Written by Jim Sharman And Richard O'Brien
Directed by Jim Sharman
Frank: "It's not easy having a good time! Even smiling makes my face ache!"
It's been a good 40 years since the release of this one and needless to say, it's a movie that is both an all time classic and something everyone has an awareness of, even if they've never seen it. Myself, this was a movie that I've seen properly in recent years and have watched over and over because it genuinely is that brilliant and absolutely bizarre in equal measures.
Merging horror, science fiction, comedy, drama and musical in a manner so effortless it's rarely been repeated since, this movie sees a rather sickly sweet couple Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Saradon) forced to spend the night at a rather creepy castle, owned by a "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania" named Dr Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) and his band of misfits.
Now this is a movie with so many bright and vibrant characters, it's almost hard to keep up in a way but each of the characters are truly sublime though. Curry practically steals the whole thing as Frank - going from playful, charming, homicidal, jealous, seductive, vulnerable and even a touch sympathetic at some point too while his servants Riff Raff (Richard O'Brien), Magenta (Patricia Quinn) and Columbia (Nell Campbell) are also a forced to be reckoned with.
Then there's Rocky himself - the cute, perfect Adonis like creation of Frank's that managed to create some accidental havoc of his own while both Janet and Brad themselves are given something of a sexual awakening the deeper they get involved with Frank and his minions.
Of course, the most memorable moments of the movies involve the actual musical numbers themselves. Whether it's The Time Warp, Damnit Janet, There's a Light (Over At The Frankenstein Place), Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me, Planet Schmanet Janet and Science Fiction/Double Feature, you'll certainly know them and you'll certain find yourself singing along to them, whether you'd want to or not. I don't think there's ever been a musical where every single has truly stood out for me.
As for the alien plot of the movie - it's not always the strongest bit and the conclusion does seem a little rushed at the end but there's so much madness and fun to this whole movie that it almost doesn't matter. There's a reason why this movie is such a classic and if you've never seen it before, do yourself a favour and seek it out.
- I was surprised to read that this movie was critically panned upon initial release but it has become a midnight classic at cinemas nowadays.
- There's a sort of sequel called Shock Treatment that focuses on Brad and Janet but it bombed and didn't feature the original cast.
- One of the more underrated roles in the movie is the role of the Criminologist, who does the narration.
- Just check the wikipedia page to see the true impact this movie has made. It even has a page dedicated it's own cult following.
An absolute classic of a movie - The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the best and without a doubt, one of the maddest movies you will ever watch in your life but it's also one of the few movies where you really do owe it to yourself to watch as well, especially during this spooky week.
Rating: 10 out of 10
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