The Bride!

Reimagine Bride of Frankenstein. Make it quirky. Make it intriguing. And then make it drag somewhat aimlessly for over two hours. Welcome to 2026 cinema.

Warning: there are spoilers ahead.

Written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride! stars Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, both of whom give strong performances despite an often convoluted and purposeless narrative.

The film's premise is simple enough: a lonely Frankenstein approaches Dr. Euphronius with the request to create a suitable companion for him. Together, they decide to dig up and reanimate a corpse. 

Bring Ida to life. Evanescence would approve, right?

Throughout the film, the pair are pursued intently by law enforcement for a variety of crimes, including (but not limited to) Ida's choice to bite a police officer's tongue out of his mouth, à la Rick Grimes.

Ultimately, "Frank" proposes to Ida, the reanimated corpse of his life, but his proposal is rejected moments before he is fatally shot in the head. A brutal pill to swallow, even for a monster.

As the conflict escalates, Ida returns to Dr. Euphronius and begs her to bring Frank back, but she is ultimately hit by a barrage of bullets and killed as well.

Thankfully, Dr. Euphronius manages to revive both characters before the credits roll, preparing us for a sequel that will likely never be greenlit as the film is labeled a "box office bomb".

Nonetheless, there are some intriguing elements that work really well here: 
  • Interspersing clips of Mary Shelley speaking from the afterlife about The Bride!, her unfinished follow-up tale to Frankenstein
  • Weaving through the truth of Ida's narrative and Frank's deception regarding her former life and subsequent memory loss
  • Jessie Buckley's Oscar-level commitment to a completely unhinged portrayal of Ida, and Christian Bale's equally impressive portrayal of an emotionally vulnerable monster
My rating? 6 out of 10.

The first 30 minutes of this film prepares the audience for a unique and compelling ride, but ultimately it falls short of expectations.

At times, it feels unclear as a viewer who we are actually supposed to be rooting for, and the tonal inconsistencies were consistently uncomfortable. 

However, if you're searching for a romantic horror musical crime drama and have a couple of hours to spare, the Gyllenhaal family has you covered.

What were your thoughts on The Bride? Feel free to leave a note in the comments below, let's discuss :)

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