A Rocky Horror sequel?Stranger things have been known to happen.
Several years after the audience found the original Rocky Horror Picture Show, the midnight circuit success of the film caused Richard O'Brien to entertain thoughts of writing a sequel to this little cult movie that could as its fandom continued to pick up steam. And "Rocky Horror Shows His Heels" would have been the title.
Richard O'Brien would once again write the libretto and songs. Many actors and production designers ,etc would be asked to return.A world of weirdness was possible.
Dr Scott and Brad would have set up a laboratory next to the crater left by the Castle. Somehow and for some reason they sought a way to revive the corpse of Frank. Who upon his rebirth would say" I haven't a thing to wear to my resurrection" and slip into the song that would have been "Little Black Dress." "Ever since I was a little boy....dressing up ..has always been....my greatest joy." Oh, and Janet was pregnant with Frank's baby.
But then, Dammit ,Janet, it all quickly began to fall apart. Actors found themselves busy with other work.After many years wearing the heels , Curry wanted to move away from Frank and onto other roles and new challenges.And finally, money problems and a Screen Writers Guild strike created an environment of needed change.
With the go ahead to make another movie, the parties involved didn't want to give up the opportunity just because of several hurdles. The new movie was now to be called "The Brad and Janet Show" .Briefly, Tim Curry was to return , this time playing Farley Flavors, but then declined after his concerns of pulling off an American accent for the character.
When other actors couldnt or wouldnt play in the sandbox one more time, the story was changed from a direct sequel to a variation on a theme. To cut the budget , all exterior plans for filming were scrapped and the story was placed inside a television studio and eventually inside the concept of several tv shows. Shock Treatment was born ,and ooooh we needed it.
Well,.....not everyone needed it . As ST was a commercial and critical failure.Though,some folks have a strange idea of entertainment and this movie now has it's own cult following these days.Admittedly , no where as fervent as what RH found..
Surprisingly, Shock Treatment has even recently been adapted into a play. So to every season, turn turn turn. Rocky Horror began its life as a stage play which birthed a movie that in turn gave rise to shadowcasts performing the movie in the front row , once again returning the movie to its stage roots. And now Shock Treatment, a movie that was inspired by a movie that was a originally a stage play found its own way back to the stage. Is the room spinning, or is that my head?
Years later, as an anniversary year approached , whispers of yet another sequel began to shake the tightest of sewn sequins. Rocky Horror found a brand new audience with its release on video. Now, those who couldn't find a theater near them to soak in all of Rock Horror's midnight glory could discover what some of the fuss was all about by seeing the movie in the comfort of their home. And the cult began to take its next high heeled baby steps into the mainstream .
Revenge of the Old Queen was to be this versions name and it was a planned direct sequel. Taking place many years after the original movie with Janet having already given birth to Frank's Son and Frank's Mother desiring the boy for her own (and you can take that however you please)
Sadly, nothing came of this. Only one song has slipped out past Richard O'Brien's lips over the years. And Rocky Horror ,while still finding new audience members every year, is not the experience it once was. The B-movies that are core to Rocky Horrors roots are a thing of the past, Rarely watched today, and I imagine ony a few of today's Rocky Horror audiences are even aware of them outside of a quick google on their phones.
Besides, when you can see people who look as different as Frank on a television show on any average day of the week (well, especially back when MTV played videos) as Jane said, it's nothing shocking to see Frank in all his fishnet glory. Old Queen , indeed.
Truth be told, any sequel is up against a rather large ghost in the form of Tim Curry's Frank.That is a force to be reckoned with and it would be impossible to replicate no matter how good the story. Without Franks presence, the movie would always feel like it is missing an important ingredient.The right charismatic actor would have to be chosen,and even then, he.she.it would be in for a sincere challenge and severe criticism. For me, no Richard O'Brien as Riff-Raff would be a greater disappointment.
First and foremost, I think any serious attempt at a sequel
should really be written for the stage first.Simplify the story.Remember the roots, the rock and roll and b-movie low budget special effects popcorn charms. Has there ever been a sequel written for a stage musical?
But until
then......here is a random idea that floated into my mind one late night/early morning (pardon the punctuation or lack of it,misspellings and misplaced words) .Mixed into it is a mashup of songs and ideas that would have ,could have, should have been from Heels to Revenge.. So without furter a-doobie doobie do let the 20th Century Fox drumroll begin :
Screen is black
(A long ,long, time ago.......in a galaxy far,far away..)
