‘The Bride!’ Review: Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale Electrify This Messy Monster Mash

The Bride!, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Jessie Buckley alongside Christian Bale, is an odd and often messy reinterpretation of a horror classic that still remains an exciting watch. While much of the film is awkward, clunky, and sometimes even a little embarrassing, it is also stylish and striking, anchored by spectacular performances from two of our greatest living actors. At its best, the film captures lonely desperation and the surprising joy that love can bring to those who never believed it was possible. That romance between Buckley’s Ida and Bale’s Frank resurrects the spine of the film again and again, even when its objectives are muddy and half-baked.

Gyllenhaal’s film reimagines James Whale’s The Bride of Frankenstein, one of the most spectacular and beloved horror films ever produced and arguably one of the first cinematic sequels to truly outpace its predecessor. Whale’s film took what worked about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and subverted it, transforming a gothic horror story into something fresh by focusing on loneliness and companionship among us monsters. Something that made that film especially fascinating was that it was directed by a queer filmmaker. The Bride of Frankenstein remains one of the queerest horror films ever made, quietly wearing that sensibility on its sleeve.

One of the biggest surprises about Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! is just how fun it is. In some ways, it feels like comfort food filmmaking. I wondered how self-serious the movie would be, and the answer remains somewhat unresolved. But the film is first and foremost a good time. It is stylish and visually striking, and it delivers impactful emotional performances from Buckley and Bale as two metaphorical creatures of the underworld who have nothing left. In their complete desolation, they find each other, and the romance that blossoms between them is beautiful and believable.