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theparanormalperiodical · 3 years ago

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6 Reasons Why The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Is A Cult Classic

I think my brain just, like, flipped inside out. I always start my blog posts with like a snazzy little, everyday story and then make some mind-blowing connection to a huge, famous horror film that you weren’t expecting. Basically, I blow ya minds and then you guys keep reading.

But no. Today I am the one with the mind that is blown.

So, Tim Curry.

I’ve heard his name before ‘cause he played IT in the original TV miniseries, right? Well, I was shoooooketh to read that he played Dr Frank-N-Furter and thought “wow, this Tim Curry guy is an actual legend of horror. What else has this bloke done?”

Turns out Tim Curry is this guy.

I nearly died. No, sorry, correction: I did actually die a death. He’s a British actor I’ve seen hundreds of times, like, he’s one of those famous people you see a lot and you don’t know their name but ya just know ‘em.

Turns out he’s done hell of a lot, including Barbie in the Nutcracker, Charlie’s Angels and Home Alone 2.

But before all that, he starred in the original London cast and Roxy (Chicago) cast of The Rocky Horror Show (1973), and reprised the role of the sweeeeeet transvestttiiite in the movie version, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

And that’s what we’re talking about today.

It’s the longest-running theatre release in history with 45 years in the cinemas under its garter. There’s a reason it’s prevailed all these years, and hasn’t even let a pandemic stop it from doing the Time Warp. Well, there’s a few.

Today we’re talking about all the reasons Rocky Horror is a cult classic.

People started returning to theatres to watch it again

When it first hit the big screen in 1975, TRHPS was a flop. It was actually pulled from screens, to begin with. Lots of critics didn’t make unfair criticisms about the film - they often just said, “It belongs on a stage, with the performers and audience joining in a collective send-up.” Despite this, droves of people would fill up the cinema seats. And more often than not, it’d be people returning to see the film yet again.

The following year, at Waverly Theatre in NYC, midnight showings of the film began. It became one of the first ‘midnight movies’, a camp, crappy B movie often screened late at night. It amassed a raucous crowd mostly made up of the LGBTQA+ community, a group finding its voice shortly after the Stonewall riots of 1969. Soon, it found a fanbase among other “misfits” of the era.

These screenings became a safe space for the weirdos of the 1970s. A space they’d flock back to, often dressed up and armed with props to engage with the film in its entirety.

…and then they started interacting with the film

Returning to theatres was only one half of the Rocky Horror ritual - getting in the garb and acting out scenes alongside the big screen was key to making the film a cult classic. Performance groups even lip-synched to the tracks and acted out the dialogue of the film below the screen.

Another notable contribution was the audience calling out funny, alternative responses to the scripted lines. One of the first ‘audience participation’ lines was from a quiet teacher who, upon seeing Janet cover her hair with a newspaper in the rain, yelled: "Buy an umbrella, you cheap bitch!".

They’d throw toast, water and rice at the screen when the lines called for it - but soon, the cinemas banned this due to damage and clear up.

It’s meta and it’s magical

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally based on B horror movies. It even calls out the iconic films from the 1930s to the 70s in the opening song. The writer of the original play, Richard O’Brien, drew directly from the sci-fi and trashy films he grew up with, setting the genre against the backdrop of British Glam Rock.

He explicitly stated that "glam rock allowed me to be myself more", eluding to the theme of freedom and self-expression that made Rocky Horror what it is today. O’Brien actually went on to play Riff Raff in the film, the decrepit caretaker plotting to return to his home planet.

Christ, I’ve gone off topic.

Because the film was inherently based on these low-budget, badly-rated flicks, it didn’t take itself too seriously: it’s got in-jokes, it breaks the fourth wall, it parodies just about every horror cliche that preceded it.

It speaks directly to the audience, and, as we know, they liked to reply.

It was ahead of its time for the LGBTQA+ community - even if it’s still stuck in the 70s

In a post-Stonewall world, sexuality was finding its feet as a talking point. But Rock Horror wasn’t just gay - it was gender-neutral, too. The iconic red lips were voiced by a man and Frank N. Furter took pride in being a ‘transvestite’. Now, transvestite doesn’t mean trans. Normally, its’s when a person cross-dresses as a different gender even if they don’t necessarily identify as that gender.

These days, people who dress as another gender call themselves ‘cross-dressers’, but I’d still be wary of using this term.

It’s for the outcasts and the dreamers

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is certainly a messy film with a lot of genres, themes and ideas going on. But one of the most popular themes that survives the fishnets, the hit songs and the aliens from outer space is “don't dream it, be it”.

The fanbase that returned night after night were dreaming of a world like this - where it was okay to be different. In fact, different is good! Janet and Brad, our ordinary, straight couple destined to save themselves for marriage before moving into a 3-bed house outside of the city were the outcasts, here.

Dr Frank-N-Furter is technically a Disney princess

We end with an actual meme. As Disney+ (UK) now screens The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dr Frank-N-Furter now counts as a Disney princess. In my world, anyway.