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Poster Description: The poster is black, with The Rocky Horror Picture Show dripping red. Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) lounges on a luscious pair of scarlet lips with the tagline, “Give Yourself Over to Absolute Pleasure.”
You don’t have to look online for long to realise the importance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a cultural icon. Originally a theatre production in 1973, like many films such as this, it was a flop upon its release in 1975. However, its (mostly LGBTQ+) fanbase resurrected it and steadily grew its cult following over fifty years. Indeed, as you will soon discover, I had immense fun writing my review for it back in 2011. How much has my opinion changed in that time?
As ever, my previous thoughts will be highlighted in blue.
2011: I’d always been
curious about The Rocky Horror Picture
Show, ever since I first danced to ‘The Time Warp’ aged thirteen, but when
I asked my dad about it, I must admit, I was rather unsettled by the plot.
Transvestites? In a musical?! At that
age, I’d only just discovered High School
Musical which – let’s face it – is about as white-bread as you can get when
it comes to musicals. How could you put such complete opposites in the same
genre?
2011: But then I saw the tribute-episode on Glee three weeks ago, and that was it. I was enticed…I had to see the real thing, and coincidentally, my dad had taped it off the TV (with a video tape, no less! With a VCR! How retro!), a few weeks before that. So eventually in the half term, I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time…and then I had to watch it again the very next day, because I loved it so much.
2025: Ah, Glee. What a sad legacy it has today. I recently watched a video about this, and you can see it here. Yes, I’d loved Rocky Horror then, but mostly I was very confused. As in, “What the hell have I just watched?!”
2011: The story revolves around Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon), two young kids who are off to visit their old professor, to break the news of their engagement, having originally met in his class.
2025: This always seemed a bit odd to me. Would people do this now, if they ever did? Still, it suggests a good relationship between them and Dr. Scott before we even meet him, so that’s nice.
2011: But like any horror cliché, it’s raining, and they get a flat tyre…just outside a creepy castle that would have Scooby Doo and the gang chomping at the bit to investigate.
2025: More like running for the hills! Zoinks! Someone out there must have written a crossover fanfiction, but I’m too scared to find out because the stories will undoubtedly get incredibly weird and fast.
As a surprising side note,
the castle in Rocky Horror is very wheelchair-accessible. Just ask Dr. Scott!
Jonathan Adams plays the role. His fake German accent is sometimes hard to
understand, but he’s still a funny polar opposite of his rival, Frank-N-Furter.
Image Description:
In a bright, colourful lab, Frank-N-Furter teases Janet, dancing against her.
She wears white underwear and looks toward Brad, who wears a blue dressing
gown. Magenta sneers, hands on hips. Dr. Scott watches Dr. Frank-N-Furter in
horror, holding onto the wheels of his manual wheelchair. He wears a grey
jacket, white shirt and red-gold-striped tie; his legs are covered with a plaid
blanket.
2011: Only there’s no ghost hanging around this particular castle – just a handyman who looks suspiciously similar to the presenter of The Crystal Maze…
2025: Richard O’Brien also co-wrote the film with director Jim Sharman. Riff-Raff and his sister, Magenta (Patricia Quinn, Monty Python’s Meaning of Life), are an odd pair, to say the least, hinting at an incestuous relationship. Given the film, this is hardly surprising and somewhat easy to overlook. Also, they’re aliens because, of course, they are. This film is weird, we know that by now!
2011: …and Tim Curry wearing tights and suspenders (but, er, thankfully has the legs for them, so it’s OK).
2025: Pierre La Roche makes Tim Curry look utterly gorgeous. I particularly admire Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s perfectly rectangular eyeshadow from eyelid to eyebrow.
2011: He/she plays a Mad Scientist with an obsession with pleasure, so, naturally he/she’s creating a creature that can – ahem – help with that.
2025: Tim Curry is utterly magnetic, hilarious and sinister in pearls and a dark perm. The creature is Rocky, played by Peter Hinwood, eerily Aryan in gold pants. He doesn’t talk, but he sure can sing! And poor Janet is helpless against him and his hot bod. Her solo “Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch-A Me” shows her brief stint of autonomy, though it raises all kinds of questions about consent and taking advantage: as Rocky later states, he is “…just seven hours old. Truly beautiful to behold.” So that makes it okay, right? Sarandon plays Janet soft and simpering but somewhat repressed. Brad is also a strong epitome of manly jock (laughs in foreshadowing), but we kind of lose him along the way with more focus on Janet.
With that said, the musical numbers are still fun, from Brad’s earnest “Dammit, Janet” to Tim Curry’s spellbinding solo, “I’m Going Home.” The first song, “Science Fiction, Double Feature” is littered with B-movie references, while the final song, “Super Heroes,” feels extremely anti-climatic after all the madness.
2011: On reflection, I can see why Dad most definitely didn’t want me to see this, aged thirteen, even though it’s certified as a 12. Brad and Janet spend most of the film in their underwear (because…y’know it was raining, and they were wet n’ stuff), someone gets eaten, and don’t even get me started on the lyrics to some of the songs.
2025: The man who gets eaten is Eddie, played by a young Meatloaf with a terrible Teddy Boy quiff. His fate is the darkest aspect of the film as a whole. It could also be said that Colombia (Nell Campbell, Pink Floyd: The Wall) has the saddest story; devoted as she is to Eddy, she insinuates through song (naturally) that she was seduced by Dr. Frank-N-Furter – her boyfriend’s murderer.
2011: [In conclusion, The Rock Horror Picture Show is] insane and sexy, and you may need to watch it again to get the hang of the story. Too mature for its certificate!
2025: Definitely still insane and sexy, but not too mature for its 15 certificate. Rocky Horror Picture Show ain’t looking too bad for fifty!
My Rating:
2011: 4 STARS OUT OF
5
My Sources:
Rocky Horror Picture Show poster - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/mediaviewer/rm164582400/?ref_=tt_ov_i
How old is Rocky Horror Picture Show? - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/
Was it a theatre production first? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20200618-the-rocky-horror-picture-show-the-film-thats-saved-lives
When was Rocky Horror…released? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show
When was Repo! The Genetic Musical released? - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963194/
(Mic The Snare) Here’s what we missed on Glee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a8FEqrG8c4&t=3s
Image: The gang together, ish - https://rockyhorror.fandom.com/wiki/Planet_Schmanet,_Janet
What else has Jim Sharman directed? - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788940/
Patricia Quinn’s filmography - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0703946/?ref_=tt_cst_t_5
Rocky Horror Picture Show musical numbers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show_(soundtrack)
Nell Campbell’s filmography - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0132752/?ref_=tt_cst_t_6
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