It is time to do the time warp again–hopefully to the time before Fox’s remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” aired on prime-time television. Boasted as a tribute to the original 1975 cult film, the remake falls flat and pales in comparison to the wacky, colorful original. If anything, it is a true horror picture show.

The remake kept most of the original film’s dialogue, leaving it untouched, which means the writing was not to blame. It was the acting, singing and directing.

The movie was poorly cast, with ex-Disney and Nickelodeon stars Ryan McCartan and Victoria Justice leading the front as Brad Masters and Janet Weiss respectively, along with “Orange is the New Black” (OITNB) star Laverne Cox as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. McCartan, Justice and Cox are all wonderful actors outside of Rocky Horror. They have each had success in their own respective productions but they were simply just not the right group of actors to pick up the mantle left behind by Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick.

Throughout the entire movie, it felt as if McCartan, Justice and Cox were not acting as Brad, Janet and Frank. They were imitating Curry, Sarandon and Bostwick acting as the original characters. This is understandable, as the roles are big spots to fill, but the casting should have incorporated more actors that gave a natural, instinctive performance.

McCartan brought a childish quality to Brad, making him more appealing to the audience, but the entire point of Brad’s character is to be stiff and disliked. Justice did not do justice for Janet. In some scenes, she was a robot reading lines off a teleprompter. Cox, although incredible in OITNB, fails to live up to Curry’s depiction of Frank with her “trans-Atlantic” accent. It is almost as if she is playing a completely different character, and not the same Dr. Frank-N-Furter that has been adored by fans for 41 years. Eddie, played by Adam Lambert, was nothing special. Annaleigh Ashford, who portrayed Columbia, was the only actor who had a genuine performance. Ashford was the best part of the remake, actually channeling the character herself instead of imitating the original 1975 actress.

Even behind the camera the film has Disney ties. The 2016 remake was directed by Kenny Ortega, who directed the original “High School Musical” (HSM) trilogy along with “Newsies” and “Descendants.” As previously mentioned, much like the rest of the cast, Ortega has had his individual success outside of Rocky Horror. However, whenever Ortega touches something, it is almost as if he leaves behind his own signature trace, which explains why the new soundtrack sounds like HSM.

HSM is a masterpiece in its own right, but it definitely does not fit with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Simply put, the updated songs belong on a KidzBop album. Cox, although a talented actress, cannot sing well. The iconic intro to “Time Warp,” which would once give the listener creepy chills, now sounds like a Top 40 song. “Over at the Frankenstein Place” and “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me” are the only two songs that somehow managed to narrowly escape Ortega’s HSMfying grasp. The rest of the soundtrack is an absolute mess.

As with most remakes, there are always changes to distinguish it from the original. In the case of Rocky Horror, there were some good and some bad. The good: the inclusion of a new character, Ivy Levan’s Usherette. Levan’s character introduces the film, replacing the famous lips segment that was instead moved to the end of the film. The usherette’s intro was very nice, and it truly did honor the original movie in a tasteful way, showing a movie theatre that is about to screen “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Curry’s role as the Narrator is another plus as well. It was nice to see that despite his recent health issues he is still going strong, and it truly would not be Rocky Horror without Tim Curry. The bad: at random points in the remake, the focus switches to audience members in the movie theatre, a nod to the real world audience participation that occurs during Rocky Horror screenings. Although this was meant to be an homage to the original movie and its cult following, it interrupted the flow of the dialogue. For first time Rocky Horror viewers, the interjecting scenes could be confusing and even ruin the movie as a whole. Eddie’s fate is changed as well. Instead of meeting his end with an icepick, he is simply pushed off the edge of Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle. This change is detrimental to the character development of Frank, as it originally showed how ruthless and cold-hearted he can be.

Fox tried introducing Rocky Horror to a new generation, but they failed. Hopefully, audiences will not be put off of watching the original, which is ultimately better than the remake. The remake took away the charm of the original movie and washed away the campiness that attracted viewers in the first place. It feels uneasy, out of place and awkward for the entire duration. Like most remakes, pretend like this one never happened and let it fade away into oblivion to be forgotten for the rest of time.