Fox has released the trailer for their remake of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Like any remake to a beloved classic, there will certainly be haters; those asking why one would be bothered trying to recapture the magic of the original. Surely, Fox can’t emulate the iconic imagery of Tim Curry’s Dr Frank-N-Furter or the pure enjoyment of singing along to the catchy music numbers.
Well, you can see for yourself:
https://youtu.be/btL-tQYLELs
To its credit, there’s nothing too on the nose about this. Nothing that would taint the original film and it even seems to be capturing the camp nature of the original with its elaborate dance sequences. However, one word keeps coming to mind after watching this: why?
Is it to introduce new audiences to the phenomenon of Rocky Horror and its cult following? Or is it simply to cash in on the name? TV productions based on movies have certainly been garnering a better reputation as of late with Fargo and Bate’s Motel. These proved that not only can shows based on beloved movies be great, but they can also add depth to their cinematic siblings.
As for Rocky, there’s nothing that screams out (at least from this footage) that a reboot is necessary. Yes, they’re singing ‘Let’s Do The Time Warp Again’ and ‘Sweet Transvestite’ and even Adam Lambert evokes the look of Eddie. What else is there? There is just no vision within the footage. I feel like FOX should have taken the approach of doing a TV show instead that expanded on the universe of the movie instead of merely regurgitating the events of the original within a special TV event that will come and go.
If anything sums up my thoughts on this footage, it is the sight of a bored Tim Curry making a special appearance.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show debuts on October 20th on FOX.