Horror 2026 Countdown: The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), dir. Roger Corman, the Filmgroup/Santa Clara Productions

Roger Corman had already earned a reputation for cranking films fast, but how fast could he go? After finishing a Bucket of Blood early, Corman and the crew shot another film with the same set in about forty-eight hours. 

Nestled deep in Skid Row is Mushnik's flower shop, owned and operated by Gravis Mushnik (Mel Welles). He's not doing too well. His only regular customer (Leola Wendorff) seems to lose relatives every other day. His only employees are the bubbly but empty headed Audrey (Jackie Joseph) and perpetual sadsack stockboy Seymour (Jonathan Haze). 

Seymour has an idea to save the store! He's been developing a new kind of plant, one that surely bring the customers in! Mushnik is doubtful, but when a regular (Dick Miller), in-between eating carnations, tells him flower shops with unique flowers do better, well it's not like they do much worse, right?

Thus we met Audrey Jr. a kind of Venus flytrap looking thing. Mushnik isn't impressed, but when the local homecoming committee opts to spend their entire 2 grand budget in the store, he rethinks his position. 

At least until the plant starts to die. Seymour just can't get the thing healthy, no matter what he does. He's at a loss until he cuts his hand and Audrey Jr. eagerly laps up the blood. This does Seymour no good as the plant is quickly increasing in size seemingly by the day. When Mushnik makes it clear Seymour's job is still hanging by a thread, the lad walks around the railyard to cool down and kicks rocks. In the course of this he hits a hobo; actually an undercover cop but Seymur doens't know that, and kills the fellow. 

Waste not want not, right? So Seymour quickly uses Audrey Jr. to dispose of the corpse. Mushnik stumbles across this and while horrified, well, Audrey Jr. is bringing in the people and the cash, so what's a murder or two, right?

Police Sgt. Joe Fink (Wally Campo) and his partner Frank Stoolie (Jack Warford) disagree. Seymour, meanwhile, now has to give the plant larger quantities. His bodycount starts to rise as does Audrey Jr.'s size. When buds start appearing on the plant with the faces of the people Seymour has killed, can he cover his tracks before it's too late?

Delightful, even if the film does borrow more a bit from a Bucket of Blood. The Dragnet parody really doesn't go far enough but everyone does a fine job with what they have.