---
title: "Little Shop of Horrors"
year: 1986
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/little-shop-of-horrors"
fi1m_id: "little-shop-of-horrors"
imdb_id: "tt0091419"
tmdb_id: 10776
wikidata_id: "Q1199259"
fi1m_score: 76
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-24T02:04:26.234854+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-24T02:04:51.157919+00:00"
region: "NO"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Directed by Frank Oz · 1h 34m · Horror, Comedy

## Identity

Little Shop of Horrors

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/little-shop-of-horrors
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** little-shop-of-horrors
- **IMDb ID:** tt0091419
- **TMDB ID:** 10776
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1199259
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091419/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10776, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1199259

**Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 71 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Steve Martin gasses himself, a plant demands blood, and the love song is about a chain-link fence

> Frank Oz’s film of the Ashman and Menken musical has better songs than most film musicals manage, a heartbreaking Ellen Greene and a monstrous Steve Martin. Between the numbers it is stagey and a little slack, and Rick Moranis is a soft centre.

## Synopsis

Skid Row, one grimy street of tenements and shuttered shops. Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis), an orphan raised in the basement of Mushnik’s failing flower shop, is in love with his co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene), who is going out with Orin Scrivello (Steve Martin), a dentist who rides a motorcycle and leaves her with bruises. Their boss Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia) is about to close for good when Seymour brings out a strange plant he bought during a total eclipse of the sun and named Audrey II. Put in the window, it pulls customers in off the street. It also wilts unless Seymour pricks his finger for it, and as it grows it begins to talk, in the voice of Levi Stubbs, about what else it would like to eat. Three girls (Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, Tisha Campbell) sing the story from the kerb.

## Review

Frank Oz, who had spent the better part of two decades with his hand inside Muppets, was the obvious choice to film a musical whose star is a puppet. *Little Shop of Horrors* comes from the off-Broadway show by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, which in turn came from Roger Corman’s cheap 1960 comedy, and Ashman wrote the screenplay himself. The result is a bright, loud, slightly stagebound 94 minutes with four or five songs most film musicals would kill for and a middle stretch that goes slack between them. We liked it a great deal. We did not love all of it.

The setting is Skid Row, and Roy Walker builds it as one enormous set: a street, a tenement, a shop, a fire escape, a sky painted the colour of old dishwater. Nobody pretends it is a real place and the film is better for that. Robert Paynter lights it hard and flat, like a stage, so that when Audrey sings about a tract house in the suburbs the picture goes soft and pastel and you can feel the whole crew exhaling. Marit Allen puts Seymour in cardigans a size too big and Audrey in leopard print and heels she cannot walk in.

Ellen Greene played Audrey on stage, and it shows in the best way. Her speaking voice is a whisper with a New York hinge in it; her singing voice comes out of the same small frame like a foghorn, and the gap between them is the joke and the heartbreak at once. “Somewhere That’s Green” moved us far more than a song about a chain-link fence and a plastic-covered sofa has any right to, because Greene sings it as a woman who has decided this is the most she is allowed to want. Oz knows it is the film’s centre. He holds on her face and lets the set do the rest.

Rick Moranis is a gentler matter. He is sweet, he sings capably, and he plays Seymour as a man to whom things happen. That is the part as written, but it leaves the film soft exactly where its lead should be, and for long stretches we found ourselves waiting for someone else to come back on. Vincent Gardenia’s Mushnik grumbles nicely. Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell, as the three girls who narrate from the kerb, are the film’s engine, turning up in doorways and on fire escapes to sing what everyone else is too polite to say, and every scene picks up when they do.

Then there is Steve Martin. His Orin Scrivello, a dentist who chose the profession because he likes hurting people, arrives on a motorcycle, sings his dentist number in a black leather jacket, and gasses himself for pleasure in front of a patient (Bill Murray) who turns out to enjoy the drill even more than he does. We laughed until we had to look away, then felt slightly grubby about it, because Orin also hits Audrey and the film does not let us forget that. Martin plays the menace and the idiocy at the same volume, and his are the funniest twenty minutes in the picture.

