Little Shop of Horrors Slot

If you enjoy a high-energy slot game with big win potential, catchy music you can’t get out of your head, and a man-eating plant – then you’ll love Little Shop of Horrors! Okay, so that last one was oddly specific, but it’s kinda unavoidable when you talk about this slot.

Created by Everi Games Inc. and licensed by Warner Bros. Entertainment, the Little Shop of Horrors slot brings the iconic musical to the gaming arena. According to the Everi website, it was officially ‘approved’ in Q2 2023, but I have YouTube evidence of me playing it in Las Vegas in 2021, so we’ll have to let that one slide for now.

I’ll lay my cards out right now. I’m a big fan of this slot. In fact, I’m kind of known for playing it. It’s what some might call ‘right in my wheelhouse’. Bright, colourful visuals – check, loud musical theatre soundtrack - check, fun interactive character – check, multiple bonus rounds, cut scenes, big progressive jackpots – check, check, check. I mean, what’s not to love?

Of course, it's not everyone’s cup of tea. I know more than a few people who don’t enjoy playing it. They’re wrong, obviously, but each to their own. That said, just in case you’re on the fence, come with me and I’ll take you through all the highs and lows (mostly highs, obviously) of playing the Little Shop of Horrors real-money slot.

Unfortunately, this game is not available to play online and doesn’t appear to be in the planning either. If you enjoy retro movie-themed slots, though, there’s plenty online, such as Jumanji, Beetlejuice Megaways, and The Goonies Return.

Although originally a little-known film released in 1960 (incidentally featuring a very early cameo by Jack Nicholson), Little Shop of Horrors didn’t really get noticed until it was turned into a horror comedy rock stage musical in 1982.  Its success led to a big-budget movie makeover in 1986, directed by Frank Oz. You might know him better as Yoda.

The film featured big stars of the times such as Rick Moranis (Seymour), Steve Martin (sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello) and Four Tops singer Levi Stubbs as the voice of the plant Audrey II. And it is this version that the Little Shop of Horrors slot game is based on.

If you don’t know the plot of the film, it's basically this – Seymour is a florist who happens across a small, never-before-seen plant that he accidentally discovers needs blood to thrive. Madly in love with his colleague Audrey, he names the plant Audrey II, but as it grows in size, it also grows in sass and attitude. Oh, I forgot to mention it talks and sings. It’s highly charismatic and charming, actually, but also bloodthirsty and murderous, and it eventually comes to a sticky end. Just like most plants I’ve looked after, in fact.

Anyway, the Little Shop of Horrors slot has Audrey II as its main character. Mirroring the film, he starts out tiny and grows into epic proportions, filling the game screen with long stems and foliage. This, of course, is just the slot developers' unique way of giving us a perceived progression slot pot in a different form. And yes, before you ask, I fall for it every time.

Audrey II also talks and sings and is interactive when you touch him, I do that sometimes. In fact, he’s a real smooth-talker showering you with encouragement and compliments as you play. When he pops, he unleashes his signature tune ‘ Mean Green Mother from Outer Space’, frantically dancing and dropping wilds and (hopefully) big wins on the free spins.

The theming doesn’t end there though, the jackpot progressives are all based around the movie characters. Rather than Major and Grand for example, you have the Audrey and the Seymour jackpots with images of the actors. Plus, the game is littered with cut scenes from the actual movie, musical songs such as the title song that plays throughout the base game and bonus features all centred around the plot.

There’s not too much that’s ordinary when it comes to the Little Shop of Horrors slot machine. There’s a basic 5 x 3 game grid, fixed paylines, and wins do begin at the leftmost reel, but everything else is a little quirky.

When the reels spin, they often show stacked symbols as if they’re going to land, but then change right before they do. They tease, basically. Also, when the reels stop, sometimes they drop stacked symbols, and sometimes they don’t. Random cut movie scenes also appear sporadically to signal various features or nice line pays are about to drop.

