My sisters and I sporting our virgin brandings at our first Rocky Horror midnight screening

In the years leading up to 1973, New-Zealand resident Richard O’Brien took his love for “science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s” (Wikipedia) and used it as inspiration to try his hand at writing a parody through the medium of musical theatre. The result was The Rocky Horror Show, an onstage musical performance. Lou Adler, a famous record and film producer, saw this show and loved it so much that he bought its theatrical rights. With help from theatrical impresario Michael White and director/producer of the Rocky Horror Show Jim Sharman, Adler was able to create what is today recognized as the cult-classic film entitled The Rocky Horror Picture Show (often referred to more simply as Rocky Horror) which was released in 1975–decades ahead of its time. The Rocky Horror Picture Show features its writer Richard O’Brien as an actor, as well as iconic Hollywood faces Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry, and others.

Despite heavily relying on familiar themes and references to actors from the iconic horror films of the preceding decades, O’Brien was amazingly able to write a film so unlike anything seen before. A simple synopsis of the storyline gives an unfamiliar, prospective viewer a feel for the film’s campy, mock-horror atmosphere. Such a synopsis is as follows:

In an attempt to call for help after their car has broken down during a rainstorm, newly-engaged couple Brad and Janet stumble upon the ‘Frankenstein Place,’ a castle occupied by Dr. Frank-N-Furter, an evil-scientist-alien from the faraway planet Transvestite, and his colleagues. Inside the castle, Frank-N-Furter reveals his latest creation, ‘Rocky Horror,’ a beautiful, blonde, synthetically-made man built to fulfill Frank’s sexual desires. Chaos ensues within the Frankenstein Place until the castle itself eventually returns to where it came from via the method of space-travel referred to as the ‘time warp.’ (And that's not even the half of it.)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a film that simultaneously does not take itself seriously at all and is intimidatingly secure with itself. With major themes such as sexual fluidity, its intended audience was likely not five-year-old children born thirty years after its conception. Yet, this is not to say that the film was fully avoided by this demographic (me). Personally, my first interactions with the film–or, more specifically, with its soundtrack–were very early on in my life. Before I had any grasp on the movie’s ridiculous plot, or its renowned reputation as a cult classic, it was silly songs for me to dance around to in the living room and scream the words to during car rides with my mother and little sisters. I didn’t have to know what exactly the ‘time warp’ was to know it was just a jump to the left. My adoration for the film only grew as I came to understand what draws so many other devoted fans to it, as well as what keeps that fanbase thriving.

While there are many elements to Rocky Horror that keep fans coming back to do the time warp again (and again), there are also elements that scare potential fans away. One of these things is the complexity of the plot itself. In a recent interview I did with Randall Carlisle, who played the Narrator in the Pioneer Theatre Company's recent rendition of The Rocky Horror Show, he said, "Even after seeing the show, you might not be sure you fully understand the story, for it’s such a bizarre chain of events...If you told me to give you a 30-second sound bite to describe the plot of Rocky Horror, I couldn’t do it." While this point is very valid, don't let the silliness scare you away. To convince you to give Rocky Horror a chance, I've made this website to help guide you through this strange journey.