Review of Bride of Frankenstein (1935) by Michael C — 05 Nov 2011

As great as the original film is, the sequel "The Bride of Frankenstein" is an improvement in almost every way. While the first film certainly gave you some sympathy for the doctor's creation, this film allows Karloff to give an even stronger performance as an emotionally wounded, shunned creature just looking for acceptance.

His fragmented sentences and eternal look of sorrow really bring the tragedy of his existence to life. His final actions also show a growth in the character, and the fact that he allows one of the very people who shunned him to survive his actions shows he in many ways is less of a monster than the human characters in the film.

The story is framed as well, being retold as a story by Mary Shelley, played by Elsa Lanchester (who also plays the Bride in the film's finale), and I liked that element of the story as well as it honors the origins of the tale.

Of the many classic Universal horror flicks, I would say this is probably the best cinematically (second would be the Invisible Man for me, which is kind of an overlooked gem at this point) and it made for the most rewarding viewing experience for me among the films from that era.