By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
For those of us who love schlock movies, there’s such a thing as “so bad it’s good.” It’s not exactly critic-approved, but this is a description best applied to movies that are more than the sum of their awful parts. Sometimes, the acting, plot, special effects, and more are so dreadful that they collectively form a kind of cinematic train wreck that it’s almost impossible to look away from. But if you’re willing to do your own Time Warp, there’s one “so bad it’s good” movie that’s secretly great: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a quirky comedy classic now streaming on Hulu.
The Original Cult Musical
If you’ve never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show (in theaters, on TV, or on streaming services like Hulu), here’s the weird little plot: we follow the misadventures of a newly engaged couple who get lost driving in the rain, forcing them to see if a nearby castle has a phone they can use. There’s no phone but an entire cast of characters, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter (a self-professed “sweet transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania”) and his shirtless, hunky creation (the titular Rocky). Their relationship is put to the ultimate test, one consisting of sex, drugs, and a bit of Rocky-and-roll.
For those who have genuinely made it this long without seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show (seriously, just go click that Hulu link at the bottom of the article!), the biggest draw of this film is the cast, including Tim Curry in an unforgettably freaky performance as Frank-N-Furter. Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon play the hapless couple at the center of this tale, and their goofy chemistry effectively holds the film together. Along the way, you’ll even meet an unexpected guest star in this sci-fi musical comedy: Meat Loaf, who apparently will do anything for love or a paycheck.
On paper, The Rocky Horror Picture Show looks like a bona fide financial success. Against a scant budget of $1.4 million, it went on to earn over $170 million, making it the kind of successful comedy Hulu is lucky to have in the streaming rotation. Originally, though, this film was a flop: it opened in eight cities and was soon yanked from theaters after only being a success in Los Angeles. After a year, though, a 20th Century Fox executive named Tim Deegan would convince distributors to start showing this as a midnight movie, a decision that made the film profitable even as it unexpectedly created Hollywood history.
You see, these midnight showings largely attracted the same fans each week, and after about five months, a new tradition began where audience members would talk back to the characters onscreen. This led to fans creating performance groups where they would dress up like the characters and act out the events even as the film played behind them. Now, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is officially the longest-running film release in history, continuing to play in theaters and as part of fan performances even as it streams on Hulu.
Perfecting The Midnight Movie
The Rocky Horror Picture show did not create the midnight movie experience, but it arguably perfected it. At this point, there are decades of deliciously decadent fan performances and naughty callbacks that have kept this movie alive and well. And if you’ve ever enjoyed something shlocky and sexy showing at your local theater after midnight, you have Rocky Horror to thank for that.
If you’re on the fence about streaming the movie, you should know that critics favored this film much more than early audiences did. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a critical rating of 80 percent, with critics generally praising the out-of-this-world story as well as the vivid music and colorful characters. As for audiences, this film has a Popcornmeter rating of 85 percent, proof that doing the Time Warp (again) remains hilarious fun for movie lovers of all ages.
Will you enjoy The Rocky Horror Picture Show as much as we did, or will you want to beam this movie away from Hulu and back to its home planet? You won’t know until you stream it. And if Tim Curry’s performance inspires you to order your very own groovy set of fishnets, well…there’s no crime in giving yourself over to pleasure, now is there?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is available on Hulu.