Overview
A nerdy florist's life takes a darkly comedic turn when he discovers a plant with a taste for blood.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- campy
- witty
- irreverent
- cult movie night
- musical movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a winning, catchy, inventive blend of camp horror, comedy, musical theater, and inspired performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film treats a bloodthirsty plant, sadistic dentist, and escalating deaths through broad comic performances and catchy theatrical songs.
Seymour's desire for success, love, and escape from Skid Row gradually becomes entangled with feeding Audrey II and concealing deaths.
Audrey II grows through multiple stages and performs major musical numbers using elaborate animatronic effects and Levi Stubbs's voice.
Seymour works in a struggling urban flower shop and sees Audrey II's popularity as a route out of poverty and humiliation.
Films like Little Shop of Horrors, and why
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
shares campy horror, musical spectacle, absurd humor, and a charmingly heightened tone
The Muppet Movie
combines practical creature effects, dark comedy, musical numbers, and theatrical eccentricity
Gremlins
features a sympathetic outsider, grotesque comic horror, and playful 1980s genre stylization
The Nightmare Before Christmas
shares musical storytelling, surreal comedy, and an escalating fantasy threat with a strong cult sensibility
Movie Details
- Director
- Frank Oz
- Release Date
- 1986-12-19
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (1706)
Cast
- Rick Moranis
- Ellen Greene
- Vincent Gardenia
- Levi Stubbs
- Steve Martin
- Tichina Arnold
- Michelle Weeks
- Tisha Campbell
- Jim Belushi
- John Candy
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Little Shop of Horrors about?
- A meek florist's ambitions bloom into a riotous musical nightmare when his exotic plant develops an appetite for human blood.
- What is Little Shop of Horrors like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Little Shop of Horrors as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Little Shop of Horrors violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Little Shop of Horrors as moderate.
- What did critics think of Little Shop of Horrors?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a winning, catchy, inventive blend of camp horror, comedy, musical theater, and inspired performances.
- Which films are like Little Shop of Horrors?
- Films with a similar feel include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Muppet Movie, Gremlins, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
- How long is Little Shop of Horrors?
- Little Shop of Horrors runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch Little Shop of Horrors?
- In United States, Little Shop of Horrors streams on Philo.
