Nightmare Fuel / Little Shop of Horrors

Somewhere green, indeed!

Seymour: I got an idea. I'll go down to the corner and get you some nice chopped sirloin.
Audrey II: Must be blood.
Seymour: Twoey, that's disgusting.
Audrey II: Must be fresh.
Seymour: I don't wanna hear this!

It might have cool numbers, but the word "Horrors" is right there in the title. This is not a friendly show.

---

• The most basic concept of the show: that with the right motivation, anyone could be talked into killing people for their own personal gain. Even you.
• "Now (It's Just the Gas)" is a creepy song in what's already a pretty creepy show. Especially Orin's realization that he's about to die, and he can't do anything but plead with Seymour to help him.
  Though I giggle and I chortle,
  bear in mind, I'm not immortal.
  Why this whole thing strikes me funny,
  I don't know...
  'Cause it really is a rotten way to go!
  • Some productions really play up Orin's line "or relieved/my end is nearing", by having it be one of the only lines he doesn't sing while laughing. He's come to the horrifying realization that the one person who could possibly help him isn't going to, not because he can't, but because he wants Orin to die.
  • The 2019 revival has one of the most horrifying versions of the scene yet. The instrumentals are much more discordant and eerie than previous recordings, and Christian Borle sounds outright unhinged as he gets more desperate. Especially since before now, Borle's Orin was relatively composed to previous actors' interpretations of the character. (Which in itself was creepy because he seems weirdly charming, in his own way... until we see him with Audrey. Truth in Television for many abusers, which is why it can be so hard to spot until it's too late.)
• Act I ends with a chilling scene of Seymour feeding Audrey II the chopped up pieces of Orin's corpse. It's usually accompanied by blood-red lighting and sinister organ music, and ends with the plant cackling evilly as the curtain falls. Not only is its hunger appeased for now, it’s one step closer to world domination...
• Orin's practice can be this, especially if you hate going to the dentist already. With how brutal and sadistic he is, one can't help but wonder if his mama told him to become a dentist in an effort to keep him from becoming a serial killer.
• "Suppertime" in general is a very eerie number, especially with the urchins emerging from seemingly out of nowhere to egg Seymour on.
  Come on, come on... It's suppertiiiiiiime...
  • Even creepier in the movie, which unlike the stage show, plays the scene completely straight. Of special note is the way Audrey II slowly drops its head and opens its mouth behind Mushnik's back. As Seymour slowly, subtly backs Mushnik closer and closer to Twoie's gaping maw, you can see him wrestling with the decision, terrified of what's about to happen.
  • There's an original version of the scene (see here) which is slightly longer and has Seymour more complacent in Mushnik's death, keeping with the tone of the play (and most likely cut out because it made Seymour seem unsympathetic). In the final scene, Seymour tries to give one last warning before Twoey clamps down, but here, he doesn't even flinch, turning away and covering his face. And Mushnik's reaction is no better, as in the theatrical cut, he repeatedly (and humorously) shouts "Wait!" But him screaming for Seymour's help as Seymour averts his eyes is far more terrifying.
  • "Suppertime Reprise" is debatable for being a Dark Reprise because both are equally frightening, particularly with that sinister bassline both renditions share.
  • As mentioned above, the stage show plays Mushnik's getting devoured is Played for Laughs. If you listen to the cast recording from 2003, you hear Musknik screaming in horror at the end as Audrey chomps down.
• During "Some Fun Now", the teeny-tiny Audrey II guzzling blood from an increasingly-anemic Seymour, just a hint at the appetite to come.
• When Audrey II has grown too big to be fed from Seymour's finger anymore and has started talking, Seymour demands, "What do you want me to do, slit my wrists?" The plant's response is nonverbal, and varies from production to production, but is almost always perfectly clear: Twoey doesn't think that's such a bad idea. In the film, Stubbs gives an expectant happy sigh. Applies in-universe, as Seymour recoils in horror at this response.
• When done right, "Don't Feed the Plants" can be downright unnerving, with everyone running in terror as Audrey II takes over the world, a now monstrously huge Audrey II puppet menacing the audience, and you see what happens to Orin, Mushnik, Audrey, and Seymour after they're eaten. They're stuck in an And I Must Scream situation as sentient flowers on Audrey II's vines, warning people not to feed the plants. Oftentimes, Audrey II will lean out and take a menacing CHOMP at the front row mid-song. Oh, and some productions have vines drop from the ceiling to get one last jump out of the audience. Sleep tight!
• The act one finale is chilling, though how much depends on the skill of the actors involved and how much the director chooses to show. (And, of course, your own personal tolerance for blood.) In some productions, we're, er, treated to a full view of Seymour feeding Orin's bloody remains to the plant, while in others, we only see it in silhouette. Then, as the music rises, Audrey II descends into hysterical laughter while Seymour watches. "What a creepy thing to be happening," indeed.
  • And here's the uncut workprint footage from the 1986 film, for good measure. And this production still◊ shows Seymour holding Orin's severed head from the front, which is still smiling.
• Audrey II’s babies in “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space”. They’re so horrifyingly nauseating to look at.
• The Pasadena Playhouse production (starring George Salazar) deserves special mention for their uniquely horrifying take on Audrey II. In a radical departure from the traditional "fly trap" design, this version opens its mouth like a blooming lily flower; at first it's actually pretty adorable, and it stays relatively small even throughout Act II... however, this is only its normal form. When the time comes to devour Audrey, it grows into an enormous (and much more monstrous) body◊ with long tentacles and More Teeth than the Osmond Family. Suddenly, it looks less like a blooming lily and more like the Demogorgon from Stranger Things, or some kind of horrible mutated Volcarona.
  • This production's version of Seymour's death may be one of the most disturbing ones yet. First he fights off the plant's tentacles before grabbing the machete to "kill it from the inside" like usual. Then the back curtains suddenly grow teeth and transform into Audrey II's mouth, suggesting that the plant has grown so big, Seymour can run directly into its throat! As the climactic music finishes, all you hear are the nauseating sounds of crunching bones and squishing flesh as Audrey II's many, MANY teeth chomp down on its former owner.
• Many productions have a Drag Queen play Audrey II, allowing the character to interact with the other actors more directly. Naturally, most productions take advantage of this for comedic purposes, but there's also an opportunity to make Twoey have a more... direct role in dispatching its victims. One such staging has the actor standing inside of the puppet's mouth, waiting for Mushnik to climb inside during "Suppertime." When he does, Twoey snaps his neck before beginning to eat as the puppet mouth closes again and we hear the sounds of the feast. The same staging also had Twoey directly grab Audrey and drag her into the mouth itself as she tries in vain to get away, with the blocking making the whole scene resemble a rape, especially with the line, "Relax, it'll be easier."
• A small moment in the '86 film — shortly after "Suppertime", when Seymour looks at how big Audrey II has become and whimpers out an "oh my God." It was in that moment he realized just what, exactly, his actions had truly wrought.
• The theatrical ending is completely happy until the very end, where a baby Audrey II plant is seen in the garden... and smiles at the camera, showing that Seymour and Audrey's happiness is borrowed time at best and, at worst, even after the plant exploded, its spores began to reproduce.
• The 2019 Off-Broadway revival adds a little twist to "Don't Feed the Plants"; as the cast sings the final note, Audrey II lets out a mighty roar while a smaller head springs from its mouth, spewing smoke at the audience for one final Jump Scare. It's like a moment ripped right out of an Alien movie.

---