The plant is a puppet and behaves like one: heavy, wet-looking and magnificently rude. Levi Stubbs gives Audrey II a baritone that could sell you a car, and when it sings “Feed Me” it is as much a performance as anything the humans are doing. It also moves a fraction slower than the people around it, and in the long central stretch, when the songs stop and the plot has to be carried in dialogue, John Jympson’s cutting cannot hide that the film is waiting for its next number. Menken’s songs, arranged for the screen with Miles Goodman, are so strong that the spoken scenes between them feel like intervals.

The second half goes darker than the poster suggests, and there is a director’s cut with a different ending that we will not describe; Oz’s original finish was changed before release. Either way this is a horror comedy that plays the horror straight enough to sting, and it carries a PG. Small children will love the plant and not quite understand why the dentist is frightening. That is about the right response.

*Fi1m score 76, published 24 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean warm, and none rejects the film outright. Most critics take it as a broad, energetic, deliberately silly musical that works on its own cartoonish terms, and the praise gathers around Ellen Greene’s strange, magnetic Audrey, the witty songs, and the ever-growing plant, which one critic counts among the great screen villains. Steve Martin’s scenes are picked out as a highlight even in the cooler notices.

The reservations are about staginess. Variety finds the move from stage to screen reluctant and the result fractured, and Empire thinks the musical numbers drag in places; Pauline Kael notes some stiffness and mechanical-looking effects, and Eye for Film calls it formulaic while enjoying it anyway. The spread is wide, from mixed to enthusiastic, and it splits by date: the warmest reviews come from Slant and Collider, assessing the restored director’s cut with its darker original ending, which both admire.

## Straight answers

**Is Little Shop of Horrors worth watching?**

*Little Shop of Horrors* is worth watching for anyone who likes a musical with teeth, and we scored it 76. Ellen Greene's Audrey and Steve Martin's sadistic dentist carry it, and four or five of the Ashman and Menken songs are better than most film musicals manage. Between the numbers it goes stagey and slack, and Rick Moranis is a soft lead.

**How long is Little Shop of Horrors, and what is it rated?**

*Little Shop of Horrors* runs 1h 34m. It is a horror and comedy film.

**Where can I watch Little Shop of Horrors in Norway?**

*Little Shop of Horrors* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from kr 39.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Little Shop of Horrors, and is it suitable for children?**

*Little Shop of Horrors* carries a UK PG, but it is a horror comedy that plays its horror straight enough to sting. A man-eating plant demands blood, a dentist gasses himself for pleasure and is shown to hit his girlfriend, and the second half is darker than the poster suggests. Small children will love the plant and may not grasp why the dentist is frightening.

**How does Little Shop of Horrors compare to The Rocky Horror Picture Show?**

*Little Shop of Horrors* is the better-made film; [*The Rocky Horror Picture Show*](https://film.one/film/the-rocky-horror-picture-show) is the wilder party. Both treat B-picture horror as a dressing-up box, but Frank Oz's film has a story that holds together and a heartbreaking centre in Ellen Greene, where Richard O'Brien's songs outlast a plot that collapses in the last act. Choose Little Shop for the songs and the sting, Rocky Horror for Tim Curry and the singalong.

