Year: 1935
Director: James Whale
Country: US
Language: English
Rare is the sequel that tops the original. Bride of Frankenstein feels curiously superior to the 1931 original, it certainly is campier. It is my second favourite film from the Universal monster era of the 30's and early 40's, the first would be Erle C. Kenton's Island of Lost Souls. Bride of Frankenstein is certainly less shocking that the original, who can forget the monster drowning a child in the river or the mad doctor claiming "Now I know what it feels like to BE GOD," but it does have its great moments.
This sequel concerns Dr. Frankenstein and his monster who both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr. Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster.
After initially refusing to do a sequel to Frankenstein, director James Whale would eventually cave in when Universal agreed to let him have complete artistic freedom. Production was much-publicized as early as 1933, however, Whale, who was following his towering success with Frankenstein and his other fims, did not start to begin filming until 1934. Whale has not only been recognized for his horror films, but also his homosexuality. While everyone in Hollywood was either straight or in the closet, Whale was unafraid of showing his sexuality in real life and in his work. Indeed, some critics interpret Bride of Frankenstein as a subtle gay parable.
From a technical perspective, the gorgeous sets show a heavy influence from German expressionist films, but here they are even more grand in scale and they are also more numerous and varied. The cinematogray is wonderful, the atmosphere is quite gothic and the score works well despite the fact that the film would work well without it. Bride of Frankenstein is full of surrealism, fantasy, absurd-ism and camp; while some scenes are dark in nature, others are completely hilarious.
In conclusion, it seems that monsters don't even want wives. Elsa Lanchester plays the memorable of the monster's bride, an immortal image of the cinema with lightning-like streaks of silver in her weirdly towering hair. Often parodied, most notably in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, but never outdone. Bride of Frankenstein is a "must-see" for any horror fanatic. Praise it! 4/5
5/5 so good it sings.
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