LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986) Director: Frank Oz
MUSICAL

Seymour works for a flower shop that is about to lose its business. However, when one day, Seymour chanced upon a weird-looking plant and places it on the shop’s display window. Surprisingly, the business quickly picks up. The plant attracts more customers everyday, and everybody’s happy. Little do they know that this innocent-looking shrub has terrors underneath it, and it is up to Seymour and his friend Audrey, if they succumb to it or fight it til the end.

This musical adaptation of the original 1960 film deserves a place in each film buff’s altar of DVDs and Blu-Rays. See, it is a classic that maintains it’s phenomenal effect through its performances, music, color, style and campiness. Director Frank Oz shot the entire film in a sound studio, thus, allowing him more control over the musical’s narrative, focus, and visual feel.

But what makes this adaptation most thrilling is Menken and Ashman’s wonderful music and lyrics. It paints this known dark comedy with lighter hues, without compromising its original socio-cultural satire.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is an incredible landmark film, as it presents a then-dated collage of classical structures mixed with the current issues of its time. It cruelly depicts society’s decay through commercialism and our selfishness. Oz’s piece is a fun watch, however biting but ultimately rewarding. Even until now, I say this story deserves to be revisited.

5 STARS OUT OF 5