The Rocky Horror Picture Show wit to be "too weak to sustain a film" and thought that the "songs all sound the same". In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" helped shape conditions of cult film's transition from art-house to grind-house style. The film developed a cult following in 1976 at the Waverly Theatre in New York, which developed into a standardised ritual. According to J. Hoberman, author of "Midnight Movies", it was after five months into the film's midnight
The Rocky Horror Glee Show fans without being a "homage for homage's sake" like the Spears episode, and Stack felt that "Rocky Horror" was a "perfect fit" for "Glee", due to thematic similarities between the two. While previous "Glee" tributes attracted criticism for their focus on musical numbers to the detriment of plot, Jenna Mullins of "E! Online" and CBS News Jessica Derschowitz appreciated that "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" was more story-driven. Critics generally disliked the focus the episode placed on the adult characters, with many objecting to Will's characterisation. VanDerWerff wrote that his storyline with Emma "misplac[ed] what made either of the characters