "Don't Feed the Plants", kicks off with Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon revealing that, after the events of the film, the Audrey II became a national consumer craze, offering millions of "unsuspecting jerks" everything they could possibly want in exchange for more and more blood. And because those people kept feeding the plants, they grew to gigantic sizes and began to conquer America, and then the world.
- Hypocrite: Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., a man who boasts about getting off on the pain he causes to everyone around him, pleads for his life when Seymour threatens him with a chainsaw.
- Ironic Echo: Audrey's song, "Somewhere That's Green", is about her wanting to escape Skid Row and live a peaceful, normal life in the suburbs with Seymour. Its reprise, sung by Audrey as she's dying, is about her wanting Seymour to feed her to the plant, so she can always be with Seymour, somewhere that's green.
- "I Want" Song: "Somewhere That's Green", sung by Seymour.
- "Feed Me (Git It!)", sung by Audrey II.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mr. Mushnik. He may be greedy and opportunistic, but he genuinely cares about Seymour and Audrey as if they were his own children. Which makes it even worse when Seymour leaves Mushnik to be eaten by Audrey II.
- Large Ham: Audrey II, of course.
- The Unfettered: Seymour Krelborn will stop at nothing to get a date with Audrey. Even if that means grinding her abusive boyfriend to death and letting his boss be eaten by the plant before he can report him to the police.
