This year marks the 3rd annual Women in Horror Recognition Month. Every February, horror fans around the world celebrate the feminine side of fear. All month long I will be highlighting various actresses, writers, icons, films, etc. that owe a debt to a woman in horror.
In her 1818 novel Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley created one of horror’s greatest icons. Within the pages of horror, cadavers, and tension, Shelley added an element to the story that was missing from James Whale’s 1931 classic film Frankenstein: the monster wanted a female companion. When Universal commissioned Whale to direct the sequel, 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein, the premise was just that. In fact, it became the film’s tagline, plastered over all posters and promotional material: “Warning! The Monster Demands a Mate!”
The greatest horror sequel of all the original classics, Bride of Frankenstein, and its titular anti-heroine, became horror icons overnight. To this day, the Bride is the only female creature to be featured under the Universal brand (not surprisingly, Dracula’s daughter never caught on).
Played by Elsa Lanchester, the Bride is notable as a monster because she is far less than monstrous. There are virtually no prosthetics used to alter her appearance; she essentially wears a glamour make-up with a few scars at the jaw line. Her hair is, of course, her trademark: inspired by Nefertiti, proudly raised like Marge Simpson’s ‘do, the Bride’s hair was actually a wire caged rigged atop Lanchester’s head; they used her own hair along with a wig to fill it in. The white stripe down the side signals great stress but is also very stylish. Even though she’s made of cadavers and hisses like an agitated goose, for all intents and purposes, the Bride is something of a high-fashion model. Lanchester’s natural beauty adds to this effect.
Neil Gaiman, the acclaimed and immensely talented author, wrote of the film: “In Bride of Frankenstein, all is prelude to the unwrapping of Elsa Lanchester, the revelation of the true Bride, the one that the movie's really named after. She is revealed; she hisses, screeches, is terrified, is wonderful, and once we have seen her there is nothing left for us.” It could also be said that this is true not only of the film but the character herself – once Universal unveiled their prime undead female, they could never make another. They got it right the first time.
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