Getting Your Head Around Audrey II
Audrey II is the name of the carnivorous plant from the 1986 film /em. It's a genetically modified Venus flytrap (or possibly a mangrove, depending on which source you ask) that grows rapidly when fed blood. The character became one of those iconic movie monsters, even though it was originally a stage musical creation by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. The full name is Audrey II. It's named after the main character's love interest, Audrey. In the story, Seymour Krelborn discovers the plant in a Persian bazaar and brings it back to his florist shop in Skid Row. The plant starts small and harmless but quickly develops a taste for human flesh, growing to enormous proportions as it's fed more and more people. I remember watching this as a kid and being genuinely terrified of houseplants for about two weeks. Classic response.
The plant exists in multiple versions across different adaptations. The original 1960 Roger Corman film featured a much smaller, less talkative version. The stage musical expanded the role significantly. The 1986 film gave us the giant puppet versions that are still discussed in special effects circles today.
How the Plant Actually Works in the Story
Here's what most people miss about Audrey II: the plant isn't just some mindless monster eating people randomly. It's manipulative. It talks to Seymour, offers him solutions, and gradually draws him into feeding it humans under the guise of accidents. That psychological element is what makes it interesting beyond the surface horror. In the 1986 film, the plant's growth mechanism is pretty straightforward. Feed it blood, it grows faster. Feed it enough blood, it grows big enough to swallow a person whole. The plant also has some kind of root system that extends through the building's plumbing, which becomes important later. There's a practical detail that often gets overlooked. Audrey II produces a sweet-smelling nectar. This is how it lures victims close enough to attack. The plant basically weaponizes attraction, same as any real carnivorous plant does with insects, just scaled up to human victims.
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I once tried to recreate the plant's "voice" for a theater production using some basic vocal processing. The trick is slowing down a human voice about 30 percent and adding a slight subharmonic layer. It gives that guttural, otherworldly quality without making it sound like a generic monster voice. Works surprisingly well with a decent microphone and some free vocal processing software.
Common Confusion Points
People frequently mix up the different versions of the plant. The 1960 version was played by a person in a suit, not a puppet. The 1986 version used both small hand-operated puppets and large animatronic versions. For scenes where Audrey II needs to move significantly, they used a combination of Rodger Davis's puppeteering and some early motion-control photography. Another thing people get wrong: Audrey II isn't actually a Venus flytrap in strict botanical terms. The production designers based it loosely on several carnivorous plants. Some concept art shows elements of pitcher plants and sundews mixed in. But Venus flytrap is the closest common reference point. If you're looking to build a replica or costume for Halloween or theater work, you'll find varying quality levels online. The official props and suits from the 1986 film are essentially museum pieces now, with some appearing in convention displays. Cheaper knockoffs tend to look like generic green monsters rather than the distinctive Audrey II design.
Where to Find Reference Material
The most detailed breakdowns of the practical effects come from behind-the-scenes materials and interviews with the effects team. Rick Sutphin and his crew at Jim Henson Productions handled most of the puppet work. There are some good DVD commentaries and documentary segments that go into the construction details if you can track them down. For anyone doing research on the character for academic or creative purposes, the stage musical script and the film screenplay are both publicly available through various sources. The differences between them show how the plant's role evolved from stage to screen. I've seen people try to order replica "Audrey II" plants from novelty shops, and most of what comes out of those places looks nothing like the actual prop. If you want something that resembles the real design, you're better off commissioning a custom build or finding a used prop from a theater liquidation. The specialty effects companies that worked on the original haven't been in active production for this character for decades, so the secondary market is basically your only option for something authentic.
