Rocky Horror Picture Show Monster

Unleashing the Monsters of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show": A Deep Dive into the Creatures of Sweet Transvestite Horror

The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The name alone conjures images of fishnets, corsets, and… monsters? While not strictly a horror film in the traditional sense, Richard O’Brien's cult classic is teeming with creatures that blur the lines between human and something… else. This in-depth exploration delves into the multifaceted "monsters" of Rocky Horror, analyzing their roles, their significance within the narrative, and their lasting impact on pop culture. We’ll move beyond the surface-level understanding of Frank-N-Furter's creations and unpack the symbolic power of these figures, offering a perspective that goes beyond mere costume appreciation. Prepare to delve into the bizarre, beautiful, and undeniably monstrous world of Rocky Horror.

Frank-N-Furter: The Mastermind Behind the Monsters

Frank-N-Furter isn't just a character; he's a self-proclaimed “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania.” He's the mad scientist, the creator, and the ultimate monster of the piece. His monstrousness isn't just physical; it's deeply rooted in his hubris, his disregard for ethics, and his manipulative control over those around him. He crafts life, but he doesn't truly understand it, leading to the chaotic and often unsettling consequences of his experiments. His creation of Rocky, in particular, speaks volumes about his own desires and insecurities, revealing a creature born not of scientific marvel but of Frank’s deep-seated need for validation and control. Frank-N-Furter embodies the monster as both creator and creation, reflecting anxieties surrounding identity, sexuality, and the power of unchecked ambition.

Rocky Horror: The Perfect Creation (and a Monster in His Own Right)?

Rocky Horror is Frank-N-Furter's magnum opus – a physically perfect specimen of masculinity sculpted from Frank's desires. However, Rocky isn't a passive creation. His blank slate allows audiences to project various interpretations onto him. Is he a blank canvas for the audience to interpret, or does he possess a latent monstrousness, reflecting the inherent flaws of his creator? His lack of agency, his complete subservience to Frank, and his ultimately unfulfilled potential all contribute to a complex portrayal that leaves room for interpretation regarding his own position in the monstrous landscape of the film.

Magenta and Columbia: The Enigmatic Servants and Their Monsterous Loyalty

Magenta and Columbia, Frank-N-Furter's loyal attendants, aren't monstrous in the traditional sense. Yet, their unwavering devotion, their participation in Frank’s schemes, and their theatrical performances of subservience reveal a disturbing willingness to enable his monstrous behavior. Their servitude borders on fanaticism, showcasing a darker side of unquestioning loyalty and the potential for complicity in acts of transgression. They highlight the monstrous potential within seemingly benign personalities, demonstrating how even seemingly innocuous characters can contribute to the overarching sense of unease and chaos.

Dr. Everett Scott: The Unexpectedly Monstrous

Dr. Scott, initially presented as a relatively normal character, undergoes a significant transformation throughout the film. His descent into madness, fueled by his own insecurities and his encounter with Frank-N-Furter’s world, reveals a monstrous potential within a seemingly ordinary individual. His desperation, his unhinged actions, and his ultimate rejection of his previous life showcase how vulnerability and societal pressures can lead to unexpected monstrous behavior, ultimately making him another facet of the film's exploration of monstrosity.

The Narrator: A Monstrous Voice of Reason?

The Narrator, while not a physical monster, wields a powerful, sometimes unsettling presence. His detached commentary and his condescending tone inject a layer of ironic detachment into the film's increasingly chaotic narrative. His consistent interruptions, often offering a sarcastic and almost judgmental perspective, make him a crucial element in setting the film’s tone. The Narrator’s comments, however, are tinged with a level of detachment that becomes almost monstrous. He observes the chaos unfold, yet never fully engages, making him a silent observer of the monsters and their actions.

The Audience and the Monster Within: Participation and Projection

Finally, the audience itself is integral to the film's monstrous themes. The interactive nature of the Rocky Horror Picture Show experience allows audiences to engage with the film on a deeper level, blurring the lines between spectators and participants. By embracing the characters, their actions, and the film's outlandish premise, audiences are encouraged to explore their own inner monsters, their own desires, and their own willingness to confront the bizarre. This active engagement underscores the enduring appeal of the film and its exploration of the often-hidden monstrous elements within society and ourselves.

Article Outline: Unleashing the Monsters of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"

Introduction: Hooking the reader and setting the stage for the analysis.
Frank-N-Furter: The Mastermind: Exploring Frank's monstrous qualities beyond the surface.
Rocky Horror: Creation and Interpretation: Analyzing Rocky's ambiguous nature and potential for monstrosity.
Magenta and Columbia: Complicity and Servitude: Examining their roles as enablers of Frank's actions.
Dr. Scott's Transformation: Delving into Dr. Scott's descent into madness and its monstrous consequences.
The Narrator's Detached Monstrosity: Analyzing the Narrator's ironic commentary and its unsettling effects.
Audience Participation and Projection: Exploring the audience's role in creating the film's monstrous experience.
Conclusion: Summarizing the themes and offering final thoughts on the film's enduring power.


