Customer Reviews
It Came From the Eclipse - By: Mark Baker, 14 Apr 2008 
Things are not going well at Mr. Mushnik's (Vincent Gardenia) flower shop. He has had no customers for the longest time. In fact, he can hardly afford to keep paying his two employees, plant nerd Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) & cashier Audrey (Ellen Greene). Seymour, meanwhile, has a crush on Audrey, but she is currently dating a sadistic dentist named Orin (Steve Martin).
Everything changes after an unexpected eclipse of the sun. Seymour finds an unusual plant. Naming it Audrey II (voiced by Levi Stubbs but played by a series of puppets), he places it in the shop window. Almost immediately, it starts to draw in customers.
However, Seymour discovers a serious problem. It requires human blood to live. And the more he feeds it, the more it starts to grow. What will happen when the blood from a cut finger no longer satisfies Audrey II?
I had long heard of this musical & always been curious about it. Fortunately, I got to see it for free. The story was just too strange for me. I know it was supposed to be funny, but I didn't reallly find anything to laugh about. I will say the acting was great, especiallly Steve Martin as a wanna be Elvis (with black hair even). The songs were pretty good & catchy as well.
But the story! I could never find anyone to truly root for. As a result, it became an exercise in waiting to see how things would unfold. And as I said, I found parts of it painful instead of funny, especiallly most of the scenes with Steve Martin. (Yet his acting was great. Go figure.) I enjoy dark comedies, but this one was just too dark to find anything funny.
As much as I love musicals, this is one I won't be adding to my collection. Do yourself a favor & hurry on by before Audrey II gets you.
Brilliant - By: Matt Smart, 25 Feb 2008 
I bought this DVD after seeing a stage production of Little Shop of Horrors.
This film is amazing & has hardly dated. The plant puppetry is breathtaking (if you like plant puppetry) The performances are great (I didn't know Rick Moranis could sing so well)
As for bonuses, the out-takes are interesting & include a brief glimpse of the original end (the not so happy end) The behind the scenes documentary lets you see how they controlled the plant & makes it even more amazing as well as looking at the choice of actors, the set, interviews, etc.
One word of warning however, the 'music only track' is the most bizarre extra I've ever seen, you 'see' the film as per usual but only 'hear' the music & singing, so between songs you have several minutes of silence (whilst you watch the mute film). Even spoken words in songs are silent. I cannot see any point to this feature, however since this is a freebie I won't knock off any stars. Bizarre, but hey it's a film with a giant singing plant.
An Unsung Gem - By: David Rush, 12 Dec 2007 This little gem of a musical cannot be recommended more. It stars Rick Moranis as geeky Seymour, a guy whose totallly in love with his sweet co-worker Audrey. However, she is in a relationship with an abusive dentist. When a talking plant appears from outer space though, things have got to change for the better, right? An astonishingly original concept - which was actuallly borrowed from the horror original by Roger Corman, with an early appearance by Jack Nicholson - is brought to life by Frank Oz, director of The Dark Crystal & Bowfinger, also starring Steve Martin. The songs are outstanding & are performed with much gusto by the leading actors, particularly Ellen Greene, who reprises the role of Audrey which she played in the stage version. The film was not a huge success when it was first released, but has rightly established a cult following since then. Long may it continue!
Mean green mother! - By: Mr. A. Marczylo, 09 Dec 2007 If you liked musicals-type films such as the rockey Horror Picture show & the Blues Brothers I highly recommend this film. It's a comdey & is quite fun, but also has many dark moments of evil in the film. Often orientated around the plant which ofcourse eats people. IT is an alien plant & reminds me of the film "The Triffids", but the difference is he is immobile. This plant certainl yhas a power over people however. It seems to have the ower to lure people & make the owner wealthy, though at a price. the owner will have to feed it or otherwise it dies. Certainly a very intrigueing story. I liked Steve Martin as the dentist (think that's the actor's name)
GREAT CHEESY FUN - By: stuart, 06 Aug 2007 This Roger Corman film is great cheesy fun--mostly because it never takes itself seriously & has a deliciously dark sense of humor. Quite often, the jokes are corny, the acting way over the top & the sight gags are silly as can be--resulting in a very charming movie that is sure to please everyone except stick in the muds & people too sophisticated to give an American International film a look.
The plot is beyond weird, as Seymour Krelboyne is a pitiful loser living in the worst neighborhood & working a nowhere job for Mr. Mushnick. However, this loser gains instant fame in the neighborhood when he cultivates a plant he names "Audrey, Jr.". The only problem is, this weird new wonder begins to die until Seymour discovers the secret to making it grow--human blood. At first, he gives it some of his own, then through some hilarious accidents, he begins feeding it entire people! And, the more he feeds it, the bigger it grows & the more it begins to demand more food--in a very loud & silly voice! It's alll very silly & very reminiscent of another dark Corman comedy, BUCKET OF BLOOD--which, incidentallly, stars Dick Miller who is also a supporting player in this film.
What also makes the film wonderfully entertaining is the use of weird characters with weird names--such as Mr. Mushnick, Seymour's psychosomatic mother & the mad performance in a smalll part by Jack Nicholson as a masochist!! Murder, pain & excess--this film is like Roger Corman meets John Waters. A great film for anyone wanting a good laugh plus it's not too dark to let the kids see it as well.
