Welcome to the Second Union 31 Days of Horror event! Every day leading up to Tuesday, October 31st, (starting Sunday, October 1st) we will post a review of one horror film.
Today’s Film: The Bride of Frankenstein. Enjoy!
The Bride of Frankenstein is directed by James Whale and is the follow-up to 1931’s Frankenstein. In the opening, Mary Shelley explains that she has more story to tell, and the film picks up right after the 1931 film’s ending. Henry Frankenstein appears to be dead, but when brought back into the castle, he awakes. Another scientist, Dr. Pretorius, convinces Henry that they should build the Monster a mate. As they get to work on that, the Monster wanders throughout the lands, trying to escape from attackers.
This is by far the best example of a classic horror film because of the deeper meaning behind it. This was the film that solidified the Monster’s position as the most misunderstood character in cinema history. In this film, he saves a woman from drowning. She gets him shot. He becomes friends with an old man, which was all he’d ever wanted. Men take the man away and hurt the Monster. All he ever wants to do is become a normal person. But he can’t because everybody hates him. Boris Karloff’s performance is flawless, as he conveys so much emotion in this film.
The story is much more interesting and fun to watch because you’re already invested in these characters. You’ve seen them in one film already, so you want to see their story. Unlike The Invisible Man, which proves to be a bore thanks to its lackluster characters, this is a well-rounded, coherent and genuinely perfect film.
The ending in this film is just so, so good and beautiful. Seeing the Monster give up on people loving him, allow Henry and Elizabeth to escape, and destroy the laboratory is just too much. I truly think this is one of the greatest films ever made. You just have to watch it for yourself to understand how I feel about the pure beauty of The Bride of Frankenstein.
THE VERDICT
I think I’ve gone on enough about how flawless and well-made this film is, but I’ll say it again. This is the classic horror film. Everybody knows it’s a staple in the horror genre, but simply not enough people watch it this time of year. I’m going to give it a certainly well-deserved A+.
The Bride of Frankenstein stars Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Gavin Gordon, Douglas Walton. Directed by James Whale.