(Note: The detailed content for each section of the outline is already included in the body of the article above.)

FAQs

1. Is Rocky Horror Picture Show actually a horror film? While it contains elements of horror, it's more accurately described as a cult classic with comedic and musical elements, often categorized as a horror-comedy or a science fiction musical.

2. What makes Frank-N-Furter a "monster"? Frank-N-Furter's monstrous nature stems from his hubris, disregard for ethics, and manipulative control over others, in addition to his scientific transgressions.

3. Is Rocky a monster? Rocky is a complex character; his blankness invites audience interpretation, but his lack of agency and subservience could be seen as monstrous qualities reflecting his creator.

4. How do Magenta and Columbia contribute to the film's monstrous themes? Their unyielding loyalty to Frank and enabling of his actions showcase the dark side of blind obedience and complicity.

5. What role does Dr. Scott play in the film's exploration of monstrosity? Dr. Scott's descent into madness showcases the potential for monstrous behavior in seemingly ordinary individuals.

6. How does the Narrator contribute to the film's overall tone? The Narrator's ironic and often judgmental commentary creates a layer of detachment that heightens the film's unsettling aspects.

7. How does the audience participate in creating the film's monstrous themes? The interactive nature of the Rocky Horror experience allows audiences to project themselves into the film and explore their own "monsters."

8. What makes the Rocky Horror Picture Show so enduring? The film's exploration of unconventional themes, its comedic and musical elements, and its interactive audience participation create a unique and enduring cinematic experience.

9. What are some of the key symbols and motifs used to portray monstrosity in the film? The film employs various symbolic elements, including scientific experimentation, transgressive sexuality, and the blurring of human and non-human forms, to portray different facets of monstrosity.

Related Articles:

1. The Evolution of the Transvestite Villain in Film: Explores the portrayal of gender-bending antagonists throughout cinema history.
2. The Cult of Rocky Horror: A Phenomenon Explained: A deep dive into the film's cultural impact and fan participation.
3. Tim Curry's Iconic Performance as Frank-N-Furter: A close examination of Tim Curry's unforgettable portrayal of the mad scientist.
4. The Science Fiction Elements of Rocky Horror Picture Show: Examines the film's use of science fiction tropes to explore themes of identity and creation.
5. The Musical Numbers of Rocky Horror: A Detailed Analysis: Explores the significance of the musical numbers within the narrative.
6. Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick: Their Journey Through the Rocky Horror Experience: Focuses on the main characters' transformations.
7. The Costumes and Makeup of Rocky Horror: A Visual Feast: Examines the film's iconic visual style and its cultural impact.
8. The Social Commentary Hidden in Rocky Horror Picture Show: Uncovers the political and social critiques embedded within the film's narrative.
9. Creating Your Own Rocky Horror Experience at Home: A guide for fans interested in hosting their own Rocky Horror shadowcast event.


