Part 17 - 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' Is A Depraved Explosion of Manically Seductive Glee
Why, against all reason, has The Rocky Horror Picture Show gone straight into my Letterboxd favourites?
Recently, I found myself feeling incomplete, shadowy and vacant. After Grease, I was infused with a deadly sense of rage. After Brokeback Mountain, it was the desire for something equally as magic and captivating. My little film journey has felt bumpy, with a course and unforgiving road at one moment, and then, a crossing into satisfyingly smooth ground. I knew that I was craving something more, some solid territory to find my feet. I needed something that would send a shock through my system, to restart my scattered mind with one brief jolt.
Rocky Horror was always something I had been aware of, kind of like Grease (but that is the only aspect which relates the two) I used to go to halloween parties at a friend’s house, where it was seemingly transformed into a haunted, ghoulish mansion. Or, at least it looked like that through my 8 year old self’s eyes. My friend’s mum always had a variety of games at hand, one which included learning the steps to the ‘Time Warp.’ At the time, I had no idea this was to do with Rocky Horror and just assumed it was some traditional Halloween dance, like the Monster Mash or Thriller. I had watched parodies before the real thing too, with unfortunate reference here to the Glee version. I knew it was wacky, I knew it was inappropriate, I knew it was a classic musical. But, much like protagonists Brad and Janet, I hadn’t the faintest conception of what lie in wait for me…
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ (1975), directed by Jim Sharman, first introduces us to newly-engaged couple, Brad (played by Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon). Naive and innocent, they set off to celebrate with their high school science teacher, Dr Scott. On the way, caught in a turbulent storm, they get a flat tire and are forced to go to a castle they had seen on the way. However, as soon as they enter, strange happenings start to fizz and pop. Eccentric characters are introduced, such as the hunch-backed Riff Raff (Richard O’Brien) and the nasally, tap-dancing-crazed Colombia (Nell Campbell). And, just as Janet begs Brad to take her home, a corseted and makeup-bedazzled transvestite by the name of Dr Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) arrives. With a sly grin and a twinkling eye, he invites the two to stay and to visit his lab, where he is attempting to bring life to a blonde, tanned being named Rocky. As we jump back to the present, a criminologist who investigated this fateful evening sets out the facts. Will the case of Brad and Janet ever be solved and will they manage to escape the labyrinthine twists and turns of the Frankenstein Place?
Right at the beginning of this film journey, I set out my Letterboxd top four favourites - the pillars on which my adoration for cinema stood. I felt that, yes, they may change but would never stray too far from the originals. However, it gives me great pleasure to announce the first major development in the BellaWatchesFilms journey. Rocky Horror has now entered into the top 4, replacing Baby Driver in the final slot. I set out the conditions a film needed to meet in order to enter my top four, back in April in my introductory blog post. I said it needed to speak to that version of me, in that place and in that time, and I needed to feel a minute change within myself, after the viewing has taken place. I can say, with complete confidence, that Rocky Horror has done just that.
Perhaps it is the timing, as a few days earlier I had ended my almost three year relationship. I had sent out requests for miserable media, desperate to consume the more depressing side of the cinematic world for my well-fed sorrow. But, instead I chose this. And boy, was it one of the best decisions I could have made for myself. Because, who needs heart-ache when you can simply replace it with insanity, with a frivolous plot and nonsensical musical sequences?
I noticed that, as the hour and forty minutes spun away from me, I could feel shivers and sparkles creeping across my body. Somewhat akin to the fizzy lifting juice in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), I could feel elation and energy dancing across my skin. It seemed to demand the very breath from me. What helped to propel this was by far the music. With the convergence of Bowie, rock and roll and a slight twinge of Halloween, the music is explosively catchy and effectively forces you under a spell, where you are compelled to dance along. As soon as I heard the jagged guitar riff at the beginning of the 'Time Warp' I felt a massive grin stretch across my face. Each of the character’s voices create this extraordinarily layered effect, from the whiny, dulcet tones of Janet to the seductive drawl of Frank. Each voice is essentially a puzzle piece; they slot together to create a chorus of easily-definable characters. Overall, the musical sequences were delicately placed into this, meaning the pacing was just right.
