This is a musical that is absurd, even absurdist, but also incredibly funny. Made in 1986 yet set in the doo-wop world of early 1960s New York, and filmed at Pinewood, it has a wonderfully stylised feel. At its heart is a genuinely sweet story, with the hapless, weedy Seymour, played by Rick Moranis, falling for the shop assistant Audrey (Ellen Greene), whose breathy, Marilyn Monroe-style voice adds to the film’s charm.

But the film takes a strange sci-fi turn with the arrival of the carnivorous plant, which feeds on blood – and eventually on full-bodied humans – famously demanding “Feed me”, voiced by Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops. Alongside this, Steve Martin delivers a scene-stealing performance as a sadistic biker-dentist, combining menace and comedy, including a memorable sequence that places us inside a patient’s mouth as he revels in his cruelty. Visually, the film leans fully into its surrealism – from giant plants with visible tonsils to increasingly grotesque set pieces.

Yet as the plant grows larger and begins devouring people, something shifts. The innocence and charm that make the first hour so engaging begin to drain away, replaced by a darker, more exaggerated tone. There’s also a Motown-inspired Greek chorus that threads through the film, reinforcing its musical roots and period flavour, but the balance between sweetness and spectacle becomes harder to sustain as the story progresses.