In the original Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Elsa Lanchester appeared in the title role as a corpse brought to life by electricity – a method of resuscitation that caused her hair to stand on end.
In this new version, Frankenstein’s bride, Eva, is played by Jennifer Beals from Flashdance (1983), who boasts a becomingly soft romantic hairstyle, following her high voltage introduction.
Cast opposite her is the singer/actor and former frontman of The Police, Sting, in the role of the bride’s creator, Dr Frankenstein.
Viktor (Clancy Brown) is the monster, as played by Boris Karloff in the original Frankenstein movies.
Eva is terrified when she first sees Viktor, and he destroys the land and runs away as a consequence.
He joins a circus in Budapest owned and run by a man named Magar (Alexei Sayle) and befriends another little monster – a crafty dwarf named Rinaldo (David Rappaport, star of 1981’s Time Bandits).
This sets the stage for Frankenstein’s plan to educate her as a man is educated – to make her a New Woman (with several steals from Pygmalion).
In the process, he becomes attracted to her and highly possessive. Conflict arises when she becomes rebellious and begins to think for herself. Crisis is triggered when Viktor returns to claim his intended.
Slower than molasses and twice as tacky, The Bride is simply an excuse to package Jennifer Beals together with Sting and hope for an electrical charge.
Dr Frankenstein
Sting Eva
Jennifer Beals Clerval
Anthony Higgins Viktor
Clancy Brown Rinaldo
David Rappaport Mrs Baumann
Geraldine Page Magar
Alexei Sayle Bela
Phil Daniels Countess
Veruschka von Lehndorff Dr Zahlus
Quentin Crisp Josef
Cary Elwes Paulus
Timothy Spall Count
Guy Rolfe Priest
Andy de la Tour Tavern Keeper
Tony Haygarth Bailiff
John Sharp Blind Man
Jack Birkett Gentleman
Gerry Crampton Masked Lady
Fenella Fletcher Groom
Joe Kaye Butler
Harold Coyne Circus Performers
Stromboli
Karen Furness
John Alexander
Jacqueline Russell
Tod Cody
Laurence Temple
Gerard Naprous
Vera De Vel Sally Oultram
Joëlle Baland
Miss Irta
Ringmaster
Andy Barrat
Countess’s Daughter
Annie Roddam
Director
Franc Roddam
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