Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jessie Buckley reimagine Frankenstein’s bride | CNN

Since the invention of moving pictures, directors have been drawn to Mary Shelley’s 19th century gothic classic, “Frankenstein.” In 1931 James Whale offered his definitive take on the story with actor Boris Karloff’s flat-topped skull and grunting speech. The film was a commercial hit and solidified Universal Pictures’ reputation as the home of horror. The creature was then dug up and reanimated through the eyes of Terence Fisher in 1957, Mel Brooks in 1974 and Kenneth Branagh in 1994, to name a few. The last reboot — an emotionally sympathetic, albeit Disney-fied rendition in which Jacob Elordi’s long dark lashes take center stage — came from Mexican director Guillermo del Toro just a few months ago. But while the mood, genre and artistic direction of these adaptations may have shifted over the last century, one element has remained fairly consistent: almost all have been directed by men. Now a rare female voice enters the “Frankenstein” canon as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”, starring Jessie Buckley, opens in theaters across the US and UK this week. The actor-turned-director takes inspiration from Whale’s spin-off sequel from 1935, “The Bride of F

Mar 6, 2026 → Mar 6, 2026