Both A Bucket of Blood and The Little Shop of Horrors were produced and directed by Roger Corman and written by Charles B. Griffith (Death Race 2000). Gemini Productions have remastered both films to 1080p and present them here as a spectacular double feature.
Buy A Bucket of Blood / The Little Shop of HorrorsA Bucket of Blood takes place in the late-’50s Beatnik scene in California. Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) is a lowly busboy at The Yellow Door Cafe where Beatniks hang out, recite poetry, and eat and drink. Walter would also like to be some sort of artist but lacks the acumen. One night, Walter realizes that his landlord’s cat is stuck inside his apartment walls. He accidentally kills the cat with a knife while trying to get the creature unstuck. To hide his furry murder, Walter covers the entire cat and the knife hanging from its side with clay and presents the object as a sculpture. His coworkers are actually impressed, setting Walter on the mission of finding other items that might like to die and be covered in clay for his continued success. This is a great comedy/horror movie with an emphasis on comedy. Dick Miller is excellent as hapless, down-on-his-luck Walter. Few scares but tons of laughs make this a great Corman flick.
The Little Shop of Horrors takes place almost exclusively at a downtrodden flower shop on skid row. Jonathan Haze stars as Seymour Krelboined, a shop worker who could be fired at any moment. There is no money coming into the store and Seymour is more likely to accidentally destroy flowers than deliver them. Seymour convinces his boss to give him one more chance by displaying a new flower that he is sure will bring customers in just to see its wonder. Unfortunately, the flower looks like it is on its last leg and Seymour is given the night to turn it around. Seymour accidentally cuts his finger, accidentally flicks blood into the flower’s “mouth,” and finds out that with a lot of blood the flower will grow and grow and bring in those missing customers. From there on out, the horror and laughs come from Seymour’s uncanny ability to mistakenly kill people for plant food.
Both A Bucket of Blood and The Little Shop of Horrors present Corman and Griffith at the top of their game. These films are funny and smart, well directed, and finely written. The minimal sets and the music are both atmospheric considering their limitations. With their top-notch acting, music, and editing, the improper way to describe these films would be as B-movies.
Bonus Features:
Roger Corman Trailer Reel – nearly an hour’s worth of previews of Roger Corman’s work.
A Bucket of Blood
- Mail Order VHS Version
- Stills Gallery
- Digital Liner Notes
The Little Shop of Horrors
- EP Mode VHS Version
- Stills Gallery
- Digital Liner Notes
