More
- Preamp, Processor or Receiver
- Yamaha TRS-7850 Atmos Receiver
- Other Amp
- Peavy IPR 3000 for subs
- Universal / Blu-ray / CD Player
- Panasonic UB820 4K UHD Player
- Front Speakers
- Cheap Thrills Mains
- Center Channel Speaker
- Cheap Thrills Center
- Surround Speakers
- Volt 10 Surrounds
- Surround Back Speakers
- Volt 10 Rear Surrounds
- Subwoofers
- 2x Marty subs (full size with SI 18's)
- Rear Height Speakers
- Volt 6 Overheads
- Video Display Device
- Sony 85 inch X950H FALD TV
The Bride
Movie:![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
Video:![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Audio:![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Extras:![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
Final Score:
Movie:
![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
Video:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Audio:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Extras:
![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
Final Score:
![3.5 Stars :3.5stars: :3.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3.5_stars.png)
Ahhh, the 1980s. One of the greatest times for horror movies (in my humble opinion), but also one that was so gloriously steeped in 1980s music culture that it gives birth to some seriously chuckle worthy films as well. Coming straight from reviewing Universal’s 1930s-1950s classic monster movies I find it a bit jarring to watch the 1985 film The Bride, which is a modern take (at least in directing style) on the classic Bride of Frankenstein tale. Just with updated musical bits, and starring Sting (no, not the wrestler, the singer from “The Police”) and Jennifer Beals. While it’s not a horrible film by any stretch of the imagination, The Bride feels more like an attempt to infuse the popularity of using popular musicians as film stars (ala David Bowie in Labyrinth) and trying to blend it in with 1980s stylized period pieces to remake a classic with mixed results. The movie is entertaining and fun, but it’s so drastically different in tone and feel than the previous monster movies that it’s almost unrecognizable at times.
Dr. Frankenstein (Sting) has done the impossible and created a “monster” unlike the world has ever seen. This man cobbled from together from body parts is a bit hideous, and a bit zombiesh, but it is a man nonetheless. Naming his creation Viktor (a young Clancy Brown), the mad scientists realizes that his work needs a mate, as even a reanimated man needs company of his own kind. In a crazy twist of fate, Dr. Frankenstein reanimates another corpse, creating the beautiful Eva (Jennifer Beals), who acts as the physical foil to Viktor’s hideously scarred form. In a fit of jealous rage, Viktor destroys Frankenstein’s lab and is thought to be dead in the process. Thinking his monster dead, the “good” Doctor puts all of his efforts into turning the now reanimated Eva into a normal human being.
While that’s what one would consider to be the main “meat” of a Bride of Frankenstein remake, director Franc Roddam adds in a secondary sub tale dealing with the monster Viktor as well. While Frankenstein and Eva are setting up an awkward humanity tale in the foreground, the assumed dead monster finds his way out into the world, where he joins up with a circus and befriends a dwarf named Rinaldo (David Rappaport), turning this little side show into a weird sort of Dumbo like tale (according to Siskel back in 1985, a comparison that I find most apt).
That being said, The Bride is fun in a campy 80s sort of way. Sting over acts as only a musician trying to act can do, and Clancy Brown is phenomenal as Viktor. His and Rinaldo’s burgeoning friendship is the highlight of the film, which is both fantastic, but also disheartening when you remember that this is a movie about the BRIDE of Frankenstein, not the original creation. Something that is amplified when with the 2 hour run time that gets a bit long in the tooth for comfort at times. It’s a solid movie, and one that has much more potential than is actually realized, but one that is moderately enjoyable at the very least.
Rating:
Rated PG-13 by the MPAA
Video:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Audio:
![4 Stars :4stars: :4stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/4_stars.png)
Extras:
![3 Stars :3stars: :3stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3_stars.png)
• NEW Interview With Director Franc Roddam
• NEW Interview With Actor Clancy Brown
• TV Spot
Final Score:
![3.5 Stars :3.5stars: :3.5stars:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/3.5_stars.png)
The Bride is 100% pure 80s at it’s core. A popular musician helming a period piece horror movie, some random nudity, awkward editing, and a burnished look to it that could only come from good old 80s film stock. It’s hilariously inept at times, skillfully done at others, and still comes out rather enjoyable in the end. A hodgepodge of different ideas, The Bride works in many ways, but is hampered by it’s own awkwardness at times. Sting REALLY can’t act (he’s even worse here than he was in Dune), but at least his over acting adds to the campy charm while we get to look at the eye candy that is Jennifer Beals (that is, when she’s in the film, as she’s notoriously absent for a good chunk of it). Scream Factory had given the disc a very nice looking remaster, and the package itself is quite good, with some decent extras as well. Definitely a decent rental for most, but a solid buy for collector’s of 80s horror bits.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Sting, Jennifer Beals, Anthony Higgins
Directed by: Franc Roddman
Written by: Lloyd Fonvielle
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 25th, 2018
Recommendation: Decent Rental
Last edited: