Legacy LD5

Well, perhaps not, but I sure think it is in quite a lot of aspects...
What this crazed blue raptor in on about now again?
Well...

Recently, I watched a bit this surely very cult and known by everybody movie "Little shop of Horrors". Yes, that is musical-y one with the talking plant that eats everybody. And watching that (most of it for the first time ever, shame on me, but I did watch it when I zapped in exactly because I felt I should have watches it long ago. The 1996 version, by the way.
And as I watched it, and had to skip a bit because of my own suppertime, I recalled that I read, ages ago in a magazine (that's like a new website that has been printed out, in the days when real internet didnt exist yet, for the younger ones), that it originally had a very well-done epic rampage ending, that would have won the film a lot of special effects awards, but that the test audiences didnt like that so it was totally thrown out. And I also realized that now we do have internet, and if it exists, its doubtlessly out there somewhere.

Well long story short, I found a black an white version of it on youtube (You can read about the movie and what actually happened to that ending here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Shop_of_Horrors_(film) ), and despite some people on the MUCK not being all that enthuseastic, I found, aside from it being a plant, given, it is awesomely epic and I'd even call it the greatest movie rampage of all times for a number of reasons and that I should not keep that to myself and it would make for a good



Oh, and here is said last part of the original ending in the said bad quality. In parts 1 and 2 Audrey II eats the protagonist instead of dying so they can live happily ever after. Or not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddIK3CIMzFs

So here is what I think makes it so awesome, most of which things that have NEVER been done in any other movie:

- It is a sentient creature that does the rampage.
Audrey II and her offspring can talk, and Audrey II has actually a very cool badass evil attitude.
While every other non-human giant monster I can think of at best has animal-level emotions.
- It is wanton destruction.
They do want to destroy things. As opposed to walking through the city for dog-knows-why and thereby casually breaking things. I mean, yes, Godzilla rocks, but in those old movies it rather looks like "Sorry, I cant see where I step in this clumsy rubbersuit". Definitely not "RAWR, I smash yous!". You get the point I think.
- It fucking has FUN doing the rampage.
Yes, I know its a plant and hard to see from facial expression, but it definitely looks like they enjoy terrorizing and eating the little humans and wrecking and toying with their cities. You can see one of them sealing its lips around a chimney and blowing inside to make the factory explode dammit! How awesome dominating making-fun-of-humans macro is that?
- It has devouring of a vehicle.
Hey fellow monster, look what I can do, I break this overhead train tracks here and let the full passenger train drive into my huge hungry gullet! Yummy!
Nothing unusual you think? Can you show me a single time Godzilla ever ate anything? Or any other monster swallows a train, bus, car, whatever just to show that he/she/it can?
- It has great fast-paced music to go with the rampage!
What other movie monster ever had that? You always get "dramatic" melodies, as something so shocking and terrifying happens, oooh... the shivers, the horror...
Fuck it, here its awesome Go-Rampage! music!
- Its a global threat.
Its not this one things there that stomps on one part of one city until it gets either shot or grows tired and returns to the ocean.
No, this is about wrecking and eating and joyfully rampaging over the entire world.
- The macro monster wins.
Yup. Go Monsters. Humans loose. The planet will be eaten.
No heroic triumph of mankind, no going back to the ocean, no Cloverfield-Maybe.


So, there are my bold thesis why this is clearly one of the most epic rampages ever, and a superlative in many aspects.
What do you think?

It's not Biollante. 'Nuff said.

Nor is it the first time humans have lost out to plants - see Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

Plus... It's a Plant! You'll not win any fans here without some paws.

I noted all these observations, and when I saw it I did wish something like this would find its way into movies again, but a lot of those aspects are reasons it probably wasn't accepted in the first place.

It's kind of cool, both from the integrity of the story and certain interests, to see that ending. On a personal whiny level, it's still a plant, and that's probably why it doesn't get noted as often.

