Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jessie Buckley reimagine Frankenstein’s bride

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jessie Buckley reimagine Frankenstein’s bride

For over two centuries, Mary Shelley’s gothic tale has captivated filmmakers, inspiring countless adaptations across the globe. The 1931 film by James Whale, featuring Boris Karloff’s iconic monster, set a lasting standard in horror cinema and elevated Universal Pictures as a powerhouse in the genre. Decades later, directors like Terence Fisher, Mel Brooks, and Kenneth Branagh continued to reinterpret the story, each adding their own vision to the creature’s legacy. Most recently, Guillermo del Toro’s 2026 take on the narrative — a version emphasizing emotional depth with Jacob Elordi’s expressive features — brought a fresh twist to the classic. Yet, despite the story’s enduring relevance, the majority of these films have been helmed by men.

Now, a groundbreaking shift is occurring. Maggie Gyllenhaal, an actor turned director, has released her version titled “The Bride!” starring Jessie Buckley. This film draws from James Whale’s 1935 sequel, “The Bride of Frankenstein,” where Elsa Lanchester’s character becomes a pivotal figure. Shelley’s original novel portrays the lonely creature’s desire for companionship after rejection by society, leading his creator to abandon the female counterpart at the final moment. Gyllenhaal’s adaptation explores what might have transpired had the scientist completed the female monster, echoing the work of Whale, Franc Rodman, Branagh, and others.

The release of “The Bride!” raises broader questions about the underrepresentation of women in adapting Shelley’s story. Dr. Jo Botting, a fiction curator at the BFI National Archive, notes that horror often appeals to male creators, a trend that has persisted through the early 20th century. “There are far more male directors,” she observed, highlighting the historical scarcity of female filmmakers — names like Alice Guy-Blanché and Lois Weber stand out as rare exceptions.

“In many ways, ‘Frankenstein’ functions as a metaphor for the creative process itself and its challenges,” said Daniel Cook, a professor at Dundee University. “Directors create life on screen, much like Victor Frankenstein did.”

Cook suggests that male directors may connect with the novel’s themes of ambition and arrogance, framing it as a tale of hubris. “Victor’s core issue is his overestimation of power,” he explained. “That’s epic — a man who fails due to his own grandiosity.” Eleanor B. Johnson, an English professor at Columbia University, argues that this focus overlooks Shelley’s own role as a teenage woman who penned the story. “The question of how a young girl conceived such a dark idea is often forgotten,” she remarked, emphasizing the need to reexamine the narrative through a feminist lens.