In the spirit of Halloween, I found it fitting to discuss one of the greatest horror cult classics of all time: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you haven’t already been exposed to this ostentatious parody now is the time. With exceptional music and campy feel, Rocky Horror is the perfect flick for movie-lovers and fun-seekers alike.
Jim Sharman directs this this musical horror parody starring Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and Tim Curry. Based on the 1973 stage show, Rocky Horror was the first feature film for nearly every actor involved, excluding Sarandon. Richard O’Brien, who wrote the original play and music, costars as Riff Raff. Susan Saradon and Barry Bostwick play Brad and Janet, a couple whose car breaks down on their way to inform an old professor of their engagement. But, Tim Curry is the main attraction, as a transvestite alien scientist named Dr. Frank N Furter. Rocky himself is played by Peter Hinwood, who has since retired from acting. He doesn’t have any lines except for a song upon his first creation. Meat Loaf makes a special appearance as Eddie, one of Frank N Furter’s former flings. Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell also costar as Magenta and Columbia, a maid and a groupie.
The movie opens with Brad Majors and Janet Weiss at a friend’s wedding. Brad proposes to Janet in a nearby graveyard and they share a duet about their love for one another. They decide to go and visit the professor that introduced them, that also happens to be Eddie’s uncle, and share the good news. On the way there it beings to pour and their car breaks down, forcing them to seek refuge in Dr. Frank N Furter’s castle. Right away Brad and Janet feel out of place. Everyone they encounter is odd, only topped by Frank N Furter’s grand entrance and rendition of “Sweet Transvestite”. He explains to them that he has created a man in his laboratory and invites them to the unveiling of the creature, Rocky. Eventually, Brad and Janet are seduced by the doctor and within hours of their engagement have each tasted forbidden fruit. As chaos ensues it is revealed that the doctor, Magenta, and Riff Raff are aliens from Transsexual Transylvania.
Although it’s hard to find deeper meaning in Rocky Horror it can be seen as an allegory for America’s transformation during the 1970’s. It parodies- or pays homage to- 50’s rock ‘n roll, B horror movies, and science fiction. The unintentional humor of bad horror is apparent throughout Rocky Horror. The plot is completely ridiculous, coupled with hokey dialogue and over-the-top performances; this film is nothing if not fun. It takes conventional ideas and gives them a 70’s twist. Brad and Janet leave behind their ordinary lives in favor of experimentation and an uncertain future.
Rocky Horror teeters on the edge of socially acceptable sensuality. The 70’s saw a sexual awakening, as experienced by Brad and Janet. Several songs in the film push this boundary. This isn’t the first gender-bender film but it is the most in your face. Dr. Frank N Furter alludes to having had relations with just about every in the movie, men and women alike. Brad and Janet each give themselves to the doctor after having only been in the castle for a few hours. This lights a fire under Janet, who then seduces Rocky and sings her controversial “Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me”. Sex is a huge theme in this movie, but it also plays with a deeper meaning. After Frank N Furter has destroyed himself the voiceover’s last verse is heard– “crawling on the planet’s face, some insects called the human race, lost in time, and lost in space, and meaning”.=
Sarah is a junior Accountancy major at TCNJ. A co-host on WTSR's "Reel Talk," her favorite movies include (500) Days of Summer, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Blue Valentine and Gone Girl. Some of her favorite TV shows are The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Scrubs, House of Cards, True Detective, and Portlandia. Music-wise, she enjoys alt-rock, mostly Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab, She & Him, and plenty more. She also loves pugs and zombies.