cinephile-27690
Bride of Frankenstein, when compared to the original, is not as great. As the sequel though, it is a great movie! It may surprise you though that it takes a full hour for the Bride to be made. And for Disney fans, the Bride is played by Elsa Lancaster, the nanny who quits in Mary Poppins. James Whale was the director, as he was for the original. It was planned for Frankenstein to be released and the sequel to come out the next day, but it took 4 years for Whale to agree to make a sequel(the person who advised him to make it wanted no other director.)It's great in itself, but not as great as the original.
Osmosis Iron
The first sequel to be even better than the original! Almost all of the cast and the director return for this follow up. A direct continuation of the story that picks up right after the first one ended. Everything good about the first is also present here and more, everything is done a little bit better! It also follows the book a bit more closely than the first. And the Monster talks! Probably the best Universal Horror movie there is!
Pumpkin_Man
I've been watching all the old Universal monster movies to get read for Halloween. Yesterday, I watched Bride of Frankenstein and it was a lot better than I remembered from the last time I watched it. In my opinion, I think it's better than the original 1931 classic. It continues the story right where the original leaves off without being too repetitive, like most sequels. It really advances the story like the monster meeting a blind man and befriending him. The man teaches the monster how to talk. Meanwhile, a doctor named Pretorius comes to Henry and wants to work with him in creating a mate for the monster. Henry refuses, but Pretorius teams up with the monster and kidnaps Elizabeth to get Henry to do what they want. If you want a good decent old school sequel, you'll love BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN!!!
TheMovieDoctorful
Before "The Empire Strikes Back", before "The Godfather Part II", before "Spider-Man 2" there was "Bride of Frankenstein." James Whale had already unleashed a groundbreaking classic upon the horror genre with 1931's "Frankenstein", but it was "Bride" that was his magnum opus. Everything that made the original film such a hit is multiplied x10 in this home run of a sequel. The powerful performances, the deep characters, the emotional weight, the creepy and gorgeous atmosphere and effects. "Bride of Frankenstein" is classic horror tragedy at its absolute finest, a shining treasure from a long gone Golden Age of Horror. "Bride"'s runtime is 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I never wanted it to end. The film focuses on two protagonists; Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his infamous Monster. The film balances the arcs of both these characters perfectly, keeping me invested from beginning to end. Dr. Henry Frankenstein is much more likable in this installment than the first film, a character who most certainly has learned his lesson from the grim, violent events of the first film. He creates a "mate" for his Creature not out of personal ambition or curiosity, but out of fear for the safety of his wife. However, there is still a fragment of the impulsive, crazed scientist from the first movie laying dormant in Henry's psyche, slowly and subtly revealed once Henry is threatened to create The Monster's "Bride" by Dr. Praetorious under punishment of death. Henry is forced into a battle for his very soul in "Bride of Frankenstein", a battle I was desperately rooting for him to win. The Monster's arc is just as emotionally investing and gripping; rather than fighting for his soul, he is merely fighting for hope and companionship. The Monster here is portrayed as a childlike, self loathing figure, searching desperately for a reason and justification to exist. Even after saving a small child from drowning, he is rewarded with hatred, torture and imprisonment. Watching The Monster slowly lose more and more hope in life and love over the course of the movie is heart wrenching, I just wanted to reach through the screen and give him a well deserved hug.To say the special effects have charm would be a gross understatement. The makeup effects for The Monster are much more realistic and detailed than in the first movie. (Not a small achievement, given the effects in the original "Frankenstein" were quite impressive) Dr. Praetorious's homunculi still hold up today as looking shockingly realistic and lifelike, surely they must have been truly groundbreaking back in 1935. The sets are as gorgeous as they are diverse, suitably grand and detailed. They help the world of "Bride" feel massive in scale.Boris Karloff oozes likability and sympathy in a role almost completely mute. His facial expressions carry more weight and emotion than most actors could deliver in hours of dialogue. In the few times he does speak, he brings a deep sadness and humanity to the role of The Monster. The suffering in his voice is almost contagious. Colin Clive gives a lot of depth to a role already full of it as Dr. Henry Frankenstein, balancing the line between repentant. noble soul and repressed madman. He brings a great amount of nuance and emotional range to Frankenstein.Ernest Thesiger is downright chilling in his role as the evil Dr. Praetorious. Praetorious represents the darkest, most repressed qualities of Henry Frankenstein without any of his remorse or humanity, and Thesiger plays him with a truly sinister and downright frightening screen presence.Valerie Hobson gives an underrated performance as Henry's wife Elizabeth, now a paranoid, emotional wreck from the events of the first movie. She absolutely sells Elizabeth's psychological trauma and torment. She is a living reminder of all the pain and suffering Henry inadvertently unleashed upon the world, as well as what is at stake for the future of everything he cares for if he fails to retain his humanity.Of course, it is impossible to talk about "Bride of Frankenstein" without mentioning the Hermit scenes. The scenes involving The Blind Hermit's interactions with The Monster are some of the best, most beautiful and most bittersweet scenes in film history. Seeing The Monster receive such kindness and compassion from The Hermit, acted with almost infectious warmth and charisma by O.P Huggie, after all the cruelty and injustice he's suffered is immensely satisfying. You can tell that things will end in catastrophe, but the these seemingly small moments of unconditional love and generosity between The Hermit and The Monster have more heart in them than the entirety of most feature length films today. O.P Huggie and Boris Karloff have an electric chemistry on screen, I could watch them interact for hours.The ending of the film is similarly emotional, as The Monster decides to give the ultimate sacrifice to save his creator and his wife, the very people who once feared and scorned his very existence. His time with The Hermit has taught him the value of unconditional love and empathy, of taking a "leap of faith" for the sake of helping others. It's a beautiful, searingly emotional ending complimented by a phenomenal facial acting from Karloff.I could go on and on about how masterful this film is, but everyone else already has. "Bride of Frankenstein" is well regarded as a classic, and that's a status that it most definitely deserves. Without question, a horror masterpiece.
