Bride Of Frankenstein

FEBRUARY 28, 2007

GENRE: CLASSIC, MAD SCIENTIST, MONSTER
SOURCE: DVD (OWN COLLECTION)

One of the first DVDs I bought was Gods and Monsters, a fantastic docudrama about James Whale, director of Bride of Frankenstein. I have no idea why, as I never saw any of his films, wasn’t really a big Ian McKellan fan at the time, and the only movie I had seen from the director was Candyman 2, which I hated. But it’s a great film, and a good companion piece to Bride, which, almost ten years later, I finally got around to watching. I’m nothing if not lazy. But not as lazy as whoever titled the film. It should really be Bride of Frankenstein’s Monster, but whatever.

Speaking of the title, I’d like to offer another “Horror Hypocriticism” anecdote here. Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is maligned for many things, and rightfully so for the most part. But one in particular is that Jason does not show up in Manhattan until the last 3rd of the film. Well guess what, horror snobs: the “Bride” of the title doesn’t show up until the last goddamn scene of this film. And it’s considered one of the best horror movies of all time. So shut the hell up and leave Jason alone. Besides, compared to the three that came after it, Jason Takes Manhattan is a minor masterpiece.

Anyway, this film is far superior to the first Frankenstein (and its respective cereal). But since it picks up immediately where the first left off it’s best to see the first film before Bride. Hell, they’re so short, if you haven’t seen either of them, make it a double feature! Either way: its one of the best old school Universal horror classics, if not THE best. And the DVD looks pretty damn good considering the film is almost 75 years old.

Speaking of, the best thing to come out of 2004’s CG film Van Helsing was that Universal released 2 disc sets focusing on all their classic monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, Mummy, Invisible Man, And Creature) in order to promote it. All of the films in the series are included (Frankenstein’s set, for example, has 5 films), and they are usually no more than 20 bucks. Few DVD sets are easier to recommend.

What say you?