The characterisation was some of the best that I have ever seen in a film. Each character, although complex and alien at first, are recognisably distinct. Take Sarandon’s Janet and Bostwick’s Brad: their first song is ‘Dammit Janet’ which quickly establishes their happiness lying with being engaged in name only. We see that they are passionless (in comparison with what is yet to come), innocent and bland. This ingeniously sets up a wonderful juxtaposition between the couple and Frank N Furter’s gang. The ‘background’ characters (Riff Raff, Magenta, Colombia) are all uniquely twisted, which allow the colours to seep out, to create the gorgeously insane bigger picture we come to laud as a cult classic.
I am restraining myself from dedicating a whole paragraph to the majesty of Curry’s portrayal of Frank, his first ever screen role, but I was enamoured by him from the start. His first appearance, announcing himself by the tapping of a white, rhinestoned heel as he descends in the lift, sent shivers down my body. He had such an alluring and commanding presence, with fourth wall breaks that demanded for our attention. He was seductive and enticing, cloaked in mystery and doused in sexual freedom. We feel simultaneously at ease and yet on our guard when he graces the screen, with swinging hips and a toothy grin. We never quite know what he’s about to do next.
The progression of said characters is equally divine. With all the excitement at Rocky’s birth from a rainbow tank, exciting great pleasure from Frank, he seems to lose control more and more. Rocky, (played by Peter Hinwood), provides yet another great contrast as his innocent, childlike nature only seems to exert the wildness of the other characters. Frank sleeps with Brad, Janet and Rocky which seems to push them into uncharted realms, sniffing for more and more blood in the water. After turning them into statues, the three of them are transformed into their final selves: corseted, carved creations mirrored after Frank himself. Swelling with his confidence, his sexiness and his mindset, they are ‘released’ by the film’s conclusion. The criminologist (played by Charles Gray) increases the scale of their depravity, with his deadpan retelling of the story echoing solemnly in the background. This helps remind the audience of who Brad and Janet were at the start and who they have now become.
To round off my praise (and yes, it is mostly praise today), I was surprised by the revelation that this was a B-movie (a lower budget film of lower quality). Because, the majority of the set pieces were rich in colour and life. For instance, Frank’s peachy pink lab, decked out with a blue, starry roof and greek statues. The film’s conclusion plays out, for the majority, on a stage and a swimming pool which just made it feel like a heart-racing version of reality. The moment that perhaps sealed this film as one of my top four was where Frank walks up to a stage light, which projects his silhouette, framed in a deep blue, as he tilts his head back to sing. Nothing existed around me in that moment. All I knew was that this was playing out before me and that it was going to change me.
It was just a genuine pleasure to witness something without any limitations. With homosexual sex scenes, the presentation of Frank and the diversity of the actors in the Time Warp dance sequence, it was refreshing to see something so free and so jovial. It never once lost the fun it had worked so hard to generate, leaving the happiness to feel genuine and effortless. Aside from the general insanity, the comedic undertones served to bring out the wonder of this piece even more. The sex scenes, which I knew were fairly iconic before viewing them, were awash with comedic notes that brought real laughter out of me.
I can imagine that the kookiness and outright madness of this film may put off many people, as well as it sheer levels of camp. However, I am regarded to have a ‘Drag Race addiction’ by those who know me well so I felt somewhat prepared. If I had one complaint (and I really hate to complain when it comes to this) it is mainly concerning the film’s conclusion. What with the killing off of several, well-established characters, the large-scale closing number, the rebellion of Frank’s servants and the blasting off of the house for the planet Transylvania, I was a little overwhelmed. You can probably tell, just by the list I gave you, that the ending could have been neatened up just a tiny bit. We could have had more of a definite conclusion too from the criminologist, who never actually gives us his findings. I initially gave this film a 5/5 rating, overcome by the heat of emotions. But, after giving myself time, I would gift The Rocky Horror Picture Show an outstanding 4 1/2 out of 5.
I feel that I owe a debt of gratitude to Rocky Horror because, finding myself poised in a relatively difficult situation, this gave me the greatest gift a film can bestow: a well-needed break from reality. I do find myself drawn to the sadder end of the spectrum when it comes to media. However, I do feel that this has changed that perspective slightly. Because, whenever I dip back into my noise-cancelling headphones, it is the Rocky Horror soundtrack that plays out. Sometimes as early as 6 am, too. And, whenever it is on, I lose myself yet again. I am interwoven with the booming melodies. I am drawn back to the memories of just how good this film was. So, to sum up, I will leave you with my two favourite quotes from Rocky Horror, a pair that seemed to really speak to me at this point in time:
‘There’s a light in the darkness of everybody’s life’
‘Don’t dream it. Be it’
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