Bride of the Monster

Rating:
Summary: Laughably Awful
Review: This movie gives 'trash' a whole new hilarious meaning, straight from the King of Camp, Ed Wood himself. Poor Bela Lugosi reached his zenith with this film. Torr stays in true form throughout, displaying his acting 'talents'. Don't miss the rubber octopus!!!

Rating:
Summary: Camp Classic!
Review: This movie is so intensely campy I cannot believe it. Drunk this is by far the best movie you will ever see. I know he's acheived a cult status at this point, but Ed Wood was an intense man with an extreme passion for this medium, and this film should be watched by everyone. Lugosi is so amazing, he tries so hard. Watch Ed Wood by Burton and Depp, and then watch this movie. It'll break your heart.

Rating:
Summary: Not Ed's best, but probably the best it's ever looked!
Review: This review is about the DVD, not the movie (not Ed's "best" nor his "worst"). I had to jump in and review this DVD because I was very leery of buying it based on a fairly negative review last year in Scarlet Street magazine. Their complaints: 1) badly-framed trailer; 2) too much headroom in many shots; 3) many scenes too dark; 4) much darker than previous VHS issue; 5) end title shot is minus atom bomb explosion/Hollywood U.S.A. titles. My responses: 1) the trailer is badly-framed, but it is also sharper, cleaner, and with better tonal values than I have ever seen it; 2) I don't think you can fault Image for including as much of the actual frame as possible-framing issues (at least in this case) implicate the filmmakers, not the DVD transfer; 3) & 4) I have the previous VHS issue, and if it's the one referred to in Scarlet Street (which I think it is) it's way too bright, and the DVD is really more accurate, I think, in rendering the tonal values. The daytime shots and interiors all look perfectly fine to me. There are some night shots that are a bit dense, but you can tell they were just underlit because when lightning flashes everything looks perfectly exposed. There probably is more detail in those shots on the VHS since the brightness is jacked up; the rest of the movie looks washed-out and flat on the tape; 5) the plain white-on-black end titles do not seem to have been tacked on by Wade Williams, appearing instead to be from some theatrical issue of the movie (since they optically dissolve into the final credit roll). Personally, I can live without the original end title shot seeing as how the rest of the movie looks 500% better than the tape, and you still get a few good mushroom cloud shots before "The End." Otherwise SS agreed that the print/transfer is very sharp (in some shots you can see the individual hairs on people's necks). There is some minor flecking throughout but I didn't notice any major scratchy areas or jumps. In sum, don't be afraid to purchase, I was very pleasantly surprised and can honestly say I've never seen a better copy on TV or tape. Minus one star only because there are no extras other than the (badly-framed) trailer and chapter stops, and the light flecking on the print. P.S. On second viewing, I think some of the complaints about darkness/lighting in this movie are due to the fact that in a number of scenes the actors, particularly Bela and Tor, refuse to "stay in their light." If you observe closely you can see how the DP's low-key lighting scheme is destroyed by Wood's allowing Bela and Tor to wander about the set from "pool of light" to "pool of light," often exchanging dialogue in the midst of near-darkness. The static shots of talking people, etc., do not suffer from this problem. See for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: "No, Professor Strowski, it is no laughing matter!"
Review: Thus utters a frail-looking Bela Lugosi in this laughably awful EC comic-like film directed by the notorious Ed Wood. Bela was in terrible physical health when this film was made - his 20-year morphine/methadone addiction had taken its toll on the 72-year old actor. Shortly after this film was completed, the great man entered himself into the hospital to kick his heinous habit. ...And he did! However, I have mixed feelings when I watch Lugosi in this film. I laugh (WITH him, not at him) in his grand, over-the-top performance, but I also want to cry when I see how ravaged he looks, and how shameful his addiction must have been for him. Aside, "Bride" is a lot of fun, if a little slow in spots. From the incredibly cheap laboratory set (did Bela make 8 x 10s of his victims? There is a photographic enlarger on a microphone stand, positioned over the "operating table"!), to the visibly inert rubber octopus (Wood and his cronies failed to steal the octopus' motor when they "borrowed" it from Republic's prop department), to the hokey 40s B-movie dialogue, this film is manna to the trashy film lover. The DVD's picture quality is razor-sharp, so you can enjoy every nuance of Bela's performance, as well as the aforementioned laboratory set, to lovely little details, such as the leopard-print throw in Loretta King's car, Tony McCoy's tattoos, and the fact that it is NOT Lugosi grappling with Tor "Lobo" Johnson, nor