Not to knock something when it’s already been kicked to the curb, but I can remember the initial excitement that came from the announcement that Lady Gaga had signed onto the Joker sequel, with an understanding that the follow-up would be taking the form of a musical. The joy I didn’t take away from that film has now actually come in the form of writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! This film is a highly stylish, nutso piece of work that happily blends genres for a weird, big-budget take on one of the most famous Universal Monsters. The fact that it’s coming from Warner Brothers, following a run of original 2025 hits like Sinners, Weapons, and One Battle After Another, and yet less than a week after the news that WB is going to be bought by Paramount, only makes me wonder if something this wild will still be possible from the same studio. Whatever the case, here’s a film daring audiences to join in on seeing the fun of a couple of monsters letting their freak flag fly.
The Bride! Takes place in a loose interpretation of 1930s Chicago. I say loose based on several more modern elements, the presence of certain music and movies, and other elements that make it clear we’re not in a real world, despite the attempts to ground the fantastical that unfolds. If anything, we’re only saying the 30s, because James Whale’s original sequel was made in 1935, so here we are with a film breaking away from the European setting to embrace an American one full of other opportunities. Well, not for everyone.
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Jessie Buckley enters the picture as a version of Mary Shelley who is far more bitter about the end result of her landmark 1818 novel “Frankenstein,” as far as what she was allowed to publish and how it was interpreted. Without going too far into it, Shelley informs the narrative that not only is one watching over the proceedings, but is also directly affecting them. In the form of another woman, Buckley is murdered, only to be found by Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) and brought back to life to serve as a companion to the good doctor’s other creation, “Frank” (Christian Bale). Once together, while the romantic spark between them compels Frank, this female creation known as “The Bride” undergoes an awakening, leading her to act in radical ways against society’s norms.
Just seeing the initial images of the direction this film was taking with its makeup and costume design had me very excited. As these creatures are essentially stitched together and brought back to life, things like the permanent black stains on The Bride’s fair skin already suggested something as evocative as Elsa Lanchester’s iconic conical hairdo with the white lightning streaks.
Matching the energy of this is a very committed Buckley, who shines brightly here. The way she leans into so many different emotions – confusion, anger, lust, frustration, glee – speaks to how adept the Oscar-nominee is at planting a flag and sticking with the intention, no matter how bizarre. Just knowing that it’s also serving an idea rooted in how willing a woman can be to match the men who are usually the ones celebrated and awarded for this behavior sits well with the movie’s thematic underpinnings.
At the same time, Bale is here giving 1000% as usual. His take on Frankenstein’s monster is quite familiar in terms of the emotional rollercoaster he shows us with this pieced-together man. At his core, we can see Frank is just looking for meaning, love, and happiness, and yet it’s so sad to see how easily he can be thrown off the deep end of the emotional spectrum. Whether it’s bursting into tears or tearing men apart, this lumbering hulk may have an eye for The Bride, but is never far away from matching her wild side when the time calls for it.
Outside of these performances, the rest of the film bounces between sanity and insanity. On the one hand, it feels less successful when we try to hold onto some form of structure by having authority figures go after our runaway couple. Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz are clearly having fun leaning into a couple of noir-ish personas and attempting to figure out what’s going on. That said, various turns involving their characters and their connection to the proceedings end up crafting a clunkier series of side-plot elements than one would hope.
However, looking at the other side of things, so much of The Bride! Functions as a feature, getting by on its stylish atmosphere and letting us just sit with the characters. Perhaps this embrace of its arthouse side means the film won’t be as striking from a plot momentum standpoint as some expect, but it’s no less interesting when just living in this distinctive world with The Bride and Frank at its center. Admittedly, I was here to see a monster movie take on the structure of a Bonnie & Clyde meets Sid & Nancy, but that’s only a piece of what’s going on here.
In addition to embracing the film’s feminist themes and other important aims that will be explored in subsequent articles by those far more informed about the subject than I, there’s a clear love of cinema here from Gyllenhaal. Some obvious moments that reference the many adaptations of Frankenstein over the years are enjoyable to see pop up.
Then you have other visual choices, sound cues, name-checked titles and people, and other homages that suggest Gyllenhaal was happy to tap into the same sort of pastiche that has made a name for other popular artists who happily mash all their favorite things together. Much as I enjoyed Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, The Bride! feels nothing like that film, which makes me feel all the better about wanting to embrace her as a filmmaker looking to challenge herself by dipping into whatever territory she wants to explore.
Coming in at over two hours, the film is a bit talky, when a tighter feature could let the visual delights do more to support what the movie does best. That said, there are so many little delights, ranging from the way this film combines the Frankenstein motif with the prohibition-era style of living. Costume choices, makeup designs for all the characters, and wonderful efforts in the score and cinematography all signal a feature that was brought together with a neat idea for an identity in mind. Supporting work from Bening also ranks among the film’s many acting highlights (big points to Jake Gyllenhaal for his efforts as a Golden Age movie star leaning just enough over the top).
A bit all over the place and lacking stronger discipline to completely control the chaos presented, I still found myself enraptured by what had unfolded in The Bride! Perhaps it comes from seeing decades upon decades worth of takes on these Universal Monsters and next to no effort to expand on The Bride of Frankenstein in a truly significant way, but here we are. Gyllenhaal took the chance to have a wild, fun time with the character and delivers this stylish, punk-energy-fueled labor of love. This thing is alive, alright, and electrifying for those not worried about getting too shocked in the process.
The Bride! opens in theaters and IMAX on March 6, 2026.
