I used to work for my university’s dinner theater. It was a small school with a small theater that had very little storage space (we once got in trouble with the fire marshal because we were storing a lot of scrap lumber in the balcony). Before my time, the theater had put on a production of Little Shop of Horrors. Usually, newer productions scavenged every scrap bit of set, costume, and props from previous productions, but I guess there hadn’t been much call for another giant man-eating plant from outer space. So, the large foam rubber Audrey II remained. It was big, and awkward, and very heavy. Generally, it was stored in the corner of the auditorium, but any time we were putting on a production, we had to move it into one of the classrooms, and then move it back when that weekend’s performances were over. It was a nightmare moving that thing, and I cursed it with all of my breath.
Buy Little Shop of HorrorsI cannot think of that movie without thinking of moving that stupid thing. Those memories came flooding back just now because I’m making a new 4K UHD release of the wonderful film from 1986 this week’s pick. It comes with a new transfer and lots of extras, including deleted scenes, audio commentaries, the theatrical and director’s cuts, and some retrospective features. There is a limited edition steelbook and a regular UHD release.
I actually reviewed the movie for this site back in 2017 when Fathom gave it a theatrical showing (and yes, I used the same story in my intro to that review). It is a lovely film, and this is a lovely release, and I’m happy to make it my pick.
Here are some other things coming out this week that look interesting:
80’s Horror 5-Film 4K Steelbook Library Case: As far as I can tell, the five films in this set (Nightmare on Elm Street / Poltergeist / The Lost Boys / The Shining / Little Shop of Horrors) are not new transfers and don’t come with any new extras, but they do come in a really fun-looking retro box that looks like a bunch of old VHS tapes.
The Addiction: Abel Ferrara’s vampire flick starring Lili Taylor gets a nice-looking release from Arrow Video.
Jackass: Best and Last: I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything from Johnny Knoxville and his merry band of idiots. I don’t quite see the appeal in people intentionally hurting themselves for laughs. But then I’m just a pretentious snob. Lots of people do seem to love these things, and this is purportedly the last one.
Moana: Speaking of things I don’t understand the appeal of, why do people keep going to these live-action remakes of beloved animated films? The original Moana isn’t even that old. I took my teenage daughter to see it, for crying out loud. I just don’t get it.
