The Horror

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile, but I keep on forgetting to do so. Last week me and Hanna went to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show at a Baltimore art museum near her apartment. They were showing it on a screen and simultaneously acting it out on a stage.

I don't know how many of you have ever been to a live showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but this was my first time, and it's very difficult to describe. As you probably know (even if you haven't seen it) it's a huge cult classic. I knew that before I went. What I didn't know was that this movie really earns its "cult" status. And by that, I mean that its devotees are really weird. Start with the fact that the man sitting across the aisle from me claimed to have seen the movie 1,260 times. And he claimed to that all of these experiences occurred in a theater; apparently, seeing it on DVD or VHS doesn't count.

Why, you might ask, do you have to see this movie live? Because going to a live show adds a complicated and highly developed dimension to the experience that basically obviates the need to watch the actual movie. First of all, many theater-goers dress up like the characters in the movie, who (for those of you who don't know) are a bunch of transsexuals. There's also a ceremonial pre-movie ritual that involves identifying everyone who's never seen the movie before, having people come up to the stage to fake orgasms, popping balloons to represent taking people's virginity, etc. It's hard to describe, but it's very strange.

Then there's the actual movie. The plot of the movie is irrelevant, but also still a mystery to me, because the lines of the characters are drowned out by ritualized and heavily choreographed shouts from the audience. You may think I'm making this up, but I'm not. I'd say that around 75% of the dialogue was unintelligible because the audience members were shouting responses/additions to the actual movie dialogue. According to a Wikipedia article on the subject, the cult members study their lines intensively, usually learning from a few CDs that have been released which offer training on what to shout and when to do it. The audience members also throw various objects at various times throughout the movie.

In addition, the movie features both Susan Sarandon and Meat Loaf.

Let me tell you, it's entertaining, but very strange. I don't know how easy it is to convey the experience, but if you ever have a chance to go, I recommend that you do so. It's the kind of thing that everyone should experience once.