  rocky horror picture show monster: The Rocky Horror Show Richard O'Brien, 1983 Rock Musical Characters: 7 males, 3 females Scenery: Interior That sweet transvestite and his motley crew did the time warp on Broadway in a 25th anniversary revival. Complete with sass from the audience, cascading toilet paper and an array of other audience participation props, this deliberately kitschy rock 'n' roll sci fi gothic is more fun than ever. A socko wacko weirdo rock concert.-WNBC TV. A musical that deals with mutating identity and time warps becomes one of the most mutated, time warped phenomena in show business.-N.Y. Times. Campy trash.-Time.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Monster Theory Reader Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, 2020-01-15 A collection of scholarship on monsters and their meaning—across genres, disciplines, methodologies, and time—from foundational texts to the most recent contributions Zombies and vampires, banshees and basilisks, demons and wendigos, goblins, gorgons, golems, and ghosts. From the mythical monstrous races of the ancient world to the murderous cyborgs of our day, monsters have haunted the human imagination, giving shape to the fears and desires of their time. And as long as there have been monsters, there have been attempts to make sense of them, to explain where they come from and what they mean. This book collects the best of what contemporary scholars have to say on the subject, in the process creating a map of the monstrous across the vast and complex terrain of the human psyche. Editor Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock prepares the way with a genealogy of monster theory, traveling from the earliest explanations of monsters through psychoanalysis, poststructuralism, and cultural studies, to the development of monster theory per se—and including Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s foundational essay “Monster Theory (Seven Theses),” reproduced here in its entirety. There follow sections devoted to the terminology and concepts used in talking about monstrosity; the relevance of race, religion, gender, class, sexuality, and physical appearance; the application of monster theory to contemporary cultural concerns such as ecology, religion, and terrorism; and finally the possibilities monsters present for envisioning a different future. Including the most interesting and important proponents of monster theory and its progenitors, from Sigmund Freud to Julia Kristeva to J. Halberstam, Donna Haraway, Barbara Creed, and Stephen T. Asma—as well as harder-to-find contributions such as Robin Wood’s and Masahiro Mori’s—this is the most extensive and comprehensive collection of scholarship on monsters and monstrosity across disciplines and methods ever to be assembled and will serve as an invaluable resource for students of the uncanny in all its guises. Contributors: Stephen T. Asma, Columbia College Chicago; Timothy K. Beal, Case Western Reserve U; Harry Benshoff, U of North Texas; Bettina Bildhauer, U of St. Andrews; Noel Carroll, The Graduate Center, CUNY; Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Arizona State U; Barbara Creed, U of Melbourne; Michael Dylan Foster, UC Davis; Sigmund Freud; Elizabeth Grosz, Duke U; J. Halberstam, Columbia U; Donna Haraway, UC Santa Cruz; Julia Kristeva, Paris Diderot U; Anthony Lioi, The Julliard School; Patricia MacCormack, Anglia Ruskin U; Masahiro Mori; Annalee Newitz; Jasbir K. Puar, Rutgers U; Amit A. Rai, Queen Mary U of London; Margrit Shildrick, Stockholm U; Jon Stratton, U of South Australia; Erin Suzuki, UC San Diego; Robin Wood, York U; Alexa Wright, U of Westminster.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Creatures of the Night Sal Piro, 1990
  rocky horror picture show monster: Frankenstein’s Monster Cathleen Small, 2015-12-15 When Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818, little did she suspect the monster of her tale would turn into one of the world’s most recognizable and classic horror creatures. There have been other examples of the monster Shelley invented in different cultures; however, her monster and its story have had a lasting impact on pop culture today. This book delves into the world of Shelley, the manifestations of the monster in different cultures around the world, and the effect of the monster on today’s society.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Reading Rocky Horror Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, 2008-11-24 The first scholarly collection devoted to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, dissecting the film from diverse perspectives including gender and queer studies, disability studies, cultural studies, genre studies, and film studies.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Monsters, Demons and Psychopaths Fernando Espi Forcen, 2016-10-14 Descriptions of monsters, vampires, demonic possessions, and psychopaths in horror films have been inspired by psychiatric knowledge about mental illness, leading to several stereotyped models of horror that have prevailed through decades. Some scholars have proposed that horror films can be a teaching tool for psychopathology, but for the most part the genre has been underutilized as a learning tool. This book explores the idea of relating horror films to psychiatric ideas as a way of engaging people in learning.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Monster Cinema Barry Keith Grant, 2018-04-16 Monster Cinema introduces readers to a vast menagerie of movie monsters, from gigantic beasts to microscopic parasites, from grotesque demons to normal-looking serial killers. Film expert Barry Keith Grant considers what each type of movie monster might reveal about how we regard the natural, the supernatural, and the human.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Speaking of Monsters Caroline Joan S. Picart, John Edgar Browning, 2012-07-16 Employing a range of approaches to examine how monster-talk pervades not only popular culture but also public policy through film and other media, this book is a one-stop shop of sorts for students and instructors employing various approaches and media in the study of teratologies, or discourses of the monstrous.