The Rocky Horror Picture Show was not the first midnight movie, but it is arguably the most well known. With its rebellious blend of "B" movie science fiction, horror, and a rock 'n' roll soundtrack, Rocky Horror celebrates sexual difference. Inspiring viewers with the catch phrase, "Don't dream it, be it!," Rocky Horror earned its cult status in part through its transgressive nature. Its fans are legion, and since the film's release in 1975, Rocky Horror has developed into a full-fledged cult that has spawned its own cottage industry of merchandise and memorabilia. Rocky Horror has become synonymous with participatory cinema, and its history as a midnight feature has helped to define what it meant to be a cult film in the late twentieth century.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show grew out of the fertile imagination of English actor Richard O'Brien...