Strange Journey: The Rocky Horror Story

“I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey,” says Charles Grey.

How strange?

So strange they made several films about it, including two in this 50th anniversary year. It was the other one, Sane Inside Insanity, that was originally scheduled to screen at Docs Ireland, but for reasons unknown it was replaced at the last moment with this much more personal account of the Rocky Horror Picture Show phenomenon. Directed by Linus O’Brien, it follows his father, show creator Richard O’Brien, on a journey which explores both art and life. It takes in the liberatory effect of the show, the viral way that it contributed to changing attitudes around the world, and the much delayed but eventually wonderful way that Richard was able to come to terms with his own difference.

Such is the effect of social change that, although it retains a devoted all-ages cult following, Rocky Horror also has detractors amongst younger generations. This doesn’t stem from new conservatism – rather, they think it doesn’t go far enough and that its handling of some issues is problematic. This documentary may help them to understand, in part by explaining the organic way in which the whole thing came together, with little expectation of success, and in part by enlightening them in regard to what it was like growing up LGBTQ+ in those days. Like many people of his generation, Richard has a public flamboyance which makes it all too easy to miss his private insecurity. Growing up in that kind of environment does damage, and neither self-awareness nor academic understanding of its mechanisms offers real protection.

We begin in the quiet suburban town of Hamilton, in New Zealand/Aotearoa, where Richard grew up. He is touched when a neighbour explains to him that his childhood home is now known as ‘the Rocky Horror house’. Not so far away is a statue of him dressed as his iconic character, Riff Raff, which looks wonderfully out of place and yet watches over the neighbourhood like a sort of guardian, its presence ensuring that nobody else will grow up here feeling alone in that way. Traditionally, the bright lights of the big city have been a magnet for those who don’t fit in, and the young Richard quickly made his way to London. Keen to get to its main subject, the film hurtles past a period of his life which sounds as though it’s probably a nest of fascinating stories in its own right, when he was flat sharing and working odd jobs and attending acting classes by night. It’s out of this, of course, that the inspiration for his, ahem, seminal script emerged.

There are some great stories here, and whilst fans will already be familiar with many of them, they include a few surprises. Richard talks about his fascination with Weimar cinema and cabaret, about how Riff Raff was influenced by Max Schreck in Nosferatu. Tim Curry recalls picking up Frank’s accent from a woman on a London bus. We’re told that Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Lou Reed were all after his role when it became known that the successful stage musical was headed for the big screen, but thankfully the low budget meant that the original team could keep control. They remember doing the Time Warp and the importance of being out of step. They remember Barry Bostwick being instantly recognisable as the perfect Brad, and how he brought Susan Sarandon to his audition as a friend so that they could bypass her agent and secure her participation. She explains her delight at being given the opportunity to satirise every ingenue she’d ever played.

Linus’ film follows the film throughout its journey, from initial failure to midnight screening marvel, through the development of its early fandom to the emergence of shadow casts and audience participation, its emergence as a form of immersive, participatory theatre. Richard recalls the first time he saw it with a shadow cast and his amazement as he came to understand that he had accidentally created something completely new. There are archive snippets of interviews with audience members, and among those the coming out stories that made it all so vital. There’s also a contribution from Jack Black, who talks enthusiastically about the connection he always felt to Eddie.

Sitting at home in his kitchen, singing parts of the soundtrack, Richard relates to it differently now. There’s a new lightness about him, and the film delicately captures his bond with Linus, the importance of what family has been able to provide. At long last, the freedom not just to dream it, but to be it.

Reviewed on: 02 Jul 2025