Catherine O’Hara’s Raunchy, Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi is a Forgotten 1980s Gem
Posted by Jennifer Asencio | Published
The world recently lost the comedy actress Catherine O’Hara, known for classics like Beetle juice, Home aloneand series Schitt’s Creek. He has been endlessly remembered and acted, and his work is constantly watched by fans everywhere. In a 1983 Canadian animated feature Rock n’ Rulehe appears unexpectedly as an unusual character in a place where no one expected to find him.
Rock n’ Rule takes place in a post-apocalyptic future now filled with intelligent anthropomorphs and abominations transformed from the remnants of a nuclear war in the past. A rock group led by Omar fights for fame in Ohmtown, but when Omar is upstaged by his girlfriend Angel, it causes a rift between the two.
However, Angel has attracted the attention of the evil star Mok, whose evil plot to raise a demon requires a special singing voice. When Mok kidnaps Angel to raise his demon, Omar and his teammates Izzy and Stretch head to Nuke York City to rescue him and fight the rock star on his turf: the stage.
I’ve been a huge fan of this movie since I saw it in the late 1980s, and I never realized that Catherine O’Hara plays Izzy’s aunt Edith, a bright Nuke Yorker who runs a tattoo parlor and helps the group while they’re in town. It features celebrity voiceovers and musical appearances, including Cheap Trick and Debbie Harry as Omar and Angel’s band, Lou Reed and Izzy Pop as Mok; the dialogue voice talent is little known but stars Paul LeMat, Susan Roman, and Don Francks.
The story is a fun rock n’ roll game about climbing and falling to the top. The soundtrack certainly brings the magic and grandeur of the music, even if it can be used on purpose for magical purposes. Debbie Harry absolutely delivers with her performance, and it’s easy to see why it will get Mok’s attention. The incredible combination of magic and technology that Mok uses for his sorcery challenges the imagination in ways that the traditional story about the summoning of demons fails.
The lingering aura of nuclear war is constantly emphasized throughout the film, from the names of the places to the smoky and desolate places the characters inhabit. The mutants that emerged from the debris are looked down upon by the general public, as shown by the warnings and precautions in places visited during the film. In this regard, the film is very old-fashioned, as the early 1980s were a time of nuclear war fear that we had “civil defense exercises” against bombs rather than today’s “active shooting holes”.
The film also saw the return of a star from Rolling Stones Mick Jagger. Mok was to be called “Mok Swagger” and was drawn to resemble the singer with a dash of his musical partner David Bowie thrown in. Mok is portrayed as hateful and intoxicated by his fame, an image that Jagger did not seem to like, even the legend. He succeeded in having the actor’s last name dropped, but otherwise, as he sings himself in the movie, “My name is Mok/Thank you very much.”
Rock n’ Rule it may be a throwback to past societal traumas, but it’s still an essential watch today, and I watch it every chance I get because it’s so entertaining. It’s funny, with slapstick humor and a thoughtful premise, and most importantly, great music that keeps you coming back for more.
Check out this Catherine O’Hara secret gem, streaming for free on Tubi.
