The Bride of Frankenstein

“We’re doing GOTHIC. Gothic, man”. “Has to be Frankenstein, right? No, Bride of Frankenstein”. 

And that was the conversation with my wife, more or less. There were more pauses and a bit of mental scrambling for options but I think that’s the top and bottom of it. 

My thinking around this daily update was just to show our choices versus the daily subject/theme and maybe write a bit about those decisions. Getting ready to do #31daysofhorror / #31dayhorrorchallenge my wife and I picked a bunch of movies we wanted to watch. I usually pick one or two more as on my days at home on my own I’ll try to get through as many entries of a franchise or series as I can. Today though I re-watched Jakes West’s “Video Nasty” documentaries. I love them. If you haven’t seen them- seek them out. They’re essential viewing for any enthusiast  

So then, Bride of Frankenstein was always going to be on the list. It’s full of iconic moments and iconography that transcends genre and is as much a part of cinema history as a whole as it is part of the fundamental DNA of the genre. James Whale’s film is at once beautiful and horrifying. It’s themes prescient and timeless. Its edge has never dulled with time, indeed its subversive themes and satirical undertones make it as much of a joy to behold today as the day it was released. 

It’s a work of absolute art. One can find countless glowing reviews online that are written far more eloquently than I can possibly hope to emulate but I think I have illustrated, albeit briefly, why it had to be this. 

In a much-quoted scene, Dr Praetorious toasts the partnership he has forced with Frankenstein and with it conjures the future we have enjoyed since- “To a new world of Gods & Monsters”.