Cherryville, NC (WNN) - On today's WNN Monday movie review, we have The Bride, a unique R-rated romantic monster genre movie involving Frankenstein and his bride. Last night's Oscar 2026 winner for Hamnet, Jessie Buckley, plays the leading role of the bride, Penelope Rogers, and the character Mary Shelley. Christian Bale plays Frankenstein (Frank), and other famous stars include Annette Bening, the monster bride's creator, as well as Penélope Cruz and Jake Gyllenhaal. The writer and director was Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake's older sister, for the budgeted $ 80 million movie, which was released on March 6th, 2026.
The movie is a take on the popular Frankenstein character who needs a companion or bride, so to speak. The film features narration throughout from Mary Shelley (Jessie Buckley), the author of the 1818 Gothic novel Frankenstein. The film is set in 1930s Chicago, where mobsters ruled, and violence was abundant. The makeup is very good, and Jessie Buckley plays the bride part superbly. Imagine a romantic gothic horror picture featuring Bonnie and Clyde, and you have The Bride. Its visuals are good, and the actors are on point, but the storyline falls flat. There are references to the female "me too" movement, with tones of rebellion throughout. I don't know exactly what the film was trying to tell me, but if you compare it to today's events, it would be the powerful men vs women movement.
Overall, the movie is good, but it could have been great if the story had been tweaked a little. If you like the genre, then you might love it. However, I'll give it a 3 out of 5 on the hoot scale.
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