Halloween Horror Watch #31: The Little Shop of Horrors (Director's Cut)

Little Shop of Horrors (Director's Cut) -- Frank Oz



I felt a little bad about watching Little Shop of Horrors as the scary movie with my friends last night even though it was voted on by the group. It was our Halloween scary movie and it's not really scary. This was the first musical I ever liked, and by "liked" I mean "LOVED." I did a school presentation on it with a classmate where we built a small model of Audrey II. So good.

The only way you're not going to like Little Shop is if you hate the music. The cast is amazing, featuring Rick Moranis (be in movies again!), Ellen Green, Steve Martin (in the role of the most beloved abusive asshole ever. Seriously, his song is the best and he's hilarious. As a kid I never really understood the abuse part and it makes me feel really guilty for still thinking he is the best part of the movie), John Candy, Christopher Guest, and Bill Murray. The sets are the sort of perfect mix of convincing and fake. I want to wander aimlessly around them. Frank Oz' direction has never been more impressive. And the puppet...

I can't imagine how difficult it was to build and operate Audrey II, but I've never been so impressed. It's the sort of thing you don't appreciate as a kid because movies are still magic then. I can't wait to watch Little Shop with commentary just so I can find out more about it. If you've never seen the original ending, it's mind-blowing. I can't believe how much work must've gone into it to be scrapped for the, to steal a phrase, "Love Conquers All" ending.

This movie is the best.

The Real Ending to Little Shop of Horrors

I'm not a musical fan. There are plenty of exceptions (most of them containing Muppets), but I generally find the genre tedious and overlong. But the first musical I remember loving was Little Shop of Horrors (and of course, it's directed by Frank Oz who was a puppeteer and voice of many Muppets). It's got an amazing cast -- Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, John Candy, Levi Stubbs, Christopher Guest -- incredible songs (Martin's being my favorite), and ambitious puppet work. In high school, a classmate and I did a report on the movie for music class and built our own little Audrey II.

It wasn't until I was in college (or thereabouts) that I learned of an original ending that wasn't used. I've always wanted to see it, hearing that it dealt with worldwide annihilation. I never bought the DVD, holding out for the super deluxe edition (come on Criterion!) with the original ending. Not the happy, piece of shit that exists now (actually, the ending is very satisfying as it stands). As luck would have it, IFC.com just put out a small list of movies that had the endings tampered with by studios and it directed me to the following series of videos of the original Little Shop of Horros ending! With commentary from Frank Oz!

I almost can't believe the studio didn't use this stuff because it looks amazing and must have cost a fortune. Oz gives a fair amount of interesting info about what it took to operate Audrey II, as well. Enjoy!