It was supposed to be a horror film, but the way Dick Miller played it was more like pathos. The film was a tough sell to distributors at the time. It didn't get released for a year and a half. Welles says that distributors were afraid of bad taste. The film wouldn't faze anyone today.
Irreverence is very acceptable now.
It was only years later that Bava developed a reputation as a master horror director, and Black Sunday was not a hit at the time. By contrast, The Little Shop of Horrors generated great word of mouth. Since then, it's been seen by 40 million people, Welles claims. A musical play version spread into 18 national companies, and the musical was eventually made into a film with Bill Murray, Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. It's a theatrical musical adaptation.