{"id":14140,"date":"2026-03-08T01:15:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T06:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=14140"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:35:26","slug":"the-bride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2026\/03\/08\/the-bride\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bride!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Bride!<\/strong> (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Drama-Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 126 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong bloody\/violent content, sexual content\/nudity, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Maggie Gyllenhaal\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Hildur Gudnadottir\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Lawrence Sher\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: March 6, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, Penelope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Magaro, Matthew Maher, Jeannie Berlin, Zlatko Buric, Louis Cancelmi, Julianne Hough, Karin Dreijer.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0How can I put this? The Bride!<\/strong> (exclamation point REQUIRED!) is a glorious hot mess. It\u2019s a film in the grand tradition of producer Robert Evans at the height of his coke-fueled reign in Hollywood (circa 70s\/80s). I can\u2019t say for sure if director Maggie Gyllenhaal was high on cocaine during the making of this horror-romance- crime thriller hybrid, but it would certainly explain a lot. This one is INSANE! The term \u201cinmates taking over the asylum\u201d definitely applies here. I\u2019ve never seen anything quite like it, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The title The Bride!<\/strong> comes with an exclamation point and for good reason. It\u2019s not just a mere redo of Bride of Frankenstein (1935). It\u2019s a whole new interpretation amped up to 111. It\u2019s BOLD, all caps. It starts with Frankenstein author Mary Shelley (Buckley, Hamnet), in the Afterlife, informing us there\u2019s more story to tell beyond the original 1818 novel. She goes on to explain her death prevented her from telling it. Then we get into it. While it\u2019s doubtful an early 19th<\/sup> English woman could have foreseen 1930s Chicago, it can be overlooked because we know we\u2019ve just entered the realm of the surreal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The future \u201cBride\u201d is Ida (Buckley), a free-spirited woman who hangs out with gangsters in 1936 Chicago. She\u2019s killed after she speaks openly about the criminal doings of mob boss Lupino (Buric, Wolfs). She\u2019s brought back to life by Dr. Euphronious (Bening, Captain Marvel) at the request of Frankenstein\u2019s monster (Bale, the Dark Knight trilogy) who\u2019s looking for a companion to ease his loneliness. They dig up her body and revive her in much the same way Dr. Frankenstein gave life to \u201cFrank\u201d more than 100 years ago. She doesn\u2019t remember anything about her previous life so Frank tells her they were together as a couple before she was in an accident that caused her to have amnesia.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It doesn\u2019t take long for Frank and his Bride to get into trouble. They go out on the town one night and encounter a couple of ruffians who make the mistake of harassing the fiendish couple on the street. The two men are killed by Frank and Bride who then go on the run from the authorities. They high-tail it out of town and take their act on the road. They are pursued by Detective Jake Wiles (Sarsgaard, Boys Don\u2019t Cry) and his assistant Myrna Malloy (Cruz, Parallel Mothers). In addition, Lupino sends one of his guys (Magaro, Overlord) to finish the job his associate failed to complete.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Bride!<\/strong> isn\u2019t just Bride of Frankenstein. Maggie, in her sophomore directorial effort, incorporates Bonnie and Clyde, Natural Born Killers, detective noir and Fred Astaire musicals. Yes, you read that last one correctly. Her brother Jake co-stars as Ronnie Reed, an Astaire-like song-and-dance movie star beloved by Frank who spends his spare time in cinemas showing Reed\u2019s films. He often imagines himself as being in the films alongside Reed. In one of the movie\u2019s most bizarre scenes, a chance meeting with Reed at a swanky New York party leads to an elaborate dance number to \u201cPuttin\u2019 on the Ritz\u201d. Is it a nod to Mel Brooks\u2019 spoof Young Frankenstein (1974)? Could be. You never know with this one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0When asked about it, I tell people The Bride!<\/strong> is insane. Then they ask me if I liked it. I never realized that response was so ambiguous. Allow me to clear up the matter. The answer is yes, I liked The Bride!<\/strong> Is it a good movie? Not always. The narrative is messy and unfocused. It has a lot to say and often trips over itself trying to get it all out. It tends to be strident as it pertains to its feminist message and is increasingly so as it gets closer to the end. At one point, The Bride, prone to nonsensical verbal outbursts, stars screaming \u201cME TOO! ME TOO!\u201d Yeah, subtlety is not one of the film\u2019s strong suits. HOWEVER, The Bride!<\/strong> is never, ever dull. It\u2019s consistently interesting.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Bride!<\/strong> has a unique visual sense. Every aspect of it comes together perfectly; the cinematography by Lawrence Sher, the production design by Karen Murphy, the sets by Rena DeAngelo, the costumes by Sandy Powell and sound design by Damian Volpe. It\u2019s a perfect storm of beauty and fever dream. The Bride\u2019s look recalls Brigitte Helm from Metropolis (1927) but with a punk rock attitude. Bale\u2019s monster looks suitably threatening (physically) and vulnerable (emotionally). I\u2019d say The Bride!<\/strong> is a work of street art.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The acting is quite good. Buckley gives 100% in her depiction of The Bride, a woman who doesn\u2019t fit any mold, especially in the pre-feminist 30s. Her literary musings (in addition to the killings) give rise to a revolution wherein women take on Bride\u2019s appearance and attitude in fighting back against an oppressive patriarchy. This Bride of Frankenstein is most definitely all about the Bride. Bale does a great job as the monster, a being with more humanity than some actual humans. Their scenes together are positively electric. You can feel it. Sarsgaard nails it as a hard-boiled detective while Cruz stands out as a not Girl Friday. In their partnership, he\u2019s the face and she\u2019s the brains. He does the talking while she does the investigative work. You never would have seen this in 40s noir.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Bride!<\/strong> is a film that defies explanation. I\u2019m not even sure a review will do it justice. It\u2019s not a movie you see; it\u2019s one you experience. Like the David Lynch version of Dune (1984), it\u2019s best to just sit back and let it happen. Let it wash over you like a wave at the beach. It\u2019s an imperfect film, but it\u2019s most definitely unforgettable. You\u2019ve never seen anything quite like it and you probably won\u2019t again. Just give it a chance. See what you think.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bride! (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Drama-Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 126 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong bloody\/violent content, sexual content\/nudity, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Maggie Gyllenhaal\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Hildur Gudnadottir\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Lawrence Sher\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: March 6, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, Penelope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Magaro, Matthew Maher, Jeannie Berlin, Zlatko Buric, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cool-cult-flicks","category-horror"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Bride-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14140"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14143,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14140\/revisions\/14143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}