The Rocky Horror Picture Show Reviews

This film has become the official definition of a cult movie--so much so that the audience watching (or more accurately, participating in) the picture is the most interesting element. What happens on the screen is secondary. Based on a British musical stage play by O'Brien (who also appears in the film and wrote all the music), RHPS eventually made it to the screen with the help of Lou Adler and Michael White. After a short run in New York it closed, but soon was revived on the midnight circuit. It is the story of Brad and Janet (Bostwick and Sarandon) whose car breaks down during a rainstorm in Ohio. They look for shelter in a mansion, which turns out to be the residence of Dr. Frank N. Furter, wildly played by Curry. They soon find themselves in the middle of a convention of alien transsexuals from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy Transylvania. Curry is ready to reveal his Frankenstein-esque creation--a monster named Rocky who is to be the ultimate sexual male. What follows, in a nutshell, is sex, cannibalism (Meat Loaf is appropriately eaten), murder, seduction, more sex, people being turned into statues, RKO Radio Pictures being spoofed, and Brad and Janet (dammit!) escaping before everything is blown up. The film itself is a lot of fun--but the audience-participation phenomenon has turned it into a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. SHOCK TREATMENT was a sequel of sorts.