As Halloween fast approaches, the weekly sex bomb props are going out to the hottest, gnarliest creatures of the night in recent memory – so of course one springs to mind above all others: Dr Frank-N-Furter. Yes the legendary ‘Sweet Transvestite’ from the 1975 film version of the rock musical stage-play, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, is our pin-up today, and rightly so. Not only was he wickedly smart, perverse and clinically insane – he rather magically managed to make dressing up in women’s lingerie appear strangely masculine, even sexy. Not only did he get his mittens all over the cute virginal girl, Janet – but her boy, Brad, and all without breaking a sweat. No, that was left up to his impeccably toned boy-toy gold-hot-pants-wearing creation, Rocky.
The film, a parody of B-movies, science-fiction and horror, mutated the popular genres of the time to create something utterly original and completely ground-breaking. Rarely before had the world seen a glimpse of gay or bi-sexual activity – and perhaps never witnessed it portrayed in a positive light. And while Frank-N-Furter’s sexual appetite, selfishness and insanity proved his downfall, he’s remained one of cult cinema’s most beloved characters (and a shout-out has to be given to Susan Sarandon as the stitched-up Janet, who looks seriously out-of-control smokin’ hot. And her rendition of ‘There’s a Light’, pure genius).
Today, 36 years after its premiere, Rocky Horror has the longest-running theatrical release in film history. It’s stayed a ‘midnight movie’ at cinemas around the world since 1977 in London, when audiences started singing along to the screen. In 2005 it was even selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. This flick has got a life of its own – and there couldn’t be a better time to celebrate it than leading up to Halloween… I mean, Columbia’s get-up has to be one of THE best Halloween costumes ever!
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