One of the most famous horror movie monsters is all the rage right now: only a few months after Guillermo del Toro‘s Frankenstein, the Creature returns in a punk-rock-infused gothic romance.
From actor-turned-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride! is a Bonnie and Clyde-inspired reimagining of The Bride of Frankenstein set in 1930s New York City.
Jessie Buckley stars as the titular Bride, while Christian Bale plays “Frank” (AKA, Frankenstein’s monster).
If you loved The Bride!’s audacious, genre-bending mix of horror, romance and period drama, Watch With Us has three recommendations for you to check out next.
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‘Repo! The Genetic Opera’ (2008)
In 2056, an epidemic of organ failures has wiped out the majority of Earth’s human population, and the world is beset by drug addiction and legal murder. This devastation gives rise to the company GeneCo., which provides transplants at a costly payment plan — and if you miss a payment, you’re hunted down by assassins called Repo Men who repossess your organs. Meanwhile, an ill young woman named Shilo (Alexa PenaVega) seeks a cure for her rare blood disease, not knowing that she is the illegitimate daughter of GeneCo.’s CEO (Paul Sorvino).
Repo! The Genetic Opera is based on the 2002 stage musical of the same name. While it failed at the box office and polarized critics, many feel that it’s destined to become a cult hit like The Rocky Horror Picture Show (it has indeed enjoyed midnight movie screenings). Though Gyllenhaal struck down speculation that The Bride! is a musical (although, apparently, her brother Jake does sing), the maximalist aesthetic, grisly, organ-swapping narrative and glam-rock vibes make Repo! The Genetic Opera feels connected to The Bride! in spirit, if not in practice.
Stream Repo! The Genetic Opera on Tubi.
‘Wild at Heart’ (1990)
After serving a stint in prison for a self-defense murder, Sailor (Nicolas Cage) reunites with his girlfriend Lula (Laura Dern) against the express wishes of her controlling mother, Marietta (the late Diane Ladd). When Lula agrees to run away to California with Sailor (even though it will break his parole), Marietta hires her on-off boyfriend, private eye Johnny Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton), to track them down. Little does Johnny know, Marietta has also hired another boyfriend of hers, gangster Marcello Santos (J. E. Freeman), to kill Sailor. But when Sailor gets involved with criminal Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe), Peru may end up doing Santos’ work for him.
While Wild at Heart is no gothic horror, Gyllenhaal revealed in a recent press conference that David Lynch’s subversive love story served as a key inspiration for The Bride! That makes sense since Wild at Heart is a movie about two passionate lovers who can’t be separated, even though the world at large wants them apart, or worse, dead. Since The Bride! is about the Bride and Frank’s love sparking radical unrest, it’s easy to see how a movie like Wild at Heart would have been on Gyllenhaal’s mind.
Rent Wild at Heart on Apple TV.
‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935)
Of course, you can’t really watch The Bride! without going back to the source: the 1935 James Whale classic, The Bride of Frankenstein. The movie is set immediately after the events of 1931’s Frankenstein, and follows the Monster (Boris Karloff) on the run from the people who wish to destroy him. Unfortunately, humans are ignorant of the intentions of the Monster, who has a good heart despite his appearance and lack of self-control. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is goaded by his mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), into resuming his unholy creation of life — and creating a mate for the Monster.
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Most critics and fans of The Bride of Frankenstein believe it to be a vast improvement over Frankenstein and a deeper, more mature exploration of the themes from Mary Shelley’s original novel. With atmospheric and expressionistic visual aesthetics, Karloff’s empathetic performances, Elsa Lanchester‘s iconic costuming as the Bride and a bold, creative story that explores isolation and humanity, The Bride of Frankenstein is an Old Hollywood film that still endures as a great work.
Stream The Bride of Frankenstein on HBO Max.
