Review: Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Little Shop of Horrors

Rating

Director

Roger Corman

Screenplay

Charles B. Griffith

Length

1h 12m

Starring

Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Tammy Windsor, Toby Michaels, Leola Wendorff, Lynn Storey, Wally Campo, Jack Warford, Merri Welles, John Shaner, Jack Nicholson

MPAA Rating

Not Rated

Review

For many, their first introduction to the Little Shop of Horrors is either the 1986 musical version or the stage version that is performed in every High School in the United States. Without this Roger Corman comedy, none of those others would exist.

Corman’s absurdist comedy sets the plot for the subsequent productions almost exactly. A down-on-his-luck schlub from New York City, Seymour Krelboined (Jonathan Haze), working at a florist shop has grown a new plant from seed. It’s a unique looking plant but it struggles to grow until he accidentally feeds it some of his blood and it then begins to flourish. He must constantly supply it with fresh blood or it will ruin his career. The carnivorous plant has other intentions and Seymour’s house of cards slowly begins to fall.

Being familiar with its successors does make it more difficult to appreciate this 1960 film. Subsequent adaptations have made the material significantly funnier and the corny dialogue and situations make for a difficult watch. That said, there are numerous fascinating affectations employed, most notably in a scene late in the film with the presentation of the plant to the police detectives. Yet, for all its originality, the film feels like a weird amalgam of B horror movie tropes of the era blended with the abject ridiculousness of William Castle films, themselves a deviation of B movies. Trying to create the right balancing act is something director Corman struggles to achieve even with the solid assist from screenwriter Charles B. Griffith.

The comedy elements go to extremes in order to make audiences laugh at the moments that aren’t too horrific to contemplate. Although the film isn’t in the least bit scary, the idea of a mutant plant that feeds on human blood is a terrifying idea, which gives us pause when ruminating on the utter viciousness of nature outside our own clean cut city worlds. That Seymour’s mother would be more concerned for her health and using her junk science recipes to stave off a sickness sits in stark contrast to the carnivorous aberration of nature her son has cultivated. It’s a plant that isn’t so far fetched as to be impossible

The performances are downright outlandish, which only fits the over-the-top nature of the plot and spotting an extremely young Jack Nicholson is one of the rare treats. While not as good as the musical adapted from it, Little Shop of Horrors has its charms and should be watched for historical context if nothing else.