.
It is many years
later.....Janet has had a child , definitely Franks .But we do not see
him....till about 30 mins into the movie. Brad and Janet are still together.
But not happy with their life
SONG #1
The movie begins, once
again with the red lips on black. Or maybe black lips on red? Singing a song of forgotten films. Or rather
the way going to these old type of films
used to make one feel. How nothing is the same as it ever was. That old feeling
cant be captured again as time goes on. Regrets
Fade into picturesque
50's ish appearing suburb setting. A David Lynch Blue Velvet/ Tim Burton Edward
Scissorhands hybrid, garish in its charm. Men and women return home from a days
work. We track on a familiar car as it pulls into a driveway. Cut to a close up
of the car facing skyward as a familiar asshole steps up into frame. Older,
probably not much wiser. Still with a exaggerated over-zealousness. His bouncy
steps illustrate this approaches his front door,waving hello to a male neighbor
with a wink. Once inside, the charade drops, along with his shoulders and his
expression
home is not where his
heart is.
Smoke fills the air,
coming from the kitchen. Where we find Janet , smoking,
drinking(drunk....again) and letting
dinner burn. She is lost in thought, a suggestive one.
Stilted conversation
An argument ensues
,doors are slammed. I feel a song coming on .....
SONG #2
"Bitchin in the
Kitchen" ? perhaps?
Janet end up in her
child's bedroom. clutching a pillow that looks like it was won at a state fair.
It resembles the Denton town logo.Arrow through the heart.
The bedroom is covered
with old 50's sci fi /horror movie posters.
Janet reacts to
something off screen.
On the mirror, written
in lipstick , is a message from her child. He/She/It has run away to look for
the real father. Someone Janet has let slip in drunken bedtime stories over the
years. About her and Brads experiences , about the castle and the Doctor.
Janet has a feeling
where to look. So She and Brad drive off into the rainy night in search of the
child.
SONG #3
Another song begins ,
perhaps on the radio. Full of double meaning but with a ,pun intended, driving
beat." thump....thump...thump....thump...thump..thump ..thump....woke up....fell out of bed...dragged the comb across my head....
The song ends suddenly
as Brad slams on the breaks, bracing Janet.
Outside their rain
soaked windshield they see THE castle in the distance. Some how back. It's dome
glowing in the dark night. Lightning crashing. The car is frightened.
They slowly drive
forward in silence towards the front door.
Getting out of the car,
this time remembering to bring an umbrella. Janet. and Brad approach the front
door. and ring the bell.
Pause.
Then the clank of the
handle and the slow creak of the door as it opens.....to reveal...
DR SCOTT!! (Janet...Brad......)
Confusion," come
inside. Youve arrived on a very special night. etc etc"
Dr Scott informs B
& J what has already transpired: the strange sudden return of the castle on
this night , how he has been watching the skies and searching the crater for
years.
They ask if their child
is here. Dr Scott informs them yes, with a worried look. Something is amiss
The trio enter the
ballroom to find it empty. A ghost of the party that once was.
Janet and Brad start
questioning Dr Scott, an argument brews, yelling back and forth as Dr Scott
seems to be holding back answers. Brad and Janet begin yelling at each other
untill all three are yelling when
suddenly BRAD screams a girly scream and faints at the sight of something in the distance.....
It's their
child.....all dolled up and looking
remarkably like Dr Frank n Furter. with
a song in his heart.....
SONG #4
"Mom....Dad.......ever
since I was a little boy...dressing up has always been my greatest
joy..." and then he begins singing
a new song.
about finding himself
and dont I look lovely?Dream 'n Be'N
Sassy lassy
The song ends , Young Frank strikes a hip shot pose
Well, Mom?...Dad? what do you think of my new look? like it?
Brad faints again
Fade to black.
Brad awakens to find
himself upstairs in a new laboratory ...and there is,what looks like, a new body on the slab. Covered by a red
satin sheet.
Young Frank welcomes
his parents and tells them what he has planned. why this night is important. A
night he has waited for his entire life.