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Scary Monsters Mark Duffett, Jon Hackett, 2021-01-14 Popular music and masculinity have rarely been examined through the lens of research into monstrosity. The discourses associated with rock and pop, however, actually include more 'monsters' than might at first be imagined. Attention to such individuals and cultures can say things about the operation of genre and gender, myth and meaning. Indeed, monstrosity has recently become a growing focus of cultural theory. This is in part because monsters raise shared concerns about transgression, subjectivity, agency, and community. Attention to monstrosity evokes both the spectre of projection (which invokes familial trauma and psychoanalysis) and shared anxieties (that in turn reflect ideologies and beliefs). By pursuing a series of insightful case studies, Scary Monsters considers different aspects of the connection between music, gender and monstrosity. Its argument is that attention to monstrosity provides a unique perspective on the study of masculinity in popular music culture.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Horror Show Greg Kihn, 2015-08-18 A Bram Stoker Award finalist for Best First Novel: This endlessly inventive thriller pays homage to 1950s Hollywood horror films—with a demonic twist Schlock horror director Landis Woodley lives in a decaying mansion in the Hollywood Hills. When he abandoned the movie business—after being reduced to filming skin flicks and peep shows—he also left a laundry list of enemies, including the IRS. But avid fan Clint Stockbern is determined to write a piece on the alcoholic recluse for Monster magazine. Woodley agrees to the interview—for $600 in cash. As the tape recorder starts rolling, Stockbern travels back in time with Woodley. He hears recollections of Attack of the Haunted Saucer, the worst movie of all time, and Blood Ghouls of Malibu. But he really wants to know about Woodley’s masterpiece, Cadaver. Shot on location in the Los Angeles County morgue, the film was rumored to have used real corpses and everyone associated with the production has been fatally haunted since its 1957 release. But the truth is far more terrifying than Stockbern imagined. Is a dead Satanist, possessed by the devil, reaching out beyond the grave? Or is the reporter the final victim in a diabolical scheme dreamed up by mortals? Horror Show is a wild and wacky romp that sends up mid-century Hollywood horror movies and schlockmeisters Roger Corman, William Castle, and Ed Wood.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Ultimate Book of Movie Monsters Christopher Carton, 2022-07-20 Do you believe in monsters? We dare you to take a look inside this cursed tome containing some of the most iconic and obscure monsters from the history of cinema. Cower in fear of Count Dracula and his dreaded children of the night. Abandon hope as the mightiest kaiju ever seen on film decimate all around them. Pray that silhouette at the end of your bed is just a shadow and not the dreaded Babadook. Spanning nearly a century of cinematic terrors, The Ultimate Book of Movie Monsters showcases creatures from genres such as horror, fantasy, B-movies and even musicals. Along with legendary beasts like Frankenstein’s monster, Godzilla, the Living Dead and the (mostly) friendly creatures of Monsters Inc., you’ll find film facts, creature strengths and weaknesses and over 150 full-color pictures of the monsters themselves. From the era of stop-motion beasties to the cinematic showdown of the century in Godzilla vs. Kong, film lovers and horror aficionados will find plenty to keep their lust for terror satiated. But beware, for the beasts that dwell within these forsaken pages may just keep you up all night. You have been warned...
  rocky horror picture show monster: Postmodernism and Film Catherine Constable, 2015-06-30 This volume focuses on postmodern film aesthetics and contemporary challenges to the aesthetic paradigms dominating analyses of Hollywood cinema. It explores conceptions of the classical, modernist, post-classical/new Hollywood, and their construction as linear history of style in which postmodernism forms a debatable final act. This history is challenged by using Jean-François Lyotard's non-linear conception of postmodernism in order to view postmodern aesthetics as a paradigm that can occur across the history of Hollywood. This study also explores 'nihilistic' theorists of the postmodern, Jean Baudrillard and Frederic Jameson, and 'affirmative' theorists, notably Linda Hutcheon, charting the ways in which the latter provide the means to conceptualize nuanced and positive variants of postmodern aesthetics and deploying them in the analysis of Hollywood films, including Bombshell, Sherlock Junior, and Kill Bill.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Queer Images Benshoff, Griffin, 2005-10-13 From Thomas Edison''s first cinematic experiments to contemporary Hollywood blockbusters, Queer Images chronicles the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer sexualities over one hundred years of American film. The most up-to-date and comprehensive book of its kind, it explores not only the ever-changing images of queer characters onscreen, but also the work of queer filmmakers and the cultural histories of queer audiences. Queer Images surveys a wide variety of films, individuals, and subcultures, including the work of discreetly homosexual filmmakers during Hollywood''s Golden Age; classical Hollywood''s (failed) attempt to purge sex perversion from films; the development of gay male camp in Hollywood cinema; queer exploitation films and gay physique films; the queerness of 1960s Underground Film practice; independent lesbian documentaries and experimental films; cinematic responses to the AIDS crisis; the rise and impact of New Queer Cinema; the growth of LGBT film festivals; and how contemporary Hollywood deals with queer issues. This entertaining and insightful book reveals how the meaning of sexual identity—as reflected on the silver screen—has changed a great deal over the decades, and it celebrates both the pioneers and contemporary practitioners of queer film in America. Queer Images is an essential volume for film buffs and anyone interested in sexuality and culture.