Bride of Frankenstein [PG]

Henry Frankenstein thought that the nightmare he created was over, but it is not. The Monster has survived and is now trying desperately to find a friend. The wild-eyed eccentric scientist Dr. Pretorius approaches Frankenstein with a plan to return to the dilapidated castle and re-enact his triumph in creating life: a female companion for the scorned and lonely monster. 

In many ways, this movie is better than its predecessor. Although there was a gap of four years between Universal’s initial offer to director James Whale and his reluctant acceptance, Bride of Frankenstein proved to be worth the wait as Whale had complete control over the project and, as such, cleverly balanced it between horror, romance, heartbreaking emotional drama, and even lighter comedy. Although only a snippet of Shelley’s gothic masterpiece, Bride of Frankenstein was very true to its original text, strongly putting forward the messages of judgment, societal prejudices, and of course, punishment and redemption. It was very good. 

Henry Frankenstein thought that the nightmare he created was over, but it is not. The Monster has survived and is now trying desperately to find a friend. The wild-eyed eccentric scientist Dr. Pretorius approaches Frankenstein with a plan to return to the dilapidated castle and re-enact his triumph in creating life: a female companion for the scorned and lonely monster. 

Despite Karloff’s reluctance, the Monster in this movie was humanised, much more fitting to Shelley’s tale, and allowed to speak certain words although sometimes brutal and frank; not much of a script feat. The humanisation of the Monster was an integral part of the movie as it made all the film’s messages much stronger and also caused the audience to shed a tear or two, especially at the end. 

The overbearing and dominant characters of Dr. Pretorius and Minnie the housemaid brought much of the humour to the movie and relieved the film of its melancholy and sometimes terrifying ardour. 

Starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Thesiger, Gavin Gordon, Douglas Walton, Una O’Connor, E. E Clive, and Dwight Frye, Bride of Frankenstein was an eerily lovely movie that was filled with horror, drama, sadness, redemption, murder, and comedy. You also have to love the look of the Bride, with her mummified body, her swan-like hissing, and her cool Egyptian style hairdo.