Little Shop of Horrors (film)

Lore & Background

The film was produced by David Geffen through The Geffen Company and released by Warner Bros. on December 19, 1986. It grossed $39 million domestically and $15 million internationally for a worldwide total of $54 million. Filming took place on the Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios in England, where a downtown set with an overhead train track was constructed. The budget of $25 million contrasted sharply with the original 1960 film, which, according to Corman, cost only $30,000.

Reader's Guide

Little Shop of Horrors was well received by critics and audiences and eventually developed a cult following. The film's original 23-minute finale, based on the musical's ending, was rewritten and reshot after test audiences reacted negatively. For years only available as black-and-white workprint footage, the original ending was fully restored in 2012 by Warner Home Video and released as a director's cut. The film stars Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and the voice of Levi Stubbs, with special appearances by Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest, and Bill Murray.

Did You Know?

• The film's original 23-minute finale was rewritten and reshot after negative test audience reactions.
• Levi Stubbs, who voiced Audrey II, also made a quick in-person cameo during the 'Skid Row' number.
• The film was produced on a budget of $25 million, compared to the 1960 film's $30,000.

Production on a Shoestring

Roger Corman both directed and produced the 1960 picture, working from a screenplay by Charles B. Griffith. The entire feature was completed for a budget of just $28,000, roughly $305,000 in 2025 dollars, a figure that underscores just how lean the operation was. The interior scenes were captured in only two days, a feat made possible because Corman was granted temporary access to sets that had been left standing from his earlier film A Bucket of Blood. Under the working title The Passionate People Eater, the project was conceived as a fast-paced farce about a florist's assistant nurturing a plant that craves human blood. Corman's comedic sensibility set the film apart from standard horror fare of the period: he wove together dark comedy, broad farce, Jewish humor, and elements of outright spoof into a single, irreverent tone. The result was a scrappy, resourceful production that proved a big-name budget was never the ingredient a memorable low-budget picture truly needed.

A Corman Ensemble and a Future Star

The principal cast was drawn largely from actors who had already collaborated with Corman on earlier projects. Jonathan Haze took the lead as Seymour Krelborn, Jackie Joseph played Audrey Fulquard, Mel Welles portrayed the scheming shop owner Gravis Mushnick, and Dick Miller appeared as Burson Fouch. All four had previous credits in Corman's workshop. Among the supporting players, a young Jack Nicholson landed a small part as Wilbur Force, a role that would later be prominently highlighted on home video releases to attract collectors. Screenwriter Charles B. Griffith also performed uncredited as the voice of Audrey Jr., the screaming patient, and the robber Kloy Haddock. Wally Campo served as both Sergeant Joe Fink and the film's narrator, while Jack Warford played Officer Frank Stoolie and John Herman Shaner appeared as Dr. Phoebus Farb. This familiar, collaborative ensemble gave the picture the energetic, in-the-moment quality characteristic of Corman's production style.

From Double Feature to Cult Classic

Filmgroup released the picture in October 1960, initially pairing it as a double feature with their own Last Woman on Earth. Its early theatrical run was modest, but a devoted following began to build through word-of-mouth recommendations among audiences. A significant boost arrived when the film was later distributed as the B-movie preceding Mario Bava's Black Sunday, exposing it to a broader and more cinephile crowd. Local television broadcasts then carried the blood-thirsty plant into living rooms across the country, further expanding its reach. Home video releases added yet another layer of visibility, with distributors prominently touting the presence of a then-young Jack Nicholson in a minor role to draw in collectors and fans. Over the decades, these repeated exposures steadily transformed what had begun as a low-budget double-feature filler into a recognized cult classic, its peculiar brand of horror-comedy finding new audiences with each successive generation of viewers.

A Story That Kept Reblooming

The 1960 film's farcical narrative—a down-on-his-luck florist's assistant, a manipulative shop owner, and a carnivorous plant that demands human blood—proved remarkably adaptable across media. It became the foundation for an Off-Broadway musical titled Little Shop of Horrors, which was in turn adapted into a 1986 feature film. The musical version enjoyed a 2003 Broadway debut and a 2019 off-Broadway revival, among other productions over the years. The original plot's structure, with its escalating chain of disappearances, the plant's growing size and budding flowers, and the climactic reveal of victims' faces inside each bloom, provided a narrative framework that stage and screen translators could reshape while preserving its core absurdity. The 1960 Corman film thus stands as the seed from which an entire franchise of musicals, films, and theatrical productions has continued to sprout for well over six decades.