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Recycled Culture in Contemporary Art and Film Vera Dika, 2003-06-09 The reuse of images, plots and genres from film history has become prominent in contemporary culture. In this study, Vera Dika explores this phenomenon from a broad range of critical perspectives, examining works of art and film that resist the pull of the past. Dika provides an in-depth analysis of works in several media, including performance, photography, Punk film, and examples from mainstream American and European cinema. Proclaiming the renewed importance of the image and of genre, she investigates works as diverse as Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills, Amos Poe's The Foreigner, Terence Malick's Badlands, and Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart. Her study positions avant-garde art work within the context of contemporary mainstream film practice, as well as in relationship to their historical moment.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Rock on Film Fred Goodman, 2022-07-26 For rock music and film buffs alike, this is the ultimate guide exploring the electrifying, entertaining, and often daring marriage of rock & roll and cinema. When the use of Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” turned 1955’s Blackboard Jungle into a teen sensation and a box-office smash, it proved the opening shot in a cinematic and cultural revolution. Starting with Elvis Presley and the teensploitation films of the ’50s and ’60s, in Rock on Film award-winning author and former Rolling Stone editor Fred Goodman takes readers on a wide-ranging journey through film and pop history. Along the way, he measures the transformative impact of the mid-’60s landmarks A Hard Day’s Night and Dont Look Back and how they seeded an almost unbelievably broad genre of films made by increasingly ambitious musicians and filmmakers across the past seven decades. From the carefree to the complex, the mindless to the mind-bending, rock films have staked out their own turf by simultaneously celebrating innocence and challenging artistic and social conventions. With an insightful round-up of fifty must-see rock films spanning crowd-pleasers, art-house favorites, underground gems, and undisputed classics, Rock on Film surveys the nearly seventy-year canon of a genre like no other. A series of original interviews with Cameron Crowe, Jim Jarmusch, Penelope Spheeris, Taylor Hackford, and John Waters illuminates how rock has influenced the work of some of the most divergent and thoughtful directors in movie history. Illustrated throughout by more than 150 full-color and black-and-white images, Rock on Film brings the history of music in the movies to vivid life.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Literature Through Film Robert Stam, 2004-10-22 This lively and accessible textbook, written by an expert in film studies, provides a fascinating introduction to the process and art of literature-to-film adaptations. Provides a lively, rigorous, and clearly written account of key moments in the history of the novel from Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe up to Lolita and One Hundred Years of Solitude Includes diversity of topics and titles, such as Fielding, Nabokov, and Cervantes in adaptations by Welles, Kubrick, and the French New Wave Emphasizes both the literary texts themselves and their varied transtextual film adaptations Examines numerous literary trends – from the self-conscious novel to magic realism – before exploring the cinematic impact of the movement Reinvigorates the field of adaptation studies by examining it through the grid of contemporary theory Brings novels and film adaptations into the age of multiculturalism, postcoloniality, and the Internet by reflecting on their contemporary relevance.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, 2019-11-13 Considering the composition classroom as a mad scientist’s laboratory, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition introduces different kinds of writing as experiments. Writing an essay is a task that can strike fear into a student’s heart, but performing an experiment licenses creativity and doesn’t presume that one knows the outcome from the start. The Mad Scientist’s Guide covers the kinds of writing most often required on college campuses, while also addressing important steps and activities frequently overlooked in composition guides, such as revision and peer reviewing. Actual examples of student writing are included throughout, as are helpful reminders and tips to help students polish their skills. Above all, the Mad Scientist’s Guide seeks to make writing fun.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Comics through Time [4 volumes] M. Keith Booker, 2014-10-28 Focusing especially on American comic books and graphic novels from the 1930s to the present, this massive four-volume work provides a colorful yet authoritative source on the entire history of the comics medium. Comics and graphic novels have recently become big business, serving as the inspiration for blockbuster Hollywood movies such as the Iron Man series of films and the hit television drama The Walking Dead. But comics have been popular throughout the 20th century despite the significant effects of the restrictions of the Comics Code in place from the 1950s through 1970s, which prohibited the depiction of zombies and use of the word horror, among many other rules. Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas provides students and general readers a one-stop resource for researching topics, genres, works, and artists of comic books, comic strips, and graphic novels. The comprehensive and broad coverage of this set is organized chronologically by volume. Volume 1 covers 1960 and earlier; Volume 2 covers 1960–1980; Volume 3 covers 1980–1995; and Volume 4 covers 1995 to the present. The chronological divisions give readers a sense of the evolution of comics within the larger contexts of American culture and history. The alphabetically arranged entries in each volume address topics such as comics publishing, characters, imprints, genres, themes, titles, artists, writers, and more. While special attention is paid to American comics, the entries also include coverage of British, Japanese, and European comics that have influenced illustrated storytelling of the United States or are of special interest to American readers.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Monster Book Christopher Golden, Stephen R. Bissette, Thomas E. Sniegoski, 2000-08 An official guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer describes the mythology and influences behind the monsters, ghouls, and characters through interviews with the creators and details of the episodes.
