This warts-and-all history of Richard O’Brien’s beloved cult classic opens with a card briefly explaining the origins of it all, and a short quote familiar to the many fans of the musical: “It was great when it all began.” And wasn’t it just? Sane Inside Insanity goes deep into the early days of Rocky, upstairs at the Royal Court theatre, and goes on to detail the evolution of the cult, and how the film came to be, including various pieces of sharp practice and incompetent dealing on the parts of a few different people.
Constructed from recordings of stage shows, old photographs, archival footage and talking heads, this unofficial documentary is competing with an official version produced by O’Brien’s son (Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror), with both being released to celebrate the film adaptation’s 50th anniversary. As well as cast members like Little Nell and Barry Bostwick, the talking heads here include original-stage-version actors, fans, and producers, one of whom really nails why Rocky is such a delight: “Rocky was an accident. You can’t try to have an accident.” This gets to the heart of why this particular phenomenon is special and why so many imitators and projects conceived with the intention of being “cult entertainment” are doomed to fail – including the 2016 reboot/remake for US TV, which is dissected with all the disdain it deserves.
This is a scrappy, entertaining and detailed look at a piece of work whose success seems inexplicable to anyone who hasn’t fallen under its spell. To its credit, this doc gets into that, too – the way that Rocky shouldn’t work, really, with one talking head even conceding, of the film: “It’s a shitty fucking movie.” But for all its clear-eyed analysis, Andreas Zerr’s film is ultimately a celebration of the mind flips, no-good kids and pelvic thrusts that really drive you insane, made for fans, by a fan.
• Sane Inside Insanity: The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror is on digital platforms from 25 September
