Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025) - 9/10

I’m going to go out in a limb and say do not watch this until you’ve watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show. You want to go into that cold, trust me. This you see, is a love letter and a lovely one at that. Directed by Linus, son of Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien. With a retrospective look at the brilliantly bizarre high camp rock n roll musical masterpiece. It’s O’Brien’s story and he features heavily. Arriving in 60s England from New Zealand, swinging London, getting into theatre, having children (Linus), meeting Jim Sharman, who also features and agrees to put on O’Brien’s stab at a musical. You’re likely reading this because you have seen Rocky Horror. You know the songs, the jokes, you likely love it. “It’s not a movie, it’s a way of life”, one archive clipped fan here, accurately declares. Watching O’Brien casually sing ‘Science Fiction/Double Fiction’ with an acoustic then, will no doubted give you the chills. Nell Campbell, Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn all explain how lo-fi that first theatre production was, raw, no budget, but it’s of course an instant hit. And why is that? It’s so extreme, especially 50 years ago, how did it find an audience so fast? Well because beneath all the flamboyance, flirting and fantastic playfulness. There’s a truth, O’Brien’s truth. One that was always destined for the big screen. What’s charming about its jump to film is how Sharman managed to keep the original cast mostly in tact. Can you imagine Jagger or Bowie playing Frank-n-Furter… well maybe, but not like Curry. Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon are added, the filming is a joy, but on release, famously flops. It didn’t find its audience… but an audience found it. The very definition of a cult film, with now its own script of shout outs popular at every screening (yes it’s still running, the longest running film in history), props, costumes and a shadow cast. All befitting, for my money, the best musical ever made and this is a lovely well crafted spotlight highlighting its importance now, more than ever. Don’t dream it, be it x

9/10