A young, naive couple in a foreboding, remote castle that belongs to a sexually-charged villain played by Tim Curry. Of course, I must be exclusively describing the seminal 1975 musical classicThe Rocky Horror Picture Show, right? Wrong! I amalsodescribing Ridley Scott’s 1985 fantasy sleeper hit,Legend. Not to be confused with the 2015 Tom Hardy movie of the same name,Legendis the story of the pure-hearted forest child Jack (Tom Cruise), who goes on a journey to stop the Lord of Darkness.
Legendmay not have been a critical or commercial success at the time of its release, but it has come to earn “cult classic” status in the years since. Funnily enough, another film that was initially neither critically nor commercially successful wasTheRocky Horror Picture Show.Fans of both films have started pointing out the similaritiesbetween the films, and they are quite delightful to consider.
What Is ‘Legend’ About?
Legendbegins with aStar Wars-style opening crawlthat explains how good and evil must balance each other to create Legends (obviously). Then, we see the Lord of Darkness, an unrecognizable Tim Curry in a giant red devil costume, as he begins to exact his dark bidding. You see, he’s the evil side of this tale. Basically, Darkness wants to create an eternal night. To him, this would be a vibe. In order to create this everlasting night, however, he has to kill all the unicorns and take their horns. Naturally, Darkness has a couple of Goblin henchmen he can send to do his bidding. Unicorns are attracted to innocence, so the goblins set out to find some bait.
10 Ridley Scott Movies With the Highest Audience Scores on Rotten Tomatoes
If you are like Ridley Scott and you believe cinema ought to be judged by the ticket buyers, these movies are for you.
Jack, on the other hand, is the good guy. He is the object of the fair princess Lili’s (Mia Sara) affection, and the two frequently rendezvous in the woods and discuss their goodness. This is perfect unicorn bait. One day, while Lili and Jack are going for a little canoodle and unicorn watch, they are followed by the goblins. The goblins then take this opportunity to snipe the unicorns with dartsand saw off their horns. Darkness instantly descends. However, there is one hope. The goblins did not kill the mare (who is hornless, sexistly). Now Jack, accompanied by a group of forest creatures he picks up on the way, must find a way to reunite the unicorns with their horns to bring back the light and save the world.
‘Legend’s Similarities to ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
In both campy culty Curry flicks, the plot centers on an innocent, virginal couple who, through some sequence of events, are kept in a castle against their will by an other-worldly being. There’s a team of misfit toys that they meet along the way. InLegend, there is a will-o-the-wisp named Oona and a dwarf named (rather questionably) Brown Tom. InThe Rocky Horror Picture Show, there is an unsettling sibling duo, butler Riff Raff and maid Magenta. In both films, the Curry villain attempts to court/seduce the female in the couple. InLegend,Darkness tries to marry Lili. InThe Rocky Horror Picture Show, it is purely sexual. And it is also with the male, but still.
Every Classic Horror Movie Referenced in Rocky Horror’s Iconic Opening Number, Explained
This cult classic’s opening song is full of subtle, and not so subtle, horror references you may have missed.
There are also so many obvious differences between the two movies.The Rocky Horror Picture Showis “science fiction,” not fantasy. It is much, much more overtly adult thanLegend, which is ostensibly a family film.Legendis an adventure movie that spans many locales, and while Lili, and eventually Jack, spend time trapped in Darkness’ lair, most of the film is sprawling.The Rocky Horror Picture Show, on the other hand, almost feels like a bottle episode. Finally,The Rocky Horror Picture Showhas undoubtedly had more of a cultural impactthanLegendhas (not for nothing, it did win a slate of impressive VFX accolades), despite both boasting cult status.
Still, everywhere that counts, you cannot help but admit that the two movies feel similar. Perhaps because both are adaptations of the allegory of original sin. Seeing Adam and Eve-type characters having bit the metaphorical apple, both central pairs must go on an epic quest of self-actualization to escape the clutches of Satan. If onlyLegendhad toe-tapping musical numbers and fishnets, then maybe we would all be memorializing it in midnight screenings across the nation forever.