  rocky horror picture show monster: How the Homosexuals Saved Civilization Cathy Crimmins, 2005-06-02 A cultural history of the customs, fashions, and figures of gay life in the twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries-and how they have changed us for the better. How the Homosexuals Saved Civilization presents a broad yet incisive look at how an unusual immigrant group, homosexual men, has influenced mainstream American society and has, in many ways, become mainstream itself. From the way camp, irony, and the gay aesthetic have become part of our national sensibility to the undeniable effect the gay cognoscenti have had on media and the arts, Cathy Crimmins examines how gay men have changed the concepts of community, family, sex, and fashion.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Monsters in the Closet Harry M. Benshoff, 1997-11-15 Monster in the Closet is a history of the horrors film that explores the genre's relationship to the social and cultural history of homosexuality in America. Drawing on a wide variety of films and primary source materials including censorship files, critical reviews, promotional materials, fanzines, men's magazines, and popular news weeklies, the book examines the historical figure of the movie monster in relation to various medical, psychological, religious and social models of homosexuality. While recent work within gay and lesbian studies has explored how the genetic tropes of the horror film intersect with popular culture's understanding of queerness, this is the first book to examine how the concept of the monster queer has evolved from era to era. From the gay and lesbian sensibilities encoded into the form and content of the classical Hollywood horror film, to recent films which play upon AIDS-related fears. Monster in the Closet examines how the horror film started and continues, to demonize (or quite literally monsterize) queer sexuality, and what the pleasures and costs of such representations might be both for individual spectators and culture at large.
  rocky horror picture show monster: House of Slaughter #2 James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Tate Brombal, 2021-11-24 Erica Slaughter isn’t the only member of the House of Slaughter to have made sacrifices in order to become the monster hunter she is today. As a teenager, her handler and rival Aaron finds himself with a new roommate, the mysterious “transfer student” Jace Boucher. To initiate his training, Jace must prove his loyalty to the House of Slaughter through a binding ritual... a ritual that few survive.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Dark Romance David J. Hogan, 2010-06-21 The darkly handsome man gazes deeply into her eyes. She finds him irresistible, wants to experience the passion of the moment. He grins--the movie audience can see his lengthened lateral incisors--and bends to her neck. The eroticism is horrible, and compelling. Audiences are drawn to horror cinema much as the surrendering victim. Afraid to watch, but more afraid something will be missed. Since the horror film is the most primal of all movie genres, seldom censored, these films tell us what we are about. From the silent era to the present day, Dark Romance explores horror cinema's preoccupation with sexuality: vampires, beauty and the beast, victimization of women, slasher films, and more. Separate chapters focus upon individuals, like Alfred Hitchcock and Barbara Steele. Entertaining, and thought-provoking on the sexual fears and phobias of our society.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Rocky Horror Picture Show Richard O'Brien, 2013
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Cambridge Companion to American Horror Stephen Shapiro, Mark Storey, 2022-08-04 Taking Horror seriously, the book surveys America's bloody and haunted history through its most terrifying cultural expressions.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Frankenstein Catalog Donald F. Glut, 1984
  rocky horror picture show monster: Out at the Movies Steven Paul Davies, 2010-10-21 Over the decades, gay cinema has reflected the community's journey from persecution to emancipation to acceptance. Politicised dramas like Victim in the 60s, The Naked Civil Servant in the 70s, and the AIDS cinema of the 80s have given way in recent years to films which celebrate a vast array of gay life-styles. Gay films have undergone a major shift, from the fringe to the mainstream and the 2005 Academy Awards were dubbed ' the Gay Oscars' with gongs going to Brokeback Mountain, Capote and Transamerica. Producers began clamouring to back gay-themed movies, including I Love You Philip Morris with Jim Carey and Ewan McGregor, and Gus Van Sant's Milk, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first prominent American political figure to be elected to office on an openly gay ticket back in the 70s. So loved was he that his brutal and homophobic assassination by ex-policeman Daniel White sparked the biggest riots in gay history. Out at the Movies looks back, decade by decade, at the history of gay cinema, celebrating the films which have defined the genre. Indie films, the avant-garde, sex on screen, bad guys, lesbian lovers, transgender films, camp comedies, musicals and gay rom-coms -- all are featured here. As well as highloighting the key movements and triumphs in gay cinema, the author includes information on gay filmmakers and actors, and their influence within the industry. Interspersed throughout are some of the most iconic scenes from gay cinema and the most memorable dialogue.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Gothic World Glennis Byron, Dale Townshend, 2013-10-08 The Gothic World offers an overview of this popular field whilst also extending critical debate in exciting new directions such as film, politics, fashion, architecture, fine art and cyberculture. Structured around the principles of time, space and practice, and including a detailed general introduction, the five sections look at: Gothic Histories Gothic Spaces Gothic Readers and Writers Gothic Spectacle Contemporary Impulses. The Gothic World seeks to account for the Gothic as a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional force, as a style, an aesthetic experience and a mode of cultural expression that traverses genres, forms, media, disciplines and national boundaries and creates, indeed, its own ‘World’.