The Film House in downtown St. Catharines is gearing up for Halloween with a series of interactive screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Part of the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, The Film House (TFH) has been a staple of movie culture in the Niagara Region since it opened nearly 10 years ago. Offering “unique films in a modern, cinematic environment,” TFH lives by the motto “for the love of film.”
As the fall season progresses, The Film House continues to play a variety of spooky movies for Halloween enthusiasts. The House on Haunted Hill (Oct. 28) and Good Boy (Oct. 29) are a few examples of such films. But many locals are excited for a series of specific screenings which are back by popular demand. On Oct. 25, 26, 30 and 31, TFC is hosting interactive viewings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, encouraging fans to dress up, yell out and sing along as they time warp their way to Transylvania.
These interactive showings are part of a long-standing history that exists far outside of St. Catharines. In fact, the audience’s participation in Rocky Horror started in the late 1970s in the Waverly Theatre in Greenwich Village.
Although when it premiered in 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a flop, failing to attract mainstream audiences, a handful of New York City theatres started showing the film at midnight screenings. These viewings attracted an audience of devoted fans who connected with the film’s campy nature. This resulted in groups who would go and see the movie over and over, dressing up as the characters and starting to shout back particular lines.
Props soon became involved, with audience members bringing rice for the wedding scene, newspapers to wear during the rain scene, toast to throw when someone says “a toast” as well as water pistols, flashlights and cards for various other moments. In New York and Los Angeles, it even went as far as audience members acting as shadow cast, playing out the film in front of the screen.
By the 1980s, Rocky Horror had become the longest-running theatrical release in film history thanks to its cult-like audience.
Nowadays, what were once fan-organized rituals have become “interactive screenings,” making these impromptu behaviours a part of an officially sanctioned event. Still, Rocky Horror is just as fun now as it was 50 years ago. All across North America, theatres house regular sing-alongs complete with props, on-screen lyrics and live casts. While Rocky Horror is the most beloved, these rituals have also extended to films like The Sound of Music and Grease, creating lots of excitement for the audiences who are involved.
Although The Film House has done interactive showings of these other films, Rocky Horror remains the most anticipated each year, with both locals and folks from out of town swarming into downtown St. Catharines to be a part of the tradition. While tickets are still on sale online, they likely won’t last long.
This celebration of camp, queerness and community has now found a home in the Niagara Region at The Film House, serving another generation of outsiders and giving them a place to belong.