**What should I watch after Little Shop of Horrors?**

After *Little Shop of Horrors*, try [*The Rocky Horror Picture Show*](https://film.one/film/the-rocky-horror-picture-show) (1975, Fi1m 72): Another stage musical that treats B-picture horror as a dressing-up box. Then [*Gremlins*](https://film.one/film/gremlins) (1984, Fi1m 80): Small-town America overrun by puppets with appetites; Joe Dante keeps it nasty and funny; and [*Delicatessen*](https://film.one/film/delicatessen) (1991, Fi1m 83): A French tenement where the butcher’s supply problem is solved much as Audrey II’s is.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **Slant Magazine**, Jordan Cronk (4.5/5): Cronk strongly praises the restored director’s cut as an irreverent, vivid musical with a tragic edge. He singles out the newly available apocalyptic finale and the Blu-ray’s impressive picture and sound restoration. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/little-shop-of-horrors/)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (76/100, inferred): Kael finds the film silly, energetic fun that succeeds on its own broad, cartoonish terms, despite some stiffness and mechanical-looking effects. She especially praises Ellen Greene’s strange, magnetic performance as Audrey. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1987/01/12/little-shocks-big-shocks)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (64/100, inferred): The Times page is identified as a review of the 1986 film, but its text is inaccessible. The available page provides no basis for reporting the critic’s verdict or specific praise. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/19/movies/the-screen-little-shop-of-horrors.html)
- **Time Out**, SGo (64/100, inferred): The page is identified as a review of the 1986 film, but the review text is unavailable. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be established. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/little-shop-of-horrors)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (60/100, inferred): Variety finds the adaptation fractured and funny, but somewhat reluctant in its move from stage to screen. The review praises its silly chain of events while noting that little remains of the original film beyond its setting and story outline. [Read](https://variety.com/1985/film/reviews/little-shop-of-horrors-1200426871/)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (55/100, inferred): The review finds the film amusing in places, though its stagey musical numbers sometimes drag. It singles out Steve Martin’s appearances and Ellen Greene’s performance as highlights. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/little-shop-horrors-2-review/)
- **Collider**, Rob Vaux (90/100, inferred): Vaux gives the film and its Blu-ray presentation an enthusiastic endorsement, finding both endings successful on their own terms. He especially praises the witty, infectious songs and the way they blend comedy with social satire. [Read](https://collider.com/little-shop-of-horrors-directors-cut-blu-ray-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (78/100, inferred): Kermode calls it a formulaic but exhilarating ride, praising the pitch-perfect performances and terrific songs. She singles out the increasingly elaborate plant as a great villain. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/little-shop-of-horrors-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## Details

- **Director:** Frank Oz
- **Director:** Frank Oz
- **Screenplay:** Howard Ashman
- **Cinematography:** Robert Paynter
- **Editor:** John Jympson
- **Music:** Miles Goodman, Alan Menken
- **Production design:** Roy Walker
- **Costume design:** Marit Allen
- **Producer:** David Geffen
- **Cast:** Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn; Ellen Greene as Audrey; Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik; Levi Stubbs as Audrey II (voice); Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.; Tichina Arnold as Crystal; Michelle Weeks as Ronnette; Tisha Campbell as Chiffon
- **Runtime:** 1h 34m
- **First release (Brazil):** 19 December 1986
- **Genres:** Horror, Comedy
- **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Nominee, 1986)
- **Budget:** $25 million
- **Box office:** $54 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqX9g3Qwb5A

## Where to watch in Norway

- Amazon Prime Video: rent kr 39.00, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy kr 99.00, hd

*Checked 2026-09-24.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CL, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1987: Best Visual Effects (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *The Little Shop of Horrors* (1960): Roger Corman’s original, shot in days, cheaper and stranger than its musical grandchild.
- *The Rocky Horror Picture Show* (1975), Fi1m 72: Another stage musical that treats B-picture horror as a dressing-up box. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-rocky-horror-picture-show.md)
- *Gremlins* (1984), Fi1m 80: Small-town America overrun by puppets with appetites; Joe Dante keeps it nasty and funny. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/gremlins.md)
- *Delicatessen* (1991), Fi1m 83: A French tenement where the butcher’s supply problem is solved much as Audrey II’s is. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/delicatessen.md)
- *Anna and the Apocalypse* (2017): A Scottish school Christmas musical with zombies, and it means the songs.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/little-shop-of-horrors