David Bridges
Key Points
- Definition: The term “cult classic” refers to movies or shows with dedicated followings, often introduced by existing fans.
- Documentary Overview: Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror examines the legacy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- Interviews: Richard O’Brien and original cast members, including Tim Curry, share insights into the film’s cultural impact.
- Theatrical Release: The documentary premieres in over 50 cities starting September 26, showcasing its enduring appeal.
The world “cult classic” gets thrown around a lot these days, too often intended to mean a movie or TV show with a cult following. But before the internet gave us access to everything and anything, true cult classics meant movies that you had to be introduced to by someone already initiated. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was such a sensation, going from a London fringe play to a flopped movie to a midnight madness phenomenon that’s lasted for 50 years.
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror is a documentary that looks back on the origins of this truly iconic film, as Richard O’Brien, author of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, lays out ahead of the trailer above.
His son, documentarian Linus O’Brien, interviews a slew of the original cast members, including O’Brien, Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick. To get an idea of the impact this movie about kinky aliens had on pop culture, O’Brien also speaks to stars who grew up obsessed with Rocky Horror, including Tenacious D’s Jack Black and RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars champion Trixie Mattel.
Archival footage from the ’70s allows audiences to do the time warp again, taking us back to the rise of the shadow casts and all the in-theater mayhem that came to be a part of the show’s legacy. But beyond that, this documentary aims to explore why this “freak” show appeals to so, so, so, so many.
How to watch: Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror opens in a limited theatrical run in more than 50 cities starting on Sept. 26, including the Landmark Theatres Nuart in Los Angeles, the Village East by Angelika in New York, and the Music Box Theater in Chicago.
Daniel Mercer
Ethan Carter
