Hello friends. Dan Ryan here, you… there. Thank you so much for checking in and if you like what you see please comment and share. For this month’s 8-Bit Blockbuster we have to do the time warp (again), 50 years into the past to the Rialto Theatre in London. It was there in 1975 that The Rocky Horror Picture Show debuted. And somehow, perhaps due to a bit of a mind slip or a time flip, it is still playing midnight showings around the world. But enough antci… pation, submitted for your approval this is 8-Bit Blockbusters: The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Before jumping headlong into this discussion about the movie and game a bit of history is needed. There is a good reason that the movie has “Picture” in the title as it originally debuted in London as a stage musical in 1973. Written by Richard O’Brien, directed by Jim Sharman, and starring Tim Curry the musical debuted at the Royal Court’s upstairs theater which held a whopping 63 people. It continued to run from that night on, moving to bigger and bigger spaces, for 2,960 performances, finishing up in 1980. At the time of this writing the show has been performed in over 20 languages and has been seen by an estimated 30 million people.

The film version of the musical is without question one of the strangest success stories ever. When people talk about “cult” movies, this is the kind of thing they are talking about. While the stage production had a successful run in London in the 70’s, that didn’t automatically translate into cinema success. Theater goers are, by nature, a more open-minded crowd, certainly in England. When the film version hit American screens in August of 1975, it did well at exactly one location, the UA Westwood in Los Angeles. Other openings were so poor that it was quickly pulled and its planned premiere in NYC on Halloween of that year was cancelled. It wasn’t until April Fool’s Day of 1976 that The Rocky Horror Picture show began to take off. It was on that day in NYC that the first midnight screening took place. Back then midnight movies weren’t really a thing outside of the cheesy B-movies shown on TV. And while there had been others before it, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was what really took the concept big time.

The organic growth of the movie was simply incredible. Many theaters around the country noticed repeat customers and encouraged them to come in costume, sometimes letting those bedighted in for free assuming they would bring friends and buy snacks. (they did and they did) Naturally those in costume began performing along with the movie which no one in the audience seemed to mind. Word of the performances built and soon there were proper, organized groups performing the entire film complete with costumes, props, and effects. 

This phenomena, singular really, to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, became as important a reason to go to the movies as the actual movie. It’s how I was first exposed to it when I was about 14 or 15. I could not believe the intricacy with which the actors, really just a bunch of teenagers in northern New Jersey, played their parts in the giant multiplex theater. It was stunning. I knew what Rocky Horror was but never got it until that night. As I got older and saw the movie a few more times, without the live performance, it really struck me how important a film it actually was. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic but its cultural impact is so much more than that. For some, it was their awakening. For others, it was their way into a group that accepted them. It’s one of the things I love about the film so much, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is what YOU need it to be. There is a lot more to say about this movie. I haven’t talked about the plot, the sets, the costumes, the songs, because well, that’s an entirely different article. Suffice it to say that if you haven’t seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show you absolutely should. In a theater, with an audience. Don’t dream it, be it.

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Published, seemingly out of nowhere, by Freakzone Games in 2024, The Rocky Horror Show Video Game is similar to their other retro styled titles. (these guys also published a Manos: The Hands of Fate game, IYKYK) And while it is quite a short game, it is a ton of fun and incredibly faithful to the source material. The basic gameplay is that of an old school platformer. You run around levels, dodging enemies, solving simple environmental puzzles, on the way to a boss fight. Boss fights also feature old school sensibilities with their 3-stages of 3 hits each approach. As main character Brad takes damage his clothes come off, similar to Ghosts and Goblins but also faithful to the movie. The soundtrack features beautiful chiptune versions of the film's iconic songs. The graphics are gorgeous for what they are, very much modern-retro, and the characters animate really well. There is some jank certainly, and some sections that require a little bit of trial and error to figure out, but with infinite continues there really is no penalty for death. There are really only two knocks against this game though they are, arguably, large. One, there is very little replay value. I really enjoyed my time with this game when I played through it on my Steamdeck and certainly got my $5.00 worth. That said, I don’t see myself returning to it other than maybe at Halloween. The other one, the big one, is that if you are not a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show there is no reason to play this. This is fan service, straight up. It is very good at what it does but it is not going to convert anyone. If you do decide to give it a shot though you can pick it up on Steam or Switch with PS5 and Xbox versions due eventually. Just make sure to play through with a controller. (like that one up there…)

But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.