Rocky and Shocky is my late night double feature picture show. I fell in love with Rocky Horror Picture Show in time for it's 25th anniversary, which means I saw the VH1 special that mentioned it's sequel, Shock Treatment, which I hunted down on VHS, which I loved. They are both cult classics, but achieved that status in their own way.
Rocky Horror Picture Show, released in 1975, was based on the stage play Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien, who also wrote the movie along with director Jim Sharman. The basic plot of Rocky Horror Picture Show follows Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon). Brad proposes to Janet after their friend Ralph Hapschatt (Jeremy Newson) and Betty Monroe's wedding. The couple then decide that they want to share their good news with their friend Dr. Everett Scott (Jonathan Adams) since he was the one who introduced Brad and Janet. However, fate--or a sweet transvestite, it's not clear which--gives them a flat tire on the way and leads them to the castle of Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry) the night he reveals his creation. Everything after that is just pure sex, violence, and rock 'n roll. The events of the story are narrated by the Criminologist (Charles Gray). The movie is a horror B-movie spoof, the way I feel Plan 9 From Outer Space should have been. While the movie did not originally do well, it found a late night audience who took advantage of the movie's many pauses to insert their own lines, making it the audience participation classic it is today.
The rest of the major cast includes Meatloaf as Eddie (a rebel), Nell Campbell as Columbia (a groupie), Richard O'Brien as Riff Raff (a handyman) and Patricia Quinn as Magenta (a domestic). The cast is probably one of the best ensemble casts I've seen in anything and their characterizations help to make the movie so much fun.
The music in Rocky Horror is phenomenal. On DVD, I like to watch the UK version because it has one more song than the US version--"Superheroes". In fact, many people who have never seen Rocky Horror still know what has sort have become it's anthem, "Time Warp", a karaoke and dance classic that's even been covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks. The only song I don't personally like is "I'm Going Home", and I'm pretty sure that's personal preference. I just think it feels forced and out of place.
Rocky Horror Picture Show is just 90 minutes of fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously. It still plays in theatres to this very day for midnight audiences who still take as much fun participating with the movie as they did 34 years ago. The popularity of Rocky Horror as a cult classic did make Fox decide that they wanted a sequel.
The "sequel" went through many phases before it became Shock Treatment. Originally, it was supposed to be a direct sequel to Rocky Horror Picture Show (Rocky Horror Kicks Up His Heels), but the studio didn't like it. It was completely rewritten as The Brad and Janet Show, which was supposed to shoot in real life Denton, Texas, but a strike made it impossible to film in the United States. Since actors were only available for a set amount of time, the movie was slightly rewritten again to become Shock Treatment and set completely inside a TV studio. Shock Treatment is actually a "sub-cult" movie, and that's because marketing of the movie was so horrible the only way you've probably heard of it was if you'd heard of Rocky Horror. Released in 1981, wanting to repeat the success of Rocky Horror, the movie only played at midnight. While much milder than Rocky Horror, Shock Treatment also shares an R rating with it's predecessor. I'm aware of the fact PG-13 did not exist in 1981, but Beetlejuice, a movie rated PG after PG-13 was introduced, was much racier than Shock Treatment. If given a chance with a mainstream audience, the movie may have actually developed it's own reputation, but the movie was a flop.
The only cast member to play the same role in both movies is Jeremy Newson, who reprises his role of Ralph Hapschatt. Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon wouldn't reprise the roles of Brad and Janet, so they were recast with Cliff DeYoung and Jessica Harper. Tim Curry was actually offered the dual role of Brad Majors/Farley Flavors, but he didn't feel he could keep up the American accent, so he turned them down. When Jonathan Adams wasn't interested in reprising the role of Dr. Scott (who was in the script for The Brad and Janet Show), the character was rewritten as Bert Schnick and played by Dame Edna herself, Barry Humphries. Also returning from the original movie, albeit in different roles, are Charles Gray (Judge Oliver Wright) Richard O'Brien (Cosmo "Mac" McKinley), Patricia Quinn (Nation McKinley), and Nell Campbell (Nurse Ansalong). Some suggest that the movie does hint to the fact Mac and Nation are really Riff Raff and Magenta, but since they never actually say this in the movie, it's just speculation, but there are plenty of hints in the movie to make you wonder.
The plot of Shock Treatment is a little more involved than that of Rocky Horror Picture Show. There are plenty of characters as the whole town of Denton is involved in this movie, and with that, plenty of storylines. We have Betty Hapschatt, embittered by her separation with Ralph Hapschatt and trying to spark a romance with Judge Wright while the two of them try to uncover a conspiracy they think his being led by fast food magnate Farley Flavors. Ralph has a new girlfriend Macy Struthers, both of which are likely using the other, as the two of them are willing to do anything to gain massive television popularity and get out of Denton. There's Bert Schnick, a pawn of Farley Flavors, who in turn uses Mac and Nation as pawns, even though it's obvious from the very beginning those two are masterminds. All of these stories circle around the main plot of Brad and Janet Majors, who are having marriage problems because Brad is "emotionally repressed" and Janet decides to have him committed to a mental institution. All of the movie unfolds in a series of reality shows, unheard of in 1981, but so commonplace today if this movie was remade it would certainly find an audience.
The music in Shock Treatment is also great. Why wouldn't it be, it was written by the same people as the Rocky Horror music. "Lullaby" is one of my favorite songs from any musical ever, and is definitely in my top 10. There is a lot less sex and violence in Shock Treatment than in it's predecessor. In fact, the only two we're really sure is having sex in the movie are the only two who we were pretty sure weren't having sex in Rocky Horror--and it still never gets very risque.
There is debate at times whether Shock Treatment really is a sequel. It's been said to not be a "sequel" or a "prequel" but an "equal". Rocky Horror is still clearly superior to Shock Treatment, so it's not an "equal" in that sense, but as for whether or not Shock Treatment could stand on it's own, then it would be fair to say that they're "equal". It is still a very, very loose sequel to Rocky Horror as the events in the movie clearly take place after, it's just that the movies aren't at all tied together by plot. And while Rocky would win over Shocky in a battle, both movies have found themselves a loyal audience.
I would give Rocky three stars, if only for it succeeding at being a spoof and having wonderful music. I would give Shocky two stars for it's entertainment merit. Both movies are definitely worth a watch.
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