Your head will roll when you see The Bride! (2026).
The grotesque love story follows The Bride herself, played by Oscar winner Jessie Buckely and the psycho himself, Christian Bale, as Frankenstein’s monster / ‘Frank’. The two unravel throughout two hours of mad scientists, possession, and surprise jazz ensembles. It has it all.
Jessie Buckley is reinvigorated as both The Bride, Ida, and Mary Shelly in this gothic romance. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ode to the 1935 film shows Buckley exploring the relationship between the puppeteer Mary Shelly, and Ida/The Bride her puppet. Shelly’s cold open with a haunting ‘knock knock’ joke spirals into a monologue about how the cracking of her brain is causing the story of The Bride to spill out, and poor Chicagoan Ida is about to become the mad woman’s conduit. Buckley embodies The Bride, Ida, and Mary Shelly in a flawless dynamic constant. The three are sewed together limb from limb though her performance. The electric Bride, wayward Ida, and Mary Shelly’s vapid vocabulary make Buckley’s performance a joy to watch.
As for Frankenstein’s monster himself, Christian Bale sinks his teeth into Shelly’s character. Recent adaptations have been almost too brooding, take Jacob Elordi’s 2025 Netflix’s interpretation of the ghoul. That performance was stunning, but Bale’s self deprecating, jazz loving, touch deprived monster is the clear victor. Reviews may be mixed towards the film’s script and pacing, but the Bonnie and Clyde-esk duo of Buckley and Bale’s performance is what reinvigorated life back into the characters.
From the Bride’s signature phrase “I would prefer not to”, Penélope Cruz’s sleuth, and the ‘Brain Attack’ rioters- all infer to the feminist undertones throughout the reimagining. The Bride gets this saying from her pre-possessed identity, by rebelling against one of Lupino’s henchmen before being taken by Shelly. Throughout the film, the Bride is defiant towards the many advances from men, uttering this phrase she takes back her agency in a traditional 1936 Chicago.
From the seven seas to the bright lights of New York- Penélope Cruz’s range is further deepened in this film. Myrna Malloy, Jake Wiles’ (played by Peter Sarsgaard) is often overlooked throughout the film. She’s spoken over by other detectives, her hunches (which are often correct) are overlooked and she just isn’t taken seriously. And yet, Wiles, after he retires, gifts his badge to Malloy, allowing her to pursue her true calling. Ultimately, Malloy is the one to wrap up the crime scene. Iodine stained cheeks flood the streets throughout the film after the Bride’s ‘Brain Attack’ in the jazz club. Her outing of Lupino’s nefarious acts sparks a feminist coup. Women take to the streets with black makeup on their cheeks, dark netting over their faces, and an unbridled rage that pulls the tongue (literally).
The original The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) directed by James Whale was given its theatrical release in 1935, and almost a millennia later The Bride (2026) was released. While the original was set in 1800’s England, the modern version follows Frankenstein in 1930’s America. The setting of the modern version gives us a glimpse into the ironic setting that the original was filmed in. The dichotomy of the two allows for the modern version to stray from the original, whilst somehow feeling nostalgic. Gyllenhaal’s aesthetic crafts through the blazing billboards of New York, shady underground clubs of Chicago, and the timeless black and white talkies.
As a whole, this portrayal of the Bride as a character varies hugely from the original interpretation by Whales. Their only similarity is the hisses they spit at their respective Frank.
The most notable difference is the agency that is given to The Bride, as Whale’s version is not reinvigorated until the third act of the film.
To us, Jessie Buckely is The Bride!
