Beacon staff reporter Alisha McLenna reviews losing her Rocky Horror Picture Show virginity at Whakamax.

Fishnet tights, fake blood, confetti and toast overtook the Cinema 2 at Whakamax on Saturday night for the theatre’s annual Rocky Horror Picture show screening.

This was Whakamax’s fifth time screening the cult classic, but my first time experiencing the fabulous phenomenon.

I’d donned fishnet tights and a stolen show t-shirt, which was nothing compared to the serious costume commitment of others attending.

As we bought our tickets, Whakamax manager and self-proclaimed Halloween enthusiast Fay Kennedy handed us giant paper bags filled with an odd assortment of items; a coloured piece of paper with a list of instructions, and most notably a piece of toast, which we were told was not to be consumed.

We took our seats. Dave Stewart chose to seat our group at the back of the theatre, which initially seemed a little cowardly to me, but I trusted his judgement as a Rocky Horror Picture Show connoisseur.

At the reveal of the opening wedding scene, we followed the first instruction of joining the celebrations by throwing our bags of confetti. This is apparently why we chose seats at the back.

Other interactive features included the audience donning paper hats in solidarity with Janet when she is caught in the rain, the cracking of glowsticks for the number There’s a Light, resulting in an experience akin to a primary school disco.

Two brave women stood to participate in the Time Warp dance, and Frank proposing a toast sent 50 slices of toast flying through the air.

As for the film, I started out confused and only grew more so as the plot thickened.

I believe the vibes were a celebration of embracing queerness, sexuality and pleasure, but I did not understand any broader metaphors or why the house turned into a rocket ship at the end.

By the end of the film, everyone (except the back row – thanks Dave!) was covered in debris thrown throughout the evening.

As Brad, Janet and Dr Scott navigated the smoke from the house-rocket-ship situation they just barely survived, audience members fumbled their way through the confetti, toilet paper and toast to the exit.

The strangeness and soundtrack quality certainly lived up to the hype, wonderfully enhanced by the interactive elements.

I look forward to the rewatch next year – celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the film's release - to clarify more of the plot details.

Kennedy said she stole the idea from an interactive Rocky event she attended in Hamilton.

“I loved it, so when I started working at Whakamax, I begged for us to do the same thing,” she said.

“I love holding this event, it’s awesome to see everyone get dressed up and come along. A lot of the kids who work at Whakamax have no idea what Rocky is, but they go along and love it.”

“Clean-up is definitely a challenge, but there are usually a few of us that stay behind and help. This year was pretty easy, it took about an hour,” she said.

“We will definitely be bringing Rocky back next year. We are always open to other movie events like this, we just have to be sure we can get the movie and have the turn out to make it happen.”

Whakamax is preparing for the release of two blockbusters, Gladiator II and Wicked, over the next couple of weeks. Both films will have preview screenings on the Wednesday before their release dates; November 13 and November 20 respectively.

MOVIE MESS: Before and after Whakamax’s sceening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show Saturday night. Photos Dave Stewart Rocky Horror Picture Show-02 AND Rocky Horror Picture Show-03