"The Bride!" is a Frankenstein of Other Films

2026 is going to be one of the biggest years for movies we have seen in a long time. For most people, their most anticipated releases are Avengers: Doomsday, Toy Story 5 or Dune: Messiah, but for me that title belongs to Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! which finally saw its theatrical release this past weekend in theaters across the United States. With the promise of a unique, original story in a world full of reboots and sequels, audiences awaited Gyllenhaal's next project with baited breath. Unfortunately The Bride! ended up being worth far less than the sum of its parts.

The Bride! is a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein like we've never seen before. It centers around the titular bride of Frankenstein, a deceased, eccentric escort named Ida who is reanimated with the help of a scientist at the request the monster, desperate for a companion. Together, the two wreak havoc across 1936 Chicago, going on an ever-moving journey of lust and destruction.

Out of all the movies to be released in 2026, The Bride! was easily the one I was most excited for. I have adored Jessie Buckley as an actress for years, and the thought of her starring opposite Christian Bale in a highly-stylized gothic crime thriller sounded like my dream project. Not to mention, the trailers looked absolutely breathtaking. I'm saying this so you know that I did not walk into the theater on Saturday night wanting nor expecting to hate this film. I genuinely thought I was about to witness a 10/10 film, but it turned out to be way more of a mixed bag of bones than I ever could have anticipated.

Let's start with the good. The Bride! is by-far one of the best looking films of 2026, thanks to the work of cinematographer, Lawrence Sher. With a vibrant, dynamic color palette and some cool camera movements, the visuals of this film are truly inspired. I would be remiss if I did not also shout out the spellbinding costumes by Sandy Powell as well as the hair and makeup team. All of their combined work make these characters a feast for the eyes. Not to mention the incredible production design by Karen Murphy that completely brought this world to life. The Bride! is so high concept and heavily stylized, you'll have a hard time taking your eyes off the screen for the first half.

Irish actress, Jessie Buckley gives yet another great performance, working the best she can with the script she was given, which is inconsistent at best. But she plays the titular role with such ferocity, a job that no doubt asked a lot of her both mentally and physically. Christian Bale also does a fantastic job at playing the role of Frankenstein through such a sympathetic lens. Buckley and Bale's dynamic as well of their respective performances do deserve some praise despite what's going on with the rest of the film.

So yes, the movie looks amazing, but art cannot survive on mere visuals alone. In terms of writing, there are some glaring issues with The Bride! that no doubt have been contributing to its rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. Let's just say, if I had a nickel for every Winter 2026 release that completely bastardized a gothic classic I'd have two nickels...

The main allure of The Bride! was the supposed originality of the story. Sure, it's a retelling of Frankenstein, but this one looked different than the literal thousands of iterations we've seen before. Unfortunately, The Bride!'s most glaring issue is how much inspiration it takes from other films, which is a generous term because it honestly feels more like theft.

Make no mistake, The Bride! is not trying to be Frankenstein, but there is a film it is trying to be so hard, there would be a lawsuit involved if both movies weren't owned by Warner Brothers; That movie is 2024's Joker: Folie à Deux. Why you'd ever want to recreate that film is beyond me but Maggie Gyllenhaal and company literally employed the same cinematographer, composer, camera operator, and several producers from Folie à Deux for this project. I can't help but think a good portion of the crew must've had déjà vu on set every day. It would not surprise me in the least if the titular role was originally offered to Lady Gaga.

It's worth pointing out just how many people worked on this film who have also starred in the Batman movies. From Christian Bale to Peter Sarsgaard to Maggie Gyllenhaal herself. Once you notice it, there's no going back. The Bride! is trying to be a Batman movie, more specifically a Joker and Harley Quinn movie. The city even looks like Gotham at its most cartoony.

While Joker: Folie à Deux was certainly the main inspiration for this film, it is far from the only heavily referenced property. The latter half of The Bride! turns into a tried-and-true Bonnie & Clyde story, or in this case a Joker and Harley Quinn story. This is where the story starts to lose steam and turns into just two crazy people on the run. Halfway through the movie there is a baffling choreographed dance sequence to Putting on the Ritz, which is obviously a reference to Mel Brooks' classic, Young Frankenstein from 1974. While this could've been fun and kind of novel, this musical number comes so far out of left field it's hard to take seriously. Making the occasional homage is nothing to sneer at, but this film's allure was rooted in its supposed originality, and the only thing original about it is just how unoriginal it ended up being.

While The Bride! has an exhilirating A-plot, the B-plot leaves a lot to be desired. So much so that I was practically tearing my hair out in frustration every time a scene was dedicated to it. I am referring to the secondary storyline where two detectives are tailing The Bride and Frankenstein on their cross-country rampage. This storyline as well as these characters are so painfully uninteresting they take the wind completely out of the film's sails. Together, Peter Sarsgaard and Penelope Cruz play these detectives with such little emotion and drive, it's a chore to sit through. I can't even recall their names for the life of me.

While Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale both give good performances, every other actor in this film is either average or completely phoning it in. This includes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Annette Bening (which hurt). The real shocker here was Academy Award winner, Penelope Cruz who genuinely seems like she forgot her god-given talent in this film. The closest thing I can compare it to is Michelle Yeoh in Wicked: For Good. Yes, the script already isn't great and a film centered solely on one plot line would require a lot more writing, but surely anything would've been better than this.

The Bride! truly broke my heart, I have not been this disappointed by a film in a very long time. I can appreciate the ambition, campiness, and overall style of this film, but there are so many glaring issues that are impossible to ignore. I suppose it's the kind of movie that would be good to play in the background of a Halloween party with the volume turned off. At the end of the day I admire Maggie Gyllenhaal and company for taking a risk, but The Bride! just feels like a prime example of wasted potential.

If you were to ask me if I'd like to see The Bride! again in theaters any time soon, my answer is simply: "I would prefer not to."