The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

After the events of the first movie, both Henry Frankenstein and his monster are presumed dead. However, both creature and creator are revived and looking to move on with their lives. Henry seems to see the error of his ways and denounces his pursuit of the secrets of the creation of life... at least until he is visited by Dr. Pretorius, who has had some success in the field of Mad Science in his own right.

In the meantime, the monster faces rejection at every turn and, after a murder or two, is hunted into the woods where he stumbles upon the cabin of an old blind man. Enchanted by the man's playing on the violin, the monster goes into the house, where he is greeted joyfully by the blind man. Over time, both man and monster find happiness in their friendship and the blind man teaches the monster to talk in rudimentary words and phrases. All is well until some strangers find them and try to kill the monster that has terrorized the countryside.

Separated from his one friend, the monster sets out to find another, which he does in Dr. Pretorius. Pretorius promises the monster that he will make him a new friend - a mate - and tells him he needs Henry Frankenstein to make it happen.

Soon, Frankenstein is forced to return to the laboratory to play God again. Will Henry be able to save his wife from the monster he created? Can the monster find happiness with the bride created for him? Or is tragedy the only destiny for those who try to become gods by creating monsters?

The Bride of Frankenstein is another marvel of classic cinema. The elaborate sets, full of lightning and sparks and fire, are fantastically impressive, as is Boris Karloff's monster makeup. James Whale pulls out all the stops, like giving us crazy Dutched angles on the wild-eyed mad scientists as they throw sparking switches and pull giant levers in the climactic set-piece. And the screenplay blends horror and tragedy with a bit of humor, telling an effective, thought-provoking, affecting story.

While only one viewing each isn't enough for me to say (as many have) that Bride is better than its predecessor, Frankenstein, it is certainly a very worthy sequel. These films are iconic and legendary, and should be required viewing for pretty much everyone, not just horror fans. I'm glad I have finally seen them for the first of what will no doubt be many, many times.