Scripted by Lloyd Fonvielle from the novel by Mary Shelley, this is a fairly interesting revisionist take on Shelley's legendary story. Rock star Sting stars as the icy cold Charles Frankenstein, who as the film opens has already created his male monster (Clancy Brown),and is now in the process of constructing the monsters' mate (Jennifer Beals),whom he names Eva. During the subsequent destruction of Frankensteins' lab, the male monster escapes, soon making the acquaintance of amiable dwarf Rinaldo (David Rappaport). Rinaldos' ambition is to eventually make it to Venice, but for now he wants to join a circus to make ends meet, and the monster - who *Rinaldo* dubs Viktor - tags along. Meanwhile, Frankenstein works hard at creating, in his eyes, the perfect woman to introduce to high society.

The lovely friendship between Rinaldo and Viktor is the true heart and soul of the film, and makes it worth seeing. Rappaport is so endearing - he's the real star of this show - and he and Brown work so well together, that they make the segments with Beals and Sting less intriguing by comparison. There is a theme here of men harbouring a fear and distrust of the empowered woman, and Frankensteins' desire to basically be in charge of Evas' life is part of his undoing. Brown is wonderful as Viktor, and while Sting and Beals do decent jobs, they're not as much fun to watch. A superb supporting cast consisting of Anthony Higgins, Geraldine Page, Alexei Sayle, Phil Daniels, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Quentin Crisp, Cary Elwes, Timothy Spall, Guy Rolfe, and Tony Haygarth lends a great deal of respectability.

"The Bride" has the absolutely perfect look in terms of classic Gothic horror, but in the end it's much more of a drama, and romance, than a horror film. Its opening scene is certainly great horror in the old tradition, and the lab set is amazing. The period recreation is impeccable, and Maurice Jarres' music is beautiful.

Overall, a good film worth a look or revisit for fans of this kind of literature.

Seven out of 10.

A few minutes into this movie and I began wondering if there might have been a prequel that I should have been aware of. It felt like a continuation of a story that had gone before with the character of the yet unnamed Viktor (Clancy Brown) representing the Frankenstein Monster that all horror fans are familiar with. This sense of being just a bit off balance remained with me for the rest of the picture, because this wasn't really a horror film per se, but more of a Gothic love story gone wrong for the principals, Dr. Frankenstein (Sting) and his latest creation which he named Eva (Jennifer Beals).

There's actually a story within a story as the movie unfolds, as Dr. Frankenstein's original creation escapes from the burning castle tower following a laboratory accident and an experiment gone wrong. Presumed dead, the ungainly creature is befriended by the dwarf Rinaldo (David Rappaport) who convinces him to journey along to Budapest to join the circus and make their fortune. There's an awkward subtext of 'following one's dream' that carries through the remainder of the story that relies on a psychic link between the newly named Viktor and the woman Eva he felt spurned by when she was first created. When Viktor cries at the death of his friend, Eva cries as well, feeling trapped by the domineering aspect of her creator.

It almost seems as if the writer and director were inserting as many themes into the story that they felt they could get away with in attracting an audience. Along with the 'follow one's dream' aspect, there was also an obvious overture to women's lib, with Eva consistently extolling the right to her own person, while the Baron's friend Clerval (Anthony Higgins) lamented the idea of any woman attaining equality with men. Attempting to explore too many of these ideas, the film didn't do justice to any of them.

The ending of the story had sort of a 'Beauty and the Beast' style resolution, with the homely Viktor reuniting with the woman he loved from the moment he first saw her. None of it seemed to work for this viewer, particularly the forced feeling of the picture's happy ending. By then, the voice over narration and vision of the dwarf Rinaldo insuring the picture's message of 'he will win' just made it seem all too corny for my taste.

Baron Charles Frankenstein (Sting) and his assistants create Eva (Jennifer Beals) for his monster (Clancy Brown). Eva rejects the monster and he destroys the lab. Frankenstein escapes with Eva. Unbeknowst to him, the monster also escapes and befriends midget Rinaldo. Rinaldo teaches him humanity and gives him the name Viktor. They travel to Budapest and join the circus. Meanwhile, Frankenstein intends to civilize Eva and mold her into his love. He tells everyone that he found her in the woods with memory lost. Captain Josef Schoden (Cary Elwes) is taken with her. She encounters Viktor and the spark is reignited.

The movie has little tension. When the story splits in two, the tension fades. Sting is stiff in this and not his best role. Jennifer Beals doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination. Her role requires some odd work from her. This is a bad attempt at reworking the Frankenstein story.