Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025)

[BluBonnet]

As a big fan of RHPS, this new documentary premiering at SXSW sounds... fantastic!

‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Creator on SXSW Documentary About the Musical’s Legacy and Relevance

It was only supposed to run for a few weeks at a small experimental space upstairs at London’s Royal Court Theatre. But somehow, 50 years after “The Rocky Horror Show” first debuted, it is still attracting crowds. Its passionate fans supported the show during its transfers to the West End and Broadway, as well as after Hollywood beckoned and a film version of the musical was produced. In fact, there’s probably a midnight screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” playing at a theater near you this weekend.

“Nobody thought it was going to be a hit,” admits its author and songwriter Richard O’Brien, an out-of-work actor who combined an interest in science-fiction, B-movies and glam rock into an enduring musical smash. (He also played Riff Raff in the film.) “Nobody was trying to make it big. We were just there to have fun. It’s really just a silly piece of nonsense — intentionally so. It’s a work of juvenilia and arrested development.”

O’Brien, now 82, recently got a chance to reflect on the production of “Rocky Horror” and to revisit the show’s legacy with “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror,” a documentary directed by his son, Linus O’Brien, that premieres at SXSW on March 9. The younger O’Brien got the idea for the film while assembling a clip package of his dad’s work as a present. He came across YouTube footage of “I’m Going Home,” an eleventh hour anthem from the show in which Tim Curry’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a trans scientist, laments about being misunderstood.

“The comments below the video were touching and heartfelt, and in some cases heartbreaking,” Linus O’Brien says. “We always knew ‘Rocky’ affected people’s lives, but I didn’t realize to what degree it did until I saw those messages.”