I attended college (the first time) from 1979 until 1983. Those of us that went to high school and college during the late 70’s and early 80’s got to see the birth of many modern concepts, including the concept of a ‘cult film’. It was during this period that being bad became good, and the worse, the better. But to label all cult films as bad would be incorrect – some just speak to us in a unique voice.

That’s where I’d put the father of all cult films, the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I remember going to the film in the late seventies, as it’s cult status was just starting to build. This was when you could still take in toilet paper, hot dogs and water guns, and theater owners were still surprised when members of the crowd rushed up to the screen during Susan Sarandon’s song. People went over and over again, not for the film alone (which is actually a pretty damn funny movie on it’s own), but for the crowd activities.

Rocky Horror Picture Show 3-D Poster

Mcfarlane Toys has added the classic iconic ‘lips’ poster to its series of 3-D movie posters. While this particular poster isn’t quite as complex as some others (I can’t wait to see how well they do with Robocop), it is certainly an image that is almost as famous as the film itself.

Packaging – **1/2
The posters have been coming in slightly different packages, depending on the image. For example, the Nightmare On Elm Street package had a full plastic window over the front of the poster, protecting the fingers of Freddy’s hand. This time, there’s no window, just an exterior box around the shadow box of the poster. It protects the edges, but leaves the image itself open to touching. Somehow, that seems appropriate, if not particularly safe.

Sculpting – ***1/2
Obviously, this is NOT a particularly complex poster to create. There’s a set of lips, and some words. Fortunately, both are done quite nicely.

The lips are very impressive. The skin texture is excellent, and done in combination with the paint, is extremely life-like and realistic. The lettering is held out from the back of the shadow box with solid metal pegs, and have a bloody, drippy texture. Scale is good between the lettering and the rest of the poster, and it does look just like the original, white border and all. I’m particularly happy with the ones that use this shadow box treatment, rather than those (like the aforementioned NMOES) that are missing it.

Paint – ***
A great paint job was essential in capturing the very real appearance of the lips and teeth on the original poster. In that regard, they did an excellent job. The highlights and shadows are painted with such a convincing look that from more than a few inches away, you’ll swear they’re real. What you see in the photo is NOT due to my lighting, but rather due to the paint work on the lips, and it matches the look of the poster almost perfectly.

Unfortunately, the general mechanical quality of the paint work doesn’t live up to the design. There’s red slopped down on the teeth, and the masking just isn’t as clean as you’d expect. From a slight distance the poster looks amazingly real, but on closer inspection the quality issues become more apparent.

Value – ***
At twenty bucks, you’re getting a solid value. These are large enough (around 13″ tall and 3″ deep or so…) that the stand out nicely on the wall, and make for an excellent media room or home theater decoration. This is one of those rare pop culture collectibles that’s cheap AND you’d be willing to have your in-laws see it.

Things to Watch Out For –
Pick out the one with the best paint ops, and pay particular attention to the work around the teeth.

Overall – ***1/2
This isn’t my favorite of the overall line of posters, but it’s certainly a worthy buy. If you’re a huge fan of the film (and there are an awful lot of you still out there), then this is one of the better reasonably priced collectibles available, at least until Sideshow does a line of sixth scale figures (or a premium format Frank-N-Furter!).

Where to Buy –
There are plenty of online options:

– Killer Toys has it available for $18.

– for the U.K. readers, Forbidden Planet has it for 20 pounds.

– CornerStoreComics has him listed at $20.

Related Links –
I’ve reviewed several of the past 3-D posters, including Jaws and Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street.

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