Sing along, Scream along: Five toe-tapping horror musicals
By Carla Davis
4. Little Shop of Horrors
Horror musicals don’t get better than 1986’s Little Shop of Horrors, featuring two super-popular celebrities of the 80’s, Rick Moranis and Steve Martin.
Poor Seymour is a dorky flower shop employee with a crush on sweet co-worker Audrey. She’s in an abusive relationship (thus the black eye she sports), and sings: “I know Seymour’s the greatest…but I’m dating a semi-sadist.” Said semi-sadist is played by Steve Martin, by the way.
The flower shop is floundering, but customers come out in droves when Seymour brings in his blood-thirsty plant. As Audrey II starts to require more blood to survive, Seymour discovers that blood from his pricked finger is no longer enough, and murder ensues.
Though the songs are peppy and fun, and Ellen Greene sings like an angel born in Brooklyn, the subject matter gets surprisingly dark. Ultimately, viewers start to root for someone who basically kills people to keep his demanding plant alive.
And if Greene’s heart-wrenching rendition of Somewhere That’s Green doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, you have no soul. Little Shop of Horrors can be watched on several different streaming services, including Vudu, iTunes and Amazon.
3. Anna and the Apocalypse
Anna is a high school student in Little Haven, Scotland. At Christmas time, she and Dad argue after Anna’s pal John lets it slip that Anna doesn’t want to go straight to college, but plans to travel first.
John has his own problem, including unrequited romantic feelings for Anna. All of these issues become less important when the dreaded Zombie Apocalypse happens, and Anna, John and friends must try to get to the high school, which is, presumably, safe.
It’s fun watching Anna fend off flesh-eating zombies with a large candy cane decoration, and the exuberant choreography in the group number Hollywood Ending is a show-stopper. Also great is the sultry double entendre-laden It’s That Time of Year , performed by Anna’s friend Lisa, and the fun Turning My Life Around, sung by Anna and John, who dance around oblivious to the carnage going on around them at the time.
Anna and the Apocalypse is available on Amazon Prime.