Dr. Frankenstein is forced by an equally mad scientist to create a mate
for his Monster, who has begun to learn what it means to be human. HORROR
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Bride of Frankenstein (1935)Directed by James Whale
Written by William Hurlbut Starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Una O'Connor, O.P. Heggie, Dwight Frye, Ted Billings Sequel to 1931's Frankenstein Based on characters created by Mary Shelley Oscar Nominations - Best Sound Mixing |
Bride of Frankenstein is a fantastic sequel that builds on the 1931 classic and continues the bizarre tale of Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his Monster. What could have been a cheap drive-in movie has gone down as one of the greatest horror sequels of all time thanks to the fantastic direction of James Whale and the superb performances from Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester, who briefly portrayed the Bride herself.
This film's main focus is on the Monster, who learns how to speak and becomes mildly intelligent. It's neat to see Frankenstein's Monster forming sentences and trying to hatch schemes along with Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger). Karloff proves his performance in the first film was not a fluke by adding another layer to his performance in this sequel, making the Monster a sympathetic character who you can't help but side with (even though he still murdered a child in the first film). Though there were some odd moments in the first act, (mostly Dr. Pretorius's homegrown elves), Bride of Frankenstein progresses into a sequel that stands on its own as a great horror classic. It doesn't ignore the original, which most sequels of the day tended to do. It builds on the story of Frankenstein and adds another great chapter in Universal's classic monster series. |