He begins a song.......of hopes and dreams or calling out beyond the
stars and finding home
SONG#5
He pulls back the bed
sheet to reveal some type of transmitter.
thunder bolts and
lightning , very very frightning.....as he and Dr Scott raise the transmitter
skyward to the dome....and activate it.....A huge beam of shimmering crystal
light emerges with a hypnotic humm....a familiar time warpy theme too it.
Explosions of
sparks....familiar laughter......
screen goes white with
a flash
and then there they
are....
Riff and Magenta,in new
space suits....an army of Transylvanians,each carrying a overflowing trunk of
clothes...and the Old Queen,Franks Mom (some ol grand dame english lady looking
very fetching in her travel lingerie uniform.) Would it be too out of line to
get Maggie Smith?
the Old Queen orders
them to capture the Dr Scott and Brad n Janet....
A chase ensues , with a
scooby doo ish tune that Riff and Magenta sing about being back in business,
innuendo filled lyrics as they sing to each other in chase . Flirting .
SONG#6
The Transylvaninans
offering up background chorus singing .. woo woos and what nots, and the
colored girls go .....
Frank doesn't run,but
is drawn to Old Queen. they flirt within the song as well. (incest is big in
this family)
Riff and Magenta and
the Transylvanians corner the three in
the ballroom. Dr Scott tries to bargain with Riff....who promptly shoots him
with his laser. But before Magenta can shoot Brad or Janet a voice cries out
..."WAIT!!" (-tress...check ,Please)
Its their son. in the
arms of Grandma.
The son want his
parents to answer for their crimes, of denying him his true self. And not being
true to each other....he shoots them with a "truth " ray. (It could
happen) that evokes a song in the
two.....
SONG #7
a song where they
reveal whats in their hearts,secrets ,what they desire and that ends with them harmonizing " I dont looooove youuuuuuu"
Magenta (eye roll):
"How sentimental"
A laser is
fired....Magenta drops to the floor. Screams and cries from Riff as he cradles
his Sister in his arms...
the Old Queen , blowing
the smoke from the laser, says , "come lets retire to our beds we need
rest before the return home. "
the Transylvnians drag
Janet and Brad away to separate rooms.
as Riff begins a song
of brotherly love while he caresses and then straddles Magentas corpse.
SONG # 8
A song that implies bringing one back to life
via a good shagging.Starts slow but works up a heavy rhythm
In the Old Queens
bedroom , she lays with Young Frank and sings him a lullaby of Transylvania .
Of its moon drenched shores and other beauties.
As the song nears its
ends we transition to the dark of the ballroom.
Riff stands,singing the chorus, his uniform shredded, a evil satisfied
grin on his face.....then Magenta's hands claw her way up his chest as she
stands. pushing Riff back down to he knees
where he remains for the remainder of the song.
Smiling wickedly
,Magenta speaks:
"The Bitch, has
come back" And throws her head back
in ecstasy.
Cut to the old Queen
spanking Young Frank. Ow...oooh....oh
Young Frank throwing a teenage temper tantrum..pillow fight. He doesnt
want to return to Transexual ...and have to rule as King, too much work . Young
Frank runs away ,
SONG#9
singing a dance song of
teenage angst. Every where he turns the Transylvanians seem to be ready to join
in on the dance.
YF finds Janet, who
comforts him. joins him in the chorus
Brad finds them, he too
joins in the chorus
The three sing as one.
"ENOUGH" the old queen screams.
SONG# 10 she starts a
song of being bored with this world and its people. ,the disappointing frustration
of all her children(some we havent met). and just wanting to get the fuck out
of here.
Riff and Magenta
arrive, Now dressed in their old space uniforms.
A laser fight ensues
with all parties participating.It should remind us of a scene from a classic
science fiction film.
In the end, Riff ends
up turned into a statue of stone
Magenta clings to his
frozen corpse and suddenly begins to sing a song
SONG# 11
.... it's melody is
Purple Rain gorgeous
.....its first line is
beautiful
....and then she
suddenly stops and says " fuck this sentimental shit" and walks off.
B,J and YF escape in
the smoke the castle and the old Queen
leaves
SONG# 12
the family sings a song of the best thing for
them all is to be away from each other, going their own way and one by one each
leaves the song till only young Frank is left singing solemnly but he then turns the song around and sings
about how fabulous he will be because he wont dream it, he will be it.
SONG# 13
reprise the song from
the beginning , lyrics now about no regrets.
fade to black roll the
credits.
