HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Rocky Horror Picture Show, The It's Just A Jump To The Left
Year: 1975
Director: Jim Sharman
Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf, Charles Gray, Jeremy Newson, Hilary Labow, Christopher Biggins, Imogen Claire, Henry Woolf, Koo Stark
Genre: Horror, Musical, Comedy, Science FictionBuy from Amazon
Rating:  8 (from 3 votes)
Review: Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and his girlfriend Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) are attending the wedding of friends, and outside the chapel Janet catches the bouquet when the bride throws it. As the guests head off to the reception, Brad has a surge of confidence and asks Janet to marry him: he already has the engagement ring and she is only too happy to accept and be his fiancée. However, during the late night drive home they become lost and after encountering a dead end they decide to call at the country manor they passed back up the road and ask to use their telephone - but the telephone is never used...

The cult movie to end all cult movies, and judging by its grand finale that was precisely the idea, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now a phenomenon as much about its audience as it is watching the film itself. Perhaps the ultimate midnight movie because that's where it found its popularity, it was famously a disaster in cinemas on its initial release, but gradually more and more people would return to see it until they were reciting dialogue along with the actors and even making up their own lines, not to mention taking along props and even dressing up as the characters.

So if you want the full Rocky Horror experience, you really need to see it at one of those midnight screenings complete with rice being thrown and squirting water pistols substituting for rain. But if you happen to catch it on late night television, or even own your own copy, how does it play? As it was based on Richard O'Brien's stage musical, the communal participation is ideal, but separated from that the film still stands up as good fun although that enjoyment does tend to wind down as the story progresses. Ostensibly a tribute to the science fiction and horror movies of the past, it adds glam sexual kinks to give it all an edge.

In fact, the heroes of the movies Rocky Horror pays tribute to would be undoubtedly more terrified by star Tim Curry's transexual transvestite Dr Frank-N-Furter than they would The Creature from the Black Lagoon or giant Tarantula. Curry holds it all together through some of the weaker songs and more lacklustre passages with a terrific performance that mixes winking camp with self-pitying pathos, the perfect combination for a film that attempts to encapsulate both of those properties. When Brad and Janet arrive at the country house they are welcomed in (sort of) by butler Riff Raff (O'Brien) then surprised by the Transylvanians within dancing the Time Warp, the most celebrated song from the production.

How do you top that? With Curry making one of cinema's great entrances, all dressed up with bright red lipstick and women's underwear, but Frank has plans. He brings to life a creation of his own, the Rocky of the title (Peter Hinwood), but unlike the similar Dr Frankenstein, he doesn't reject his "monster", he is the one rejected. Although Frank has wedding bells in mind, Rocky prefers Janet, and actually Frank wouldn't mind trying her on for size either - and bring Brad along too. If this sounds subversive, it plays a lot safer than it reads, and the ending sees the plot unravelling into a morass of sentiment at odds with the party hard fun you might know the film for by reputation. It may be tatty at the corners, but Rocky Horror holds a special place in the hearts of many and its ingenuity on a low budget endures thanks to knowing performances and O'Brien's clever songs.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 8214 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (3)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
Enoch Sneed
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Mary Sibley
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: