Bride of Frankenstein
I wasn't really ready for the change in tone from the original to this one, so that kind of hindered my enjoyment until I realized what I was in store for. Once I was in the right mindset, the offbeat humor started clicking for me. The shrieking lady was pretty grating at first, but in the end I started thinking about how somebody who didn't realize they were watching a comedy would be annoyed by her, then I realized that was me at the beginning of the movie. I had a laugh at my own expense. It's a silly movie that plays it with a mostly straight face, and it has a set of stones on it for showing, or implying, some things that surely would not sit well with a lot of people back then. Specifically thinking of the hints of necrophilia. The best thing about this film is the set design though, for sure. It is reminiscent of the German expressionist silent films that Whale must have been a fan of, seeing as the Bride was inspired by Maria from Metropolis. I still prefer the original Frankenstein film, but the sequel and the original are quite different films. Perhaps they shouldn't be compared at all. James Whale was a tremendous director, and Bride was him being allowed creative freedom. He definitely took advantage of that freedom, making a unique, bizarre, satirical, and challenging film.
I wasn't really ready for the change in tone from the original to this one, so that kind of hindered my enjoyment until I realized what I was in store for. Once I was in the right mindset, the offbeat humor started clicking for me. The shrieking lady was pretty grating at first, but in the end I started thinking about how somebody who didn't realize they were watching a comedy would be annoyed by her, then I realized that was me at the beginning of the movie. I had a laugh at my own expense. It's a silly movie that plays it with a mostly straight face, and it has a set of stones on it for showing, or implying, some things that surely would not sit well with a lot of people back then. Specifically thinking of the hints of necrophilia. The best thing about this film is the set design though, for sure. It is reminiscent of the German expressionist silent films that Whale must have been a fan of, seeing as the Bride was inspired by Maria from Metropolis. I still prefer the original Frankenstein film, but the sequel and the original are quite different films. Perhaps they shouldn't be compared at all. James Whale was a tremendous director, and Bride was him being allowed creative freedom. He definitely took advantage of that freedom, making a unique, bizarre, satirical, and challenging film.