Review of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) by Halfwelshman — 01 Nov 2011

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is best described as "high camp". That is to say, the film is a masterclass in gaudy costumes, flamboyant song-and-dance numbers and hammy dialogue - it's fully aware of what it is and is not afraid to exploit it to the nth degree.

Rocky Horror is far more than a mere camp-classic, however, it's an extremely clever semi-parody of cheap 50s sci-fi movies presented in the form of a rock-musical - there's nothing else like it in the world! The film has undeniably become a cultural phenomenon over the years thanks to its fanatical cult following, and it's easy to see why.

The songs are catchy and easy to join in with, there's plenty of humour throughout, of both the unashamedly bizarre and more grounded variety, and of course, there's Tim Curry. He gives the performance of his career as Dr.

Frank N. Furter - part mad scientist, part cross-dressing rockstar, and you can't help but smile whenever he's on screen. The creative mind behind the whole Rocky Horror project (both film and stage show), Richard O'Brien needs to be commended for bringing together such a staggeringly wide range of ideas into one (relatively) coherent entity - he's obviously an avid film fan, so he packs Rocky Horror full of references for cinephiles to lap up, but he's also a talented song and screen writer, musician and of course he portrays the decidedly creepy, yet strangely likeable "handyman" Riff Raff.

You're carried along supping this strange filmic **** quite happily for the majority of the film, but it is in its last twenty minutes or so that Rocky Horror disappoints a little. It's almost as though everyone's run out of steam, and so we drift towards a rather damp and unsatisfying conclusion.

Perhaps we were taken in by all the bright lights and fishnets of the rest of the film, but the fact remains that Rocky Horror's final act is its weakest element. That said, you'll hardly care if you see The Rocky Horror Picture Show as it was meant to be seen - with a group of friends, perhaps dressed up, and participating in the whole experience, especially the Time Warp.