Franc Roddam’s “The Bride” (1985) is among the most peculiar adaptations of James Whale’s “The Bride of Frankenstein” (1935).
Despite a massive budget, support from the studio and the casting of Sting as Dr. Frankenstein (at the height of his Police popularity) and Jennifer Beals (post-“Flashdance” ascension) as The Bride, it’s half a good movie and the best half isn’t the one with them in it.
It begins with rain outside a castle window. Sting, filmed in profile as lightning strikes, broods us into a perfect start. We’re watching Dr. Frankenstein in the moment before The Bride is created.
The Bride is eventually named “Eva” and, in the manner of Dr. Higgins and Eliza Rose, is instructed how to be a model individual in sophisticated society. There are some setbacks, of course, particularly a choice moment where Eva sees a cat for the first time and hisses at it.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein’s Monster (Clancy Brown) his first and unloved creation, is now roaming the earth and befriends a performer named Reynaldo. Brown, (post-“Buckaroo Banzai” in 1984, but pre-“Highlander” in 1986) gives a limited but undeniably fascinating take on The Monster, who is sometimes referred to as “Viktor.”
The Monster is paired for most of the film with Renaldo, played by David Rappaport, the lead of the short-lived but fondly remembered TV series “The Wizard” (1986-87).
Although “The Wizard” lasted one season, Rappaport was a compelling lead. Likewise, even with bigger names on the call sheet, Rappaport steals “The Bride” and his scenes with Brown are the most impactful.
The strong beginning leads to segments with choppy editing, cutting back and forth between Eva and The Monster at random moments, suggesting there are lots of missing scenes here.
Considering the muted eroticism and some brutal moments, I wonder if this used to be a hard-R but was chopped down to something more mainstream.
Brown is playing The Monster in the way Karloff once did – Brown’s performance and characterization get better over the course of the film, but he can’t make the role his own. I even prefer Emma Stone’s Oscar-winning and overrated turn in “Poor Things” (2023) to what Brown does here.
Anthony Higgins, the terrific actor who played a scene-stealing role of a mentor in “Young Sherlock Holmes” (1985) is wasted here in a reactionary part. Higgins, who can be intense and terrific in the right role, should have been given more to do than just comment on how odd Eva is acting.
It’s not just the townsfolk who are mean to The Monster – the movie is also cruel. Note the bit where The Monster tosses a gift he bought the Bride; the movie and its meanness towards The Monster never ceases. I wished there was at least one segment where the movie could give us a break from the cruelty The Monster faces. That said, I recognize that this is “Frankenstein,” not “Little Women.”
“The Bride” emerges as an unpleasant meditation on how life and especially mankind punish the innocent. Kindness and naivete are crushed in this cruel world.
Jennifer Beals and Sting in the Frankenstein update, The Bride (1985). pic.twitter.com/5FGpiixTHa
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Sting and Beals were already 1980s icons at this point and are always fun to watch. I wish Sting had contributed more to this than his steadily cranky performance. Yes, Sting captures the madness within, but his Frankenstein mostly seems irritated.
As Gothic Horror goes, “The Bride” looks great and certain shots can mesmerize. Maurice Jarre’s score is both robustly romantic and eerie. As lush as the film is, I still think Ridley Scott would’ve been a better choice as director, though Scott was suffering through the difficult shoot of “Legend” at the time this was being made.
It’s established that there’s a psychic connection between The Bride and The Monster, a compelling touch that is never explained and goes nowhere. Likewise, Cary Elwes is cast as a romantic threat and possible suitor for The Bride; considering how he starred in “The Princess Bride” two years later, the idea of The Monster and Westley fighting over the Bride of Frankenstein is delicious!
The ending is a rushed disaster, as all goodwill literally goes out the castle window. “The Bride” falls apart at the ending, which was reportedly reshot, though it could have benefited from another try at a proper conclusion.
Minor spoiler: the end credits leave us with Beals sporting her familiar “Flashdance” (1983) era hair, so there’s that (and by “that,” I mean the filmmakers are throwing a measly bone at the audience demographic that went to see this).
With Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” scheduled to open in March of 2026, with Christian Bale playing Frankenstein’s Monster and Jessie Buckley as Frankenstein’s Bride, I wonder if another lavish go at this story will go the distance or emerge another misshapen creature.
Gyllenhaal’s film has been delayed twice, a possible sign of it running into the same problems as “The Bride.”
To be fair, a delayed release doesn’t always mean the film in question doesn’t work (David Fincher’s “Zodiac” was pushed down the road enough to distract some from initially catching the best film of 2007 in theaters).
I wish Gyllenhaal luck, as they not only have to compete with Whale and Elsa Lancaster, as well as Sting and Beals, but Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which opens in November (and the likeliest reason “The Bride!” is being pushed out of fall).
Let’s hope “The Bride!” is a worthy representation of “Frankenstein” and the patched together Franken-monster that is “The Bride.”
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