The Bride! (2026) Dir: Maggie Gylenhaal

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Maggie Gyllenhaal's much anticipated modern take on 'The Bride Of Frankenstein' immediately attracted my interest when it wad announced, not just because it had a superb cast and a talented director, but because it looked to be a fresh and unique take on some classic horror characters. I was even more excited when I saw the trailers for the film, which made clear that this really was something different. My expectations were quelled a little by the surprisingly mixed early reviews, but I still had hopes for what it could be.

I loved the general aesthetic of the film, from the costume design to the world-building - it was an enjoyable mix of noir-style America and gothic horror. I loved the design for 'Frank' - the monster - he looked fantastic. It was a more modern, and more gruesome, take on the classic Boris Karloff version of the character, and I absolutely loved it. I ended up feeling a little underwhelmed by the design of 'The Bride'. It was extremely basic - I would have preferred that she was more classically grotesque. I think Frank finding an 'ugly' woman to be unbelievably beautiful would have said more than him finding a pale Jessie Buckley in makeup beautiful.

I loved a lot of the ideas that Maggie Gylenhaal wanted to put forth with her story, but the writing and general execution was extremely messy. Instead of feeling like a nuanced, atypical, and exciting feminist horror, this felt more like a clumsy mish-mash of 'Bonnie And Clyde', 'Joker: Folie à Deux', and 'Poor Things', which I hope wasn't the aim. The more I thought about the film, the less I liked it, and the more problems I had with the writing. It felt like such a sloppy film, and it frustrated me greatly, particularly because of how good it could, and arguably should, have been.

The unexpected identity of the narrator was extremely jarring, and made for an awkwardly meta narrative. I also found myself unsatisfied with the rather basic and shallow characterisation and arcs of most of the side characters. For a film with so much to say, it didn't seem to have the vocabulary to put it into words. One of the reasons why I left the cinema so disappointed was because of how good so many of the ideas were. The feminine rage, the critique of the so-called male loneliness epidemic - there was so much thematical juice in this film, but it just could not convey any of it effectively.

Jessie Buckley produced an extremely memorable and charismatic performance as the titular 'Bride', proving beyond any reasonable doubt that she has a diverse and extraordinary amount of range, and can do so seemingly at the drop of a hat, so to speak. I could not help but be impressed by how quickly she could go between accents and mannerisms. This was like a showcase reel of what Buckley can do, and the short answer is that she can do a hell of a lot.

Christian Bale provided the film with its titular monster - remember kids, he's Frankenstein's monster, not Frankenstein himself - but I felt fairly apathetic to much of his performance, sadly. My favourite parts of his acting were when he was digging into the more tender side of his character - it felt like there was so much more I wanted to see, in that regard. I still enjoyed his performance, but I suppose I was hoping for a little more from it.

The supporting cast felt like a really mixed bag. I thought Maggie's baby brother, the ever-talented Jake Gyllenhaal, was absolutely wonderful, and very much encapsulated, as he often does, his character and their energy. I liked Annette Benning's performance in the first half of the film, but she tapered off a little towards the end, partially because of her character's writing. Peter Sarsgaard, I'm sad to say, did not engage me at all, and whilst Penélope Cruz did at least a little, I found her character's writing to be a little basic.

Overall, I think this was an ambitious and audacious swing, but, ultimately, a very big miss. I do respect the commitment and intent behind the film, but its execution was lacking, particularly in regards to the heavily flawed screenplay. As much as I have criticised the film, I do think the degree of passion that very clearly went into it did help my viewing experience. I did not hate it, and certainly not as much as some of the film's I compared it to, like the second 'Joker' film. Maggie Gylenhaal's bold take on one of the most iconic Frankenstein tales gets points for style and effort, but still proves to be a failure in the grand scheme of things.