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Evolution of Horror in the Twenty-First Century Simon Bacon, 2023-03-15 The Evolution of Horror in the Twenty-First Century examines the intimate connections between the horror genre and its audience’s experience of being in the world at a particular historical and cultural moment. This book not only provides frameworks with which to understand contemporary horror, but it also speaks to the changes wrought by technological development in creation, production, and distribution, as well as the ways in which those who are traditionally underrepresented positively within the genre- women, LGBTQ+, indigenous, and BAME communities - are finally being seen and finding space to speak.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Through the Black Mirror Terence McSweeney, Stuart Joy, 2019-07-26 This edited collection charts the first four seasons of Black Mirror and beyond, providing a rich social, historical and political context for the show. Across the diverse tapestry of its episodes, Black Mirror has both dramatized and deconstructed the shifting cultural and technological coordinates of the era like no other. With each of the nineteen chapters focussing on a single episode of the series, this book provides an in-depth analysis into how the show interrogates our contemporary desires and anxieties, while simultaneously encouraging audiences to contemplate the moral issues raised by each episode. What if we could record and replay our most intimate memories? How far should we go to protect our children? Would we choose to live forever? What does it mean to be human? These are just some of the questions posed by Black Mirror, and in turn, by this volume. Written by some of the foremost scholars in the field of contemporary film and television studies, Through the Black Mirror explores how Black Mirror has become a cultural barometer of the new millennial decades and questions what its embedded anxieties might tell us.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Gothic in the Movie the Rocky Horror Picture Show Anonym, 2013-08 Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Bonn (Anglistik), course: Gothic Fiction, language: English, abstract: 1. Introduction We encounter the term Gothic in a lot of domains. In history, the term is to be found referring to the East Germanic tribe called the Goths and in linguistics referring to their extinct language. It also relates to Gothic architecture, prevalent in Western Europe in the 12th to 16th century and its revival from the mid-18th to early 20th century, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses, large windows and elaborate tracery. It is also used as a reference to the gloomy and horrifying Dark Ages. Today we have a subculture which refers to oneself as Goths and their style as Gothic. In literature Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto from 1764 is assigned as the origin of Gothic in literature. From this time on, Gothic features can be found in many novels by different authors from continental Europe. It continued throughout different literary periods, be it Romanticism or the Victorian Age, and its elements and figures were used in novels, drama, poetry and short stories. Therefore, it is no wonder that its presence continued in the new media of the twentieth century like radio, television and movies. There are movie adaptations of Gothic writings as well as movies influenced by the Gothic and making use of its features. The cult movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show offers grotesque characters: the straps and makeup wearing Dr. Frank N. Furter, a 'sweet transvestite', his sun-tanned, flaxen-haired muscular creation Rocky, wearing golden underpants. A sinister and humped servant called Riff Raff and all the strange-looking people doing the 'Time Warp'. This and an innocent couple's strange adventure in an old and isolated mansion which is the home of the mysterious Dr. Frank N. Furter, tempt the spectator to see a Gothic influence in thi
  rocky horror picture show monster: Hollywood Monsters & Creepy Things Terry Rowan, 2016-10-14 The story about Hollywood Monsters, vampires, zombies, werew;lfs, phantoms, mummies, and ghosts of literature - and how they went Hollywood. Classic monsters are primarily the creatures of legend, touched by the supernatural or created by the madness of men who ventured where no man should go, the good old monsters who lurked in gloomy settings of Central European villages, ancient castles and tombs, moulding mansions and stone laboratories filled mazes of bewilding equipment in dark nights and violent storms. From A to Z which inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Making a Monstrous Halloween Chris Kullstroem, 2009-08-11 Halloween is one of the most popular holidays, known for its fun and creativity for all ages. This work offers instructions and tips for Halloween-related activities and events for a variety of settings, from school to work to home to the local graveyard. History, crafts, decorations, games, trips, and other seasonal activities are described in detail.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Rocky Horror Picture Show FAQ Dave Thompson, 2016-02-01 The Rocky Horror Picture Show FAQ is the in-depth story of not only the legendary stage show and movie but of a unique period in theatrical history – in the movie's UK homeland as well as overseas. Rocky Horror has been performed worldwide for more than 40 years in over 30 countries and has been translated into more than 20 languages. Inside these pages, we see Rocky Horror as sexual cabaret and political subversion, as modern mega-hit and Broadway disaster. At the movie house, we learn when to shout, what to throw – and why people even do those things. Here is the full story of the play's original creation; its forebears and its influences are laid out in loving detail, together with both the triumphs and tragedies that attended it across the next 40 forty years. Packed with anecdotes, The Rocky Horror Picture Show FAQ is the story of dozens of worldwide performances and the myriad stars who have been featured in them. From Tim Curry to Anthony Head, from Reg Livermore to Gary Glitter, from Daniel Abineri to Tom Hewitt, the lives and careers of the greatest ever Frank N. Furters stalk the pages, joined by the Riff-Raffs, Magentas, Columbias, and all. The book also includes the largest and most in-depth Rocky Horror discography ever published, plus a unique timeline – The Ultimate Rocky Horror Chronology – detailing the who, what, where, and when of absolute pleasure.