<P> Although largely critically panned on initial release, it soon became known as a midnight movie when audiences began participating with the film at the Waverly Theater in New York City in 1976 . Audience members returned to the cinemas frequently and talked back to the screen and began dressing as the characters, spawning similar performance groups across the United States . At almost the same time, fans in costume at the King's Court Theater in Pittsburgh began performing alongside the film . This "shadow cast" mimed the actions on screen above and behind them, while lip - syncing their character's lines . Still in limited release four decades after its premiere, it is the longest - running theatrical release in film history . It is often shown close to Halloween . Today, the film has a large international cult following . It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2005 . </P> <P> The film's creative team also produced Shock Treatment in 1981, a standalone feature using the characters of Brad and Janet and featuring some of the same cast . </P> <P> A criminologist narrates the tale of the newly engaged couple Brad Majors and Janet Weiss who find themselves lost and with a flat tire on a cold and rainy late November evening, somewhere near Denton, Ohio . Seeking a telephone, the couple walk to a nearby castle where they discover a group of strange and outlandish people who are holding an Annual Transylvanian Convention . They are soon swept into the world of Dr. Frank N. Furter, a self - proclaimed "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania". The ensemble of convention attendees also includes servants Riff Raff, his sister Magenta, and a groupie named Columbia . </P> <P> In his lab, Frank claims to have discovered the "secret to life itself". His creation, Rocky, is brought to life . The ensuing celebration is soon interrupted by Eddie (an ex-delivery boy, both Frank and Columbia's ex-lover, as well as partial brain donor to Rocky) who rides out of a deep freeze on a motorcycle . Eddie then proceeds to seduce Columbia, get the Transylvanians dancing and singing and intrigue Brad and Janet . When Rocky starts dancing and enjoying the performance, a jealous Frank kills Eddie with a pick . Columbia screams in horror, devastated by Eddie's death . Frank justifies killing Eddie as a "mercy killing" to Rocky and they depart to the bridal suite . </P>

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