Sure, we’re not even halfway to Halloween, but already, there are some pretty big plans a-foot. Things like oh, say, a reboot of a classic B-movie-turned-musical-turned-movie with a giant talking/singing carniverous plant.
Iconic filmmaker Roger Corman (“Frankenstein Unbound”) is teaming up with Joe Dante (“Gremlins”) for “Little Shop of Halloween Horrors.” This will be a reboot of Corman’s 1960 cult classic horror comedy, “Little Shop of Horrors.” It is not to be confused with the movie musical version that was announced in 2020 that still hasn’t happened. Nor the revival of the musical currently on Broadway.
This reimagining is the start of a new “Little Shop of Halloween Horrors” franchise directed by Dante, from a script by Charles S. Haas (“Gremlins 2: The New Batch”). Corman will be co-producing along with the Emmy-nominated CEO of MPCA, Brad Krevoy, and Charles Cohen.
Previous Versions
“Little Shop of Horrors” was directed by Corman and provided an early role for a young Jack Nicholson. It tells the story of Seymour, a florist who discovered a strange new plant that craves human flesh. As the plant, deemed Audry II, grows Seymour must feed it humans to keep it satisfied. This leads to a series of darkly comedic and increasingly twisted events while he tries to hide what he has done from his boss and his love interest.
The movie, like many of Corman’s films, was shot on a shoestring budget in two and a half days. He developed “Little Shop of Horrors” when he had a set left standing for a few days after shooting his previous film, “A Bucket of Blood.” Stunts like this earned him the loving titles of King of the B-movies” and “The Pope of Pop Cinema.”
In 1982, “Little Shop of Horrors” spawned an off-broadway musical with tunes by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. This play inspired the 1986 Oscar-nominated musical comedy film directed by Frank Oz. That adaptation starred Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin, Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest, and Bill Murray. The stage play was revived on Broadway in 2003. The musical was revived on Broadway in 2023, which currently stars Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld“) as Audrey alongside Emmy-winning actor Darren Criss (“American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace“) as Seymour.
Corman and Dante previously worked together on the 1976 low-budget exploitation film “Hollywood Boulevard.” It was Dante’s first time in the director’s chair. Two years later, he directed Corman’s “Piranha.”
We will keep you posted on updates about “Little Shop of Halloween Horrors” as they become available. In the meantime, you can check out the trailers for both film versions of “Little Shop of Horrors.”
