The Rocky Horror Picture Show/Fridge

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Fridge Logic

  • Why is it that Rocky can't talk (unlike in the original stage show), yet he's able to sing?
    • It is said that speech is on the left side of the brain while music is on the right side. Many people stutter when talking but are fully capable of singing. A similar thing could be occurring here.
  • Brad and Janet left Denton on a 'late November evening' and yet Richard Nixon is making his resignation speech (which actually took place at noon, in August, in Washington DC's timezone... meaning it would be noon or morning throughout the United States)?
    • All that we (and Brad and Janet) hear is a portion of the resignation speech. There's nothing in the broadcast to indicate whether the speech is being performed live, or being replayed from a recording. Given that it's night-time in November, only the second option makes any sense.
    • Richard O'Brien has stated that Brad is a huge nerd and that he recorded the speech so that he can listen to it whenever he wants.
      • Likewise, he originally didn't want the speech to be included in the film since he felt it took away from the "timeless" (i.e. it can take place at any era) feel of the story.

Fridge Brilliance

  • Rocky Horror Picture Show makes a lot more sense when you realise that most of the plot, decor and character traits are driven by the fact that few, if any of the characters really understand human nature. - randomfanboy
    • Even better, when watching, it seems that Tim Curry is being a large ham, breaking the fourth wall ("Well how 'bout that?" as the perfect example)... Until you reach "I'm Going Home", and it's revealed that it's FRANK that's being the ham and looking at the audience. He's playing to the non-existent crowd the whole time! Alternatively, Frank is breaking the fourth wall, and just doesn't realise he's in a movie rather than the stage show. Normally, there is a crowd out there applauding Frank at the end!
  • When I first became a fan of the Rocky Horror Show, I simply saw the song "Sweet Transvestite" as a catchy Villain Song. A few years later, I listened closely to the lyrics and had a fridge brilliance moment concerning the line "Well you got caught with a flat. Well... how 'bout that". The way Frank N. Furter says it in such a smug tone pretty much implies that he was the one who caused Brad and Janet to get a flat tire in the first place.-baronobeefdip
    • In the film, it's even more brilliant because Frank looks at the audience and pretty much grins at them when he says it. He broke the fourth wall and pretty much had a "Yeah, I'm behind the whole thing" smirk at the audience.
    • Keep in mind also that Brad and Janet never actually told Frank they had a flat tire. That's pretty much key right there. Knowing Frank, it's a lot less likely that he just took a wild guess.
    • Riff Raff at first seems like nothing more than a shady butler who kills Frank for no reason at the end. And then I saw an interview with Richard O'Brien in which he points out that Riff Raff is jealous of Frank and that it was actually Riff Raff who did most of the work on Rocky. Suddenly, Riff's shady behavior makes a lot more sense.
      • Even better? Richard O'Brien has stated that Riff Raff and Frank are Not So Different. I watched the film/play again with this in mind... and it really adds to the animosity between Frank and Riff.

Fridge Horror

  • Frank N. Furter's final song "I'm Going Home" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's basically about Frank lamenting about how he's both happy with being on earth yet also homesick for his home planet of Transsexual, Transylvania. Nothing creepy about that. However, during the song, an crowded audience fades into view, and Frank tearfully greets them as if they're his adoring fans. Cue after the song and... no audience. It's implied that the audience was merely a figment of Frank's imagination. Considering how insane Frank was before the floorshow, one can safely assume that he's finally snapped.
    • Not to mention that before the floorshow, the Criminologist points out that (save for Rocky, Frank, Brad, Janet, Dr. Scott, Columbia, Riff Raff and Magenta), the castle is completely empty. Why would Frank want to perform a floor show in an empty castle?
      • Also, the very fact that Brad, Janet, Dr. Scott, Columbia and Rocky are essentially being brainwashed by Frank.
      • Dr. Scott even comments on this and points out that they need to escape before Frank gains total control over them. Sure, floorshows may be fun for us audiences... but imagine being the one being essentially forced (by a psychotic alien, no less) to perform.
    • How about the song "Planet Schmanet Janet (Wise Up, Janet Weiss)"? Particularly the line "I've laid the seed, it should be all you need." Hmm... Frank had sex with Janet, sex can sometimes lead to babies... Oh, crap...
      • Oh, you only think you know the true horror... look up the unfilmed script Richard O'Brien wrote as a conclusion to his masterwork. And he's just like his daddy.
    • Also, the line from the song "Sweet Transvestite": "Well you got caught with a flat. Well, (knowing smile) How 'bout that?" It implies that Frank was the one behind Brad and Janet getting a flat tire and ending up in the castle in the first place.
      • Even more horror when you realize that Brad and Janet never mentioned a flat tire.
      • Also, look at the priest in the back during the beginning of the film and the two people standing next to him. It's implied that they're Frank, Riff Raff and Magenta in disguise. They were planning on having Brad and Janet visit the whole time.
    • Throughout the movie, we see various statues of people (mostly the Statue Of David). Then we see that Frank has a device that can turn people into stone. Oh Crap.
    • The back-to-back "Sex Scenes" in which Frank seduces Brad/Janet fall under Fridge Horror for several reasons:
  1. First of all, Frank thinks he's superior to human beings ("Do your worst, Inferior One!"). Also, he's an alien. So, in essence, it's pretty much bestiality in which Brad/Janet are the animals in the relationship.
  2. How Frank convinces them to have sex with him. He doesn't violently rape them. No, instead, he pretty much emotionally manipulates them into having sex with them. It really shows how naive Brad/Janet really are if all it takes is for Frank to talk to them to get them to agree to having sex with him. And it gets worse when you realize that Frank probably had a lot of practice with his manipulative charm.
  3. He was able to perfectly mimic Brad's and/or Janet's voice. Think about it. Frank was able to despite his Paper-Thin Disguise trick Brad/Janet into thinking he was their fiancee. He could easily walk into anyone's room into total darkness, imitate their voice, and it would be too late before they found out who it really was.
  4. Again, Frank's an alien. Who knows what kinds of diseases he's carrying... especially since we really don't know how many people (or species for that matter) he's screwed over the years.