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide Bryan Senn, 2024-10-16 About 2,500 genre films are entered under more than 100 subject headings, ranging from abominable snowmen through dreamkillers, rats, and time travel, to zombies, with a brief essay on each topic: development, highlights, and trends. Each film entry shows year of release, distribution company, country of origin, director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, cast credits, plot synopsis and critical commentary.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Anglistic Papers Bernd-Peter Liegener, 2019-03-18 These essays and studies are not designed to give an overview of English Language and literature. They are, however, a good inspiration for the occupation with the manyfold fields of Anglistics.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Punk Slash! Musicals David Laderman, 2010-04-01 Punk Slash! Musicals is the first book to deal extensively with punk narrative films, specifically British and American punk rock musicals produced from roughly 1978 to 1986. Films such as Jubilee, Breaking Glass, Times Square, Smithereens, Starstruck, and Sid and Nancy represent a convergence between independent, subversive cinema and formulaic classical Hollywood and pop musical genres. Guiding this project is the concept of slip-sync. Riffing on the commonplace lip-sync phenomenon, slip-sync refers to moments in the films when the punk performer slips out of sync with the performance spectacle, and sometimes the sound track itself, engendering a provocative moment of tension. This tension frequently serves to illustrate other thematic and narrative conflicts, central among these being the punk negotiation between authenticity and inauthenticity. Laderman emphasizes the strong female lead performer at the center of most of these films, as well as each film's engagement with gender and race issues. Additionally, he situates his analyses in relation to the broader cultural and political context of the neo-conservatism and new electronic audio-visual technologies of the 1980s, showing how punk's revolution against the mainstream actually depends upon a certain ironic embrace of pop culture.
  rocky horror picture show monster: The Frankenstein Archive Donald F. Glut, 2015-09-11 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, first published in 1818, started a phenomeon that has survived the years and permeated many aspects of popular culture. It has spawned numerous films, television programs, books, comics, stage presentations, and the like, and continues to do so today. Like the Frankenstein Monster, this work is made up of many individual parts, some of which are quite different in their specific themes, but all of which relate to Frankenstein in some way. They consider the untold true story of Frankenstein, Glenn Strange's portrayals of the Monster, the portrayals of lesser-known actors who played the character, Peter Cushing and his role as Baron (and Dr.) Frankenstein, the classic film Young Frankenstein co-written by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (who also starred in it), the battles between do-gooders and the Monster and other horror figures, Frankenstein in cartoons--and much more. Each of the 15 essays, all written by the author, is prefaced with explanatory notes that place the essay in its historical perspective, comment on its origin and content, and where appropriate, supplement the text with new, additional, or otherwise relevant information. Richly illustrated.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series Richard B. Armstrong, Mary Willems Armstrong, 2015-07-11 The first editon was called the most valuable film reference in several years by Library Journal. The new edition published in hardcover in 2001 includes more than 670 entries. The current work is a paperback reprint of that edition. Each entry contains a mini-essay that defines the topic, followed by a chronological list of representative films. From the Abominable Snowman to Zorro, this encyclopedia provides film scholars and fans with an easy-to-use reference for researching film themes or tracking down obscure movies on subjects such as suspended animation, viral epidemics, robots, submarines, reincarnation, ventriloquists and the Olympics (Excellent said Cult Movies). The volume also contains an extensive list of film characters and series, including B-movie detectives, Western heroes, made-for-television film series, and foreign film heroes and villains.
  rocky horror picture show monster: Movies and Methods Bill Nichols, 1985-09-06 The original Movies and Methods volume (1976) captured the dynamic evolution of film theory and criticism into an important new discipline, incorporating methods from structuralism, semiotics, and feminist thought. Now there is again ferment in the field. Movies and Methods, Volume II, captures the developments that have given history and genre studies imaginative new models and indicates how feminist, structuralist, and psychoanalytic approaches to film have achieved fresh, valuable insights. In his thoughtful introduction, Nichols provides a context for the paradoxes that confront film studies today. He shows how shared methods and approaches continue to stimulate much of the best writing about film, points to common problems most critics and theorists have tried to resolve, and describes the internal contraditions that have restricted the usefulness of post-structuralism. Mini-introductions place each essay in a larger context and suggest its linkages with other essays in the volume. A great variety of approaches and methods characterize film writing today, and the final part conveys their diversity—from statistical style analysis to phenomenology and from gay criticisms to neoformalism. This concluding part also shows how the rigorous use of a broad range of approaches has helped remove post-structuralist criticism from its position of dominance through most of the seventies and early eighties. The writings collected in this volume exhibit not only a strong sense of personal engagement but als a persistent awareness of the social importance of the cinema in our culture. Movies and Methods, Volume II, will prove as invaluable to the serious student of cinema as its predecessor; it will be an essential reference work for years to come.