Here are some key stats:  

• Grid: 5x3
• Paylines: 30
• Denominations: from 1c, 2c, 5c (1c by far the most common)
• Bet Levels: 75c-$3.75 on a 1c denom
• 5 Progressive Jackpots
• 5 Bonus Rounds including Mean Green Mother Free Spins
• RTP: 96.10%
• Volatility: Medium (Rated 3 out of 5 by Everi Games)

Progressive Jackpots are won by landing a full screen of the relevant character. Quite regularly, you’ll get four reels of the same character, often with the middle reel not playing a ball. But every so often, you get the first four reels in play, and it gives you a sped-up, highly suspense-filled build-up to landing that fifth reel, and sometimes it actually lands too!

“Well, now we’re cooking”... that’s not me saying that by the way, it's one of Audrey II’s one-liners. As is “You’re on fire” and “Feed Me”. It's his little way of trying to get you to put more money in and help him grow. Now we know how Seymour felt!

Here’s a rundown of all Little Shop of Horrors slot bonus rounds:

This can trigger at any time when a Wild symbol lands. Thankfully, this Audrey II feeds on Wilds and not blood, and while he’s eating Wilds, he's growing, until he finally pops. This is where dancing is optional, but highly recommended, as his personality and voice burst out of the screen. You start with 5 Free Spins, and when you land a Wild, it expands to cover the full reel, which stays for the rest of the bonus. You also get an extra spin too. There’s a really good chance of hitting a full-screen progressive during the bonus, and payouts can add up, especially if you’ve got four or five reels full of wilds. When the free spins end, Audrey II returns to a tiny little seedling, and he begins begging ‘Feed Me’ almost instantly.

Triggered by landing three bonus symbols, you’re taken to a screen with 20 doors, each with a "?" icon. You initially get three picks, but behind the doors, you will find things like extra picks, multipliers, and cash prizes. The box you really want is ‘Audrey’s Dream Wheel’, which gives you an additional chance to gain extra payouts and potentially the Audrey progressive bonus. The round ends when you run out of picks.

This can randomly trigger on any base-game spin and it doubles the game grid by adding three extra rows. It also kick-starts a rendition of the musical number ‘Suddenly Seymour’ as it spins for up to 9 re-spins. At some point, it stops just as quickly as it started, turning all Audrey and Seymour symbols to Wild and then totals up your winnings.

Another randomly-triggering bonus feature that can pop up anytime. This time you’re given a choice of 5 playing cards. Behind them are a mixture of high-paying progressive jackpots, Audrey’s Dream Wheel bonus round and cash amounts.  You just pick one, and what you win, you keep.  

This is usually preluded with a cut scene from the Little Shop of Horrors movie, followed by axes crashing against the reels to produce wilds. It’s nothing particularly exciting or high-paying but can offer a little amusement and a credits top up.

Remember to play with your rewards card whenever you play in a land-based casino. The good thing about Little Shop of Horrors’ medium volatility is that it can be good for points building as it keeps you ticking over. Plus, look out for waitress service and comped drinks while you play, it can be a welcome extra as you play.

I set my stall out from the start by admitting I’m a fan of this slot game. But hopefully this Little Shop of Horrors slot review has helped explain why that is.

It’s not just the outlandish character, music, and bonus rounds that I enjoy; I’ve actually picked up some nice wins playing it too. One of the big perks for me is that the max bet on the 1c denomination is an affordable $3.75. It's not often that I can play max bet on land-based slots. On that, by the way, the developer claims to have 2c and 5c denomination variations, but I’ve only ever come across the 1c game on my adventures.

As I said at the start, I can see why Little Shop of Horrors won’t suit all players. It is loud, animated, and over-the-top. It’s also a pot game that many don’t like. Plus, medium volatility won’t be exciting enough for some.  But, for me, it’s fun, entertaining, has loads in the way of bonus rounds and features, and can drop nice wins as well.