Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. March 9, 2026 4:00 PM
For her second feature film as a writer and director, Maggie Gyllenhaal, best known for her acting performances, has taken on a classic horror character and has attempted to capture a more modern and highbrow element to this story originally written by Mary Shelley back in 1818. Yet "The Bride!", which involves Frankenstein's monster in search of a female companion, offers us a punk rock energized reimagining of the 1935 Hollywood movie, "Bride of Frankenstein" that ends up being chaotically structured and narratively disjointed.
The film begins when we meet the spirit of the long dead writer Shelley (played by Jessie Buckley) who has another story she wants to tell regarding her creation. She decides to take possession of a young woman in 1936 Chicago named Ida (also Buckley) who she has spill the secrets of a crime boss, Lupino (Zlatko Burić) in the middle of a very public nightclub. A couple of Lupino's associates (John Magaro, Matthew Maher), who know Ida personally, take her out of the ballroom to try and talk some sense into her. But Shelley has a firm grasp upon her which causes an accident where Ida falls to her death down a flight of stairs.
At the same time, Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale), who now goes by the name "Frank", has arrived in Chicago to seek the help of Dr. Cornelia Euphronius (Annette Bening). The doctor has been experimenting with reanimating the dead and a very lonely Frank would desperately like her to create a female version of himself. Hesitant to get involved, Dr. Euphronius relents and they go out to find the perfect specimen. After digging up Ida's body, she is brought back to "life" with no memory of her past and a black stain across her face from the toxic chemicals used to reanimate her. Frank, deciding this would be easier for all involved, tells her that she's his bride.
After catching a movie starring Frank's favorite song-and-dance man, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), the undead couple are harassed by a gang of hoodlums. In an act of self-defense, Frank kills some of these men and they soon become lovers on the run, heading to New York City (of all places) to hide.
Buckley, who recently won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn in "Hamnet", does the best she can with her dual roles of author and monster. Without being given much of a backstory for Ida (or of Shelley for matter), we can only gather that she was an impoverished, marginalized person, just trying to get through each day, who continued to be subjugated even in her rebirth. But Ida does manage to find her own voice and with her halo of a bleach blonde bob and inventive face smudge, Buckley is certainly visually stunning. The rest of the supporting cast is distinguished which includes Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz as police detectives trying to track down the couple and Jeannie Berlin as Dr. Euphronius' maid yet they all struggle with their underwritten roles.
There is no question that "The Bride!" is impressive to look at with a beautiful, period perfect production designed by Karen Murphy, exquisite costumes by three time Oscar-winning veteran, Sandy Powell, eerie makeup designed by Nadia Stacey and expertly filmed by Lawrence Sher. But this is all wasted on a film that is tonally all over the place and Gyllenhaal's ponderous screenplay doesn't help matters beginning with the clunky framing device of the ghost of Shelley narrating this story and inexplicably provoking the death of an innocent young woman.
There are a few interesting ideas at play in "The Bride!" but it feels overloaded, with all of the details not really sorted out and fine-tuned before the cameras began to roll. It's unclear exactly what the outcome of this film was even supposed to be: there is some graphic violence and gore to be found but does not offer any of the ghastly frights we have come to expect from our standard horror film. We have a frenzied song-and-dance musical number involving the monster couple that unfortunately comes across more like a moment from Mel Brooks' hilarious comedy, "Young Frankenstein" which isn't helped by the use of the song "Putting on the Ritz". And there is the considered feminist outrage and organized social protest against the patriarchy in this story. Yet it seems oddly out of place considering the era this movie is set in.
"The Bride!" ends up being a misguided attempt of trying to use the horror genre to artfully express our current fears and anxiety involving several social issues. I think Gyllenhaal's provocative movie might have worked better if it was scaled back and more intimately told. Instead, we have a quirky, indie film trapped in the body of a major Hollywood production with an impractical, almost one hundred million dollar price tag.
At the same time, Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale), who now goes by the name "Frank", has arrived in Chicago to seek the help of Dr. Cornelia Euphronius (Annette Bening). The doctor has been experimenting with reanimating the dead and a very lonely Frank would desperately like her to create a female version of himself. Hesitant to get involved, Dr. Euphronius relents and they go out to find the perfect specimen. After digging up Ida's body, she is brought back to "life" with no memory of her past and a black stain across her face from the toxic chemicals used to reanimate her. Frank, deciding this would be easier for all involved, tells her that she's his bride.
After catching a movie starring Frank's favorite song-and-dance man, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), the undead couple are harassed by a gang of hoodlums. In an act of self-defense, Frank kills some of these men and they soon become lovers on the run, heading to New York City (of all places) to hide.
Buckley, who recently won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn in "Hamnet", does the best she can with her dual roles of author and monster. Without being given much of a backstory for Ida (or of Shelley for matter), we can only gather that she was an impoverished, marginalized person, just trying to get through each day, who continued to be subjugated even in her rebirth. But Ida does manage to find her own voice and with her halo of a bleach blonde bob and inventive face smudge, Buckley is certainly visually stunning. The rest of the supporting cast is distinguished which includes Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz as police detectives trying to track down the couple and Jeannie Berlin as Dr. Euphronius' maid yet they all struggle with their underwritten roles.
There is no question that "The Bride!" is impressive to look at with a beautiful, period perfect production designed by Karen Murphy, exquisite costumes by three time Oscar-winning veteran, Sandy Powell, eerie makeup designed by Nadia Stacey and expertly filmed by Lawrence Sher. But this is all wasted on a film that is tonally all over the place and Gyllenhaal's ponderous screenplay doesn't help matters beginning with the clunky framing device of the ghost of Shelley narrating this story and inexplicably provoking the death of an innocent young woman.
There are a few interesting ideas at play in "The Bride!" but it feels overloaded, with all of the details not really sorted out and fine-tuned before the cameras began to roll. It's unclear exactly what the outcome of this film was even supposed to be: there is some graphic violence and gore to be found but does not offer any of the ghastly frights we have come to expect from our standard horror film. We have a frenzied song-and-dance musical number involving the monster couple that unfortunately comes across more like a moment from Mel Brooks' hilarious comedy, "Young Frankenstein" which isn't helped by the use of the song "Putting on the Ritz". And there is the considered feminist outrage and organized social protest against the patriarchy in this story. Yet it seems oddly out of place considering the era this movie is set in.
"The Bride!" ends up being a misguided attempt of trying to use the horror genre to artfully express our current fears and anxiety involving several social issues. I think Gyllenhaal's provocative movie might have worked better if it was scaled back and more intimately told. Instead, we have a quirky, indie film trapped in the body of a major Hollywood production with an impractical, almost one hundred million dollar price tag.
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