As you are probably already aware, when The Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally released in August of 1975 by 20th Century Fox, it was a box office failure. Then something interesting happened, thanks to the movie’s great songs, sexual carefree nature and campy love of vintage sci-fi elements, it began to find a growing cult audience. Soon midnight showings sprung up across the country, with audiences shouting responses at the screen and dressing up as the film’s characters. A cult sensation in which viewers took the movie’s message of “don’t dream it, be it” to heart was born. As such, the media began to take notice.
Which leads us to this clip, a 1978 news report from the St. Louis area in which a bunch of young Rocky Horror fans discuss why they connect with the film. What makes this so compelling is that one of the fans interviewed here is none other than Michael Stipe, who later found fame as the lead vocalist for R.E.M. Check out the footage above, I’m guessing it will make you want to do the Time Warp again and again. Just don’t let madness take its toll!
We originally ran this post in 2016, but are reprinting it for Halloween.