The original ending to Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors has been circulating on YouTube for years, but the catastrophic conclusion was recently updated in color for the Blu-ray release. The director’s cut reveals a 23-minute ending that features nerdy florist, Seymour, and his ladylove, Audrey, being devoured by the bloodthirsty, sentient Venus Flytrap-like plant, nicknamed Audrey II. After she gulps down the couple, she destroys New York City. Test audiences didn’t respond well to the violent final chapter, and the ending was rewritten so that Audrey II was destroyed.
“We had to do it in such a manner that the audience would enjoy the movie. It was very dissatisfying for both of us that we couldn’t do what we wanted. So creatively, no, it didn’t satisfy us and being true to the story. But we also understood the realities that they couldn’t release the movie if we had that ending,” Oz said in a commentary track for the film.
Watch Audrey II on a rampage (in color!) in the above clip.
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