There have been intelligent monsters before, though. Gamera is often depicted as being intelligent, but of course he's a friend to children and probably not that great from your point of view

Yep, those are definitely some stomp-happy plants alright. ^^

Well...yes... I see where you are coming from, Blue, but eventually, it has the classic snake deficit.

Giant plants are one level above giant amoebas. Given, it was a nice ending and there was lots of destruction, but they were largely inanimate giant potted plants. It's like having a pencil destroy New York. Yes, their heads were somewhat saurian, and that's what has the most appeal.



Maybe that's why you have Tombfyre here just sitting all phat and happy and not moving while he eats up a city. Wait, that's it! Blue has an inertia fetish!

...no wonder he's so attracted to me.

Well, I never have been the biggest destruction fan myself but I do enjoy plants. That being said, the music in that video kind of sucked. But yeah, I guess I'm one of the few who enjoy plants though. :3

The more I think, the more I realize why it's pretty depressing/makes Blue happy. It's pretty much the only 'humanity is totally boned' monster endings in all of existence. As such, I have mixed feelings about it, because I always kinda feel bad when humanity is totally boned. Unless I'm doing the boning, because I'm selfish like that.

In this case, though, like I said above it's different and nice to see an ending like this. Happy, depressing, kind of humorous. It was probably just too weird. Even rarer, though, is a monster who's not a complete jackass. A giant monster that doesn't even want to wreck up the city would be something.

Of course, I have to turn in my LD5 card now, but hey. I'm weird.

Besides, Hollywood most likely isn't creative enough to come up with a plot to go with that premise. Monster movies hardly ever deviate from a strict formula. Little Shop probably got away with what it did because it was a musical.

Seymore!

SEEEEEYYMOREE!!!

FEEEEEEEED ME SEYMORE!!!

Naw I was just kidding.

WOW! thanks for posting this! i never knew this film had an alternative ending ever!
i know why they chose to do this ending, becuase it was in the original musical, but i can see why they cut it out. it is quite depressing, but only if your NOT a macro/rampage phile like me/us
i think the ending was incredible. they put so much effort into it (even $5million) but i can see why they cut it out.
as for the best rampage ever, i kinda agree actually! reading your thoughts on this made me realise your right! godzilla movies are great but he DOES just walk through not knowing what hes doing, while audrey 2 actualy gets a kick out of it (like some macro furries/scalies would) maybe the makers of the musical/ending got the same "kick" out of it as we do. sure ive had nights where ive enoyed imagining events like this. its been very nice, shall i say
so yes i agree with you. good find. it just goes to show you truly do learn something everyday!

Yes, you likely can get away with stuff like that in an musical easier than in a 'serious' film. A shame that they changed it though, and one should have beat up the test audience for that for not only did they kick the original storyline of a classic with feet (human feet. Not sexy Dino.) and had it be twisted to fit their stupid 'every story has a happy ending' mentality/mood, which I am sure makes not only our resident grumpy lion king puke, but they also totally didnt get that it had a good morale, which they fucked up. While the original was "If someone asks you to do bad in return for power, dont feed the plant." for otherwise you will unleash a monster that spreads out like a global plague and eats mankind, the new message is "If you kill people to gain power, dont stop there and also kill the one who gave you the power too, and you have everything you ever wanted, chicks included and get away with it." A truely happy ending indeed.

Too bad that the original color master material of this great rampage seems to be lost.

I recently took a peek into Yonggary though, aka Reptilian, and it has actually amazing macro reptile action too, that is as temporarily rawrsome as the storyline and acting is crappy and the logic is lacking.
I highly recommend it thus. Selendro is uploading it to here somewhere.

There is a reason I bought it all those years ago! I will put up a thread. I forgot to yesterday.
And actually Reptilian -has- the good monster moment! He's just misunderstood! That makes me happy too. Sometimes I think I am too weird <______>

Also good thing you put 'serious' in quotes there Blue, or I'd swoop down and get you.
What are you talking about the feet, though? I...must have missed that one.

So if I get even larger and wider, and just sit around doing nothing all the more, I'll have the blue raptor all over me! ^^ Now comes the question of weather or not I'd want such a thing.