There is not much in the way of character growth, but this does not detract from the film because Rocky is a different kind of movie than most. Where most movies are stories that are told with moving pictures and sound, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a piece of impressionist art sculpted from video and sound. That the movie shows a sequence of events involving some characters appears to be completely coincidental.

The story—what little there is—is of two newlyweds, Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), in search of a telephone who enter a decidedly creepy castle. They are swiftly sucked into the kinky machinations of the Transylvanians who reside there, and what transpires forces a new definition of the word “weird.”

Of course, one of the defining aspects of Rocky is its music. Songs like “The Time Warp” have become a part of cultural history—“It’s just a jump to the left . . .”—embodying the general spirit of fun that runs through the entire movie. Other songs, such as Meatloaf’s “Hot Patootie” are perhaps best left to drift into oblivion. Meatloaf’s character is killed immediately after the song, which should send a message about the quality of the music in question.

Tim Curry, as the eccentric Dr. Frank-N-Furter, steals the show, brings it back, then steals it again. Also known for his part as Wadsworth the Butler, in Clue, Curry is a versatile actor with unrecognized talent. He proves he can sing equally well in songs like “I’m Going Home” and “Sweet Transvestite.” Curry pulls off his character’s entrance with the latter song, during which he is lowered on an elevator in the background, tapping a six-inch high heel on the platform, with incredible élan and an oozing sexuality that makes hairs on the backs of necks stand up with “antici . . . pation.”

Frank-N-Furter has created, through unknown perverted experiments, a perfect man—the namesake of the movie, Rocky Horror, played by Peter Hinwood. Rocky manages at least an attempt at seduction by nearly every character he comes into contact with.

Two of the Transylvanians, the hunchbacked Riff Raff and his sister Magenta, are interesting characters throughout the movie and play important parts at the end. Their significance at the end has something to do with an antimatter ray gun and a violent takeover, but to say more would be to give away too much about the secret of the Transylvanian crowd.

Audience participation has become part of Rocky’s unique following. A set of responses to various lines and/or events in the movie has formed over 29 years of showings and reshowings of the long-lived movie.

For example, one popular line is to yell “And God said: Let there be lips!” just as the movie opens with a shot of a massive pair of lips. Other forms of participation include costumes, props based on lines from the movie, and general partying, confetti-ing, and fun during screenings.