It’s spooky movie season but for some of us, though, scary
movies are just too much. I, for one, am still not over a particularly
harrowing screening of a made-for-TV horror called Beneath back in 2009. So, for the faint-hearted out there, know
that you are not alone, and there are plenty of films suitable for viewing if
you choose to do a Hallowe’en movie night. For me, however, there is only one
film worth viewing next Friday evening, surrounded by popcorn, toffee apples
and overly sugared Hallowe’en sweets. The
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
My love for “Rocky Horror” started several years ago, when I
learned “The Time Warp” dance at summer camp. On a whim that summer, I bought a
DVD copy of the 1970’s cult classic, and a mild obsession was born. It has all
the elements of what I love in a film: it’s comedic in a sarcastic sort of way,
it holds just enough tension in its plot to keep you hooked, it’s got songs,
and it’s stark raving mad. My sixteen year old self was utterly captivated by the
sordid household of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Having grown up on a diet of Disney
films and rom-coms, this was an eye-opener for me. When the stage version came
to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in 2010, I missed my opportunity to go, and
I’ve been kicking myself since. Last year I attended a group screening of the
film in college, complete with props to throw at the screen and sing-alongs.
This year, I may well organise my own late screening and slices of toast to
throw around.
What makes
Rocky Horror so unique? Made in the late 1970’s, the film stars Tim Curry in
women’s clothing, for a start. It’s a loving, ridiculous ode to the B-movie
classics of the decades before it, revelling in silly plot twists,
over-theatrical dialogue and casual corruption of its innocent protagonists.
It’s a melting pot of every clichéd horror film you’ve ever seen: mad
scientists, aliens and monsters abound. It makes no apologies for this; the
opening theme literally references a dozen schlocky horrors from the 1950’s “at the late night/double feature/picture
show”. Take all this and add to it a
singing British transvestite, Meatloaf, more than a little sexual tension and
some of the finest songs ever written for a musical, and you’ve got what should
be a mess. What makes “the strangest film phenomenon in history” work is its
sense of inclusion – it’s no coincidence that the film is revered among the
LGBTQ+ community. It’s a film about social exclusion; a seemingly normal couple
are dropped into the crazy world of the Transylvanians, where, it seems,
anything goes. It’s a film, ultimately, about liberation from a repressive
society. It’s a film that encourages you to “don’t dream it, be it”. An awesome
message and a deadly soundtrack? Sure what else would you be watching this
Hallowe’en night?
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