Caseus Archivelox: Bride of Frankenstein

2002-02-11
This is easily the best movie we have seen so far this semester, and it is probably the best of the Universal horror films. The opening scene of Mary and Percy Bysse Shelley and Lord Byron is just the perfect opening for the movie, as it sets the tone of the rest of the film as a camp version of the monster movies that had been the vogue. It spoofs the very movies that it tops in quality. There’s the screaming annoying maid, the staid butler who in unperturbed by the strangest experiences, the sinister mad doctor, the virginal bride, the doctor who does not want to create the monster, but is forced to, and the monster who learns to speak.

The bride of the monster herself is an interesting character, as in about three minutes of screen time, she manages to make an indelible impression upon the audience, and cause observant viewers to applaud Whale’s sense of humor. He has the bride recoil from the monster’s touch into Frankenstein’s arms, a small oedipal twist, with the daughter being afraid of the new man in her life, and retreating to the comfort of her father.

But before that is the best character in the Universal horror films: Dr. Pretorius. He is the best evil doctor in movie history, with a hidden homosexual coded, blatantly devilish character, who moves between Frankenstein and his fiancée again. The devil-ness of Pretorius is made explicit when he compares the mini-devil to himself (predating Mini-me in the Austin Powers movies by over 60 years). The homosexual coding, which is all that was possible during the days of the Hays Code, extends to his drawing Henry from Elizabeth every time they are alone, and when Pretorius and Frankenstein are alone creating the bride for the monster, they are shot in a series of canted angles, but mirrored, linking them together even more.

I have not even mentioned the incredible scenes of the monster and the hermit and the Christ-like capture of the monster by the mob in the forest. The movie is just filled with incredible scenes, inventive camera angles (which must have been incredibly influential on Sam Raimi, amongst other directors), and memorable characters.