The Rocky Horror Picture Show turns 50 this year, and if you still haven’t caught a midnight screening of the longest-running theatrical release in film history (grossing more than $200 million to date), then all we have to say is “Dammit, Janet!” And if your name isn’t Janet, you’re still on the hook. Because Richard O’Brien’s magnum opus is more than just a campy cult classic; it’s a science-fiction-horror-glam-rock musical that celebrates B movies as much as it satirizes them. It’s also become both a cornerstone of queer culture, due to its avant-garde depiction of sexual fluidity, and a crowd-favorite piano-bar set list.
If all that sounds like high-concept jargon, allow us to explain the film in plain English. A newly engaged couple, Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon), seek shelter in a castle owned by a mad scientist after their car breaks down in the rain. They are greeted by the hunchbacked servant Riff Raff (O’Brien himself), who introduces them—after one of the most recognizable numbers of all time, “Time Warp”—to his master, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, played with gusto by Tim Curry.
With his perm, pearls, powder-white foundation, cobalt eye shadow, and fishnet tights, Dr. Frank-N-Furter is equal parts Golden Girl, Morticia Addams, and Sally Bowles—only he’s a “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” who seduces both Brad and Janet, slays a character played by the one and only Meat Loaf, and brings to life his own Frankenstein: a blond, Schwarzenegger-esque bodybuilder named Rocky. The rest of the story seems to unfold much like an improv sketch (“Yes, and … ”) gone deliciously off the rails.
If you find you need more, then Rocky Horror: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Cult Classic—a new book with photographs by the renowned British rock-music photographer Mick Rock—paints a picture. By the last page, you just might want to join in on a shadow-cast act in theaters this Halloween. And if not, there’s always next year. Cue “Time Warp.” —Carolina de Armas
Carolina de Armas is a Junior Editor at AIR MAIL
