‘The Bride!’ Review: Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale Are Magnetic Monsters in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Lumbering Punk Horror Trip
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Is it a horror movie? Not quite. It’s a scrappy punk feminist tragicomedy of l’amour fou, a renegade take-off on the "Frankenstein" mythology. And while the movie doesn’t entirely work — it lumbers along and blows fuses; it has plenty of flesh and blood but not enough storytelling spine — there’s a genuine spark of audacity to it. It’s alive in a way that Del Toro’s "Frankenstein" was not.
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Mar 4, 2026 12:00pm PT ‘The Bride!’ Review: Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale Are Magnetic Monsters in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Lumbering Punk Horror Trip It's a skewed feminist take-off on the "Frankenstein" myth that could have used more storytelling juice. By Owen Gleiberman Plus Icon Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic @OwenGleiberman Latest ‘Hoppers’ Review: The Delightful New Pixar Film Is an Out-of-the-Box Critter Comedy That’s Like ‘Bambi’ on Crack 2 days ago ‘Scream 7’ Review: Neve Campbell Returns for a Back-to-Basics Sequel That’s a Little Too Basic 6 days ago ‘Midwinter Break’ Review: Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds in a Touching Wee Drama of Late-in-Life Marital Crisis 1 week ago See All It’s alive! I’m talking about the legend of “Frankenstein.” I thought the reanimated corpse of it came close to slipping off life support in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” a movie that, to me, was all baroque production design and no pulse. It was so top-heavy with lavish retro pomposity that it made me never want to see another “Frankenstein” movie again. But here we are, half a year later, with Maggie Gyllenhaal ’s “ The Bride! ” Is it a horror movie? Not quite. An awards movie? No way. A potential hit? I doubt it. It’s a scrappy punk feminist tragicomedy of l’amour fou, a renegade take-off on the “Frankenstein” myth. And while the movie doesn’t quite work — it lumbers along and blows fuses; it has lots of flesh and blood but not enough storytelling spine — there’s a spark of audacity to it. It’s alive in ways that del Toro’s “Frankenstein” was not. In her second feature, Gyllenhaal, the actor-turned-writer-director (“The Lost Daughter”), has come not to embalm the “Frankenstein” legend in stately good taste but to reimagine its perversity. “The Bride!” is a bit of a pastiche (it echoes movies from “Joker: Folie à Deux” to “Thelma & Louise”), but it’s also a debauched fairy tale with teeth. Related Stories 'Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Season 2 Casts Lucy Boynton, Ba...
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