Review of Bride of Frankenstein (1935) by Mark T — 31 Aug 2010

One of the biggest films that James Whale ever directed was 1931's Frankenstein. The movie was so big that Universal Pictures asked Whale to come back and helm a sequel; thus The Bride of Frankenstein was born. This film is filled with suspense and terror, cheers and jeers. The Bride of Frankenstein is a rare type of movie; this is a sequel that actually holds its own when it goes toe to toe with its predecessor.

I have been watching a lot of James Whale horror movies lately; he must have been one of the hardest working horror directors in the 30's. This movie is very special and acts as sort of a platform for Whale to express his sexuality. Although not outlandishly displayed it is speculated that the movie has huge homosexual overtones: The relationship between the hermit and the monster, and the relationship between Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Pretorius are two overt examples. This movie has been torn apart by modern film scholars.

The movie starts right where the last movie left off. The monster escapes the fire and Dr. Frankenstein is found alive. The plan for this movie is to get a girl for Frankenstein's monster to mate with so they can make a race of weird zombie kids? Who knows?

The monster is more ferocious in this movie than he was in the previous. He killed a child in the first movie, however in this film the monster goes for quantity. There are a number of memorable scenes, many of which pushed the envelope of horror cinema in the early days. One such scene involves the monster staring longingly at his bride before she is reanimated; the critics panned this scene for its portrayal of necrophilia.

I am going to go ahead and give this movie an 8 out of 10. I really enjoyed the film; I think it flows together well and has an awesome storyline. The Bride was very attractive except for her screeching, and Karloff was incredible in the movie as well. He was really born to play this one part. I don't belive in typecasting, however this is what he should of been doing other than "The Raven".

Oh and there is a part where Frankenstein smokes what appears to be a cigar ;).

S!D.