The Corner Penthouse

Gemini Entertainment recently released the A Bucket of Blood / The Little Shop of Horrors (Collector's Edition) MOD Recorded Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Roger Corman's legendary low-budget brilliance shines in this double feature of cult classics shot on the same sets months apart. A Bucket of Blood (1959) and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) capture the wild, anarchic energy that defined early American independent cinema darkly funny, fast-paced, and unforgettable slices of creative chaos from a true master of the B-movie.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

A Bucket of Blood (1959) is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:05:23. The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:11:46. LITTLE SHOP IS MISSING THE END CREDITS. Both movies have not been rated. For both movies, audio languages include English, and there are no subtitles.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the Blu-ray disc.

• A Bucket of Blood: Mail Order VHS Version (1:07:37) - Standard definition (720x480) in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio with poor picture and sound quality. I have no idea why this is included, other than to provide the film in a different aspect ratio than the high definition main feature. I also have no idea why it runs about two minutes longer than the high definition main feature, though that may be due to a frame rate difference.
• A Bucket of Blood: Stills Gallery (1:27) - A high definition slideshow of production stills, lobby cards, movie posters, and previous VHS & DVD case artwork.
• A Bucket of Blood: Liner Notes - Five screens of text written by Calvin Jennings in November 2025.
• The Little Shop of Horrors: EP Mode VHS Version (1:12:30) - Standard definition (720x480) in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio with poor picture and sound quality. I have no idea why this is included, other than to provide the film with the end credits that is missing from the high definition main feature. It runs about 45 seconds longer due to the addition of the end credits, though it doesn't have the "The Filmgroup Presents" pre-opening title that is included on the high definition main feature.
• The Little Shop of Horrors: Stills Gallery (1:12) - A high definition slideshow of production stills, lobby cards, movie posters, and previous VHS & DVD case artwork.
• The Little Shop of Horrors: Liner Notes - Five screens of text written by Calvin Jennings in November 2025.
• Roger Corman Trailer Reel (53:44) - Includes trailers for the following 28 films in high definition (though some are upscales): Monster From the Ocean Floor (1954), Five Guns West (1955), The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), Apache Woman (1955), The Day the World Ended (1955), It Conquered the World (1956), Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), Not of This Earth (1957), The Undead (1957), Teenage Doll (1957), Sorority Girl (1957), War of the Satellites (1958), Machine Gun Kelly (1958), The Brain Eaters (1958), Beast from Haunted Cave (1959), The Wasp Woman (1959), A Bucket of Blood (1959), Ski Troop Attack (1960), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961), Battle Beyond the Sun (1959), The Terror (1963), Dementia 13 (1963), The Haunted Palace (1963), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia (1964).

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No digital copy code voucher is included inside the standard one-disc blue Blu-ray case.

[ NOTES ]

A Bucket of Blood / The Little Shop of Horrors (Collector's Edition) by Gemini Entertainment is available on MOD Recorded Blu-ray from MovieZyng. There are different edits of The Little Shop of Horrors floating around. Many excise the animated Filmgroup logo at the beginning, while others entirely drop the end credits. This Blu-ray has the Filmgroup logo, but no end credits on the HD main feature; but does the opposite on the poor quality VHS version also included (no Filmgroup logo, but has the end credits). I don't know if there are any alternate versions for A Bucket of Blood, though there is an approximate two-minute runtime difference between the HD and SD copies included on this disc. I don't have time right now to compare them to see if that's due to editing or a frame rate difference.

If you're looking for a complete (as far as I can tell) copy of The Little Shop of Horrors, a 2-disc Blu-ray from Film Masters that pairs it with The Terror is likely to be your best bet. Although it's in a 1.85:1 matted widescreen aspect ratio, it's 100% complete with the end credits restored and sourced from film. So, you have to choose between Gemini's "Open Matte 1.33:1 No End Credits" MOD Recorded Blu-ray (with A Bucket of Blood), and Film Masters "Matted 1.85:1 Complete" Blu-ray (with The Terror). Of course, you can buy both and have it all :-)

PS: Legend Films also released a Colorized Blu-ray (no double feature), with the film in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, both colorized and in the original black & white, but it's missing the end credits. The only extra is an audio commentary by MST3K's Mike Nelson. There is no reason to buy this Blu-ray; I only mention it for the sake of completeness.

As an FYI: The release I'm reviewing is a Manufacture On Demand Recorded Blu-ray, not a factory-pressed disc. If online artwork and the case spine says "Blu-ray Disc" in plain text, it's a BD-R recorded disc. If it has a Blu-ray logo, it's a factory-pressed disc. If you have the disc in hand, a purple bottom is a recorded disc, and a silver bottom is a pressed disc. It is said that factory-pressed discs last longer than recorded discs, aside from those made by Warner Brothers in the late 2000s. I don't know if that's true, but if it matters to you, I'm letting you know.

This item has been provided by Gemini Entertainment for review on this site.