Why Eddie Was In The Freezer
Matthew Barrera Music legend Meat Loaf played Eddie the motorcycle-riding delivery boy in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but why did he emerge from a freezer?
Meat Loaf emerged from a freezer to get the rest of the characters singing "Hot Patootie" in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, much to the chagrin of Dr. Frank-N-Furter - but why was he in there to begin with? Born Marvin Aday, Meat Loaf sadly passed away in January 2022 at age 74. While Meat Loaf will always be best known for his music, including hits like "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," he also left a sizable legacy in the form of TV and movie appearances, carving out a career for himself as an actor too.
Meat Loaf's most famous acting role is probably the character Tyler Durden recruits in Fight Club, Robert Paulson, whose name becomes a rallying cry for his compatriots after being shot by police. Yet Meat Loaf also gives a highly memorable turn as Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was actually Meat Loaf's first movie role of any significance. This casting harked back to the rock star's roots, as before he became a huge music star, Meat Loaf appeared in several musical plays, including one of the earliest iterations of the play The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show's story moves at a fast pace and is at times hard to follow, which goes some way to explaining the handful of unmade Rocky Horror sequel ideas. Lots of plot points are exclusively revealed or expanded on in the lyrics of the songs, so they can be easy to miss amidst the whirlwind happening on-screen. In the case of Eddie, he had been a follower and former lover of Frank's but ended up preferring Columbia to the not-so-good doctor. This drove Frank into a jealous rage, leading him to use half of Eddie's brain to create Rocky. It is inferred Frank then places Eddie in the freezer to keep him on ice in case the other half of his brain was needed - explaining Eddie's emergence from the appliance as The Rocky Horror Picture Show progresses.
While that explains why Dr. Frank-N-Furter - played by Tim Curry - put Eddie in the freezer, other things about the scene where Eddie bursts forth from inside the appliance to sing and cause mayhem beg so many questions. For one, after having half his brain cut out and then being put in deep freeze, it makes no sense for Eddie to still be alive. There's also the question of why Frank put him in the freezer atop his motorcycle, facilitating his grand entrance and use of the vehicle to wreak havoc. It's also a bit odd that Frank immediately kills Eddie, as it seems likely a scientist like himself would want to study this living corpse.
Then again, Frank is an alien, so his logic and priorities are clearly quite different from human beings. Frank was extremely jealous of Eddie and obviously enraged by how much Rocky enjoyed his song, so Frank may not have really thought through the killing much at all before he did it. Of course, most The Rocky Horror Picture Show fans would assert that applying such a magnifying glass to the story and character motivations are missing the point. The Rocky Horror Picture Show's plot isn't why it remains so beloved; it's the iconic musical numbers, wry sense of humor, and willingness to get both sexy and silly in equal measure - something the 2016 TV Rocky Horror remake sadly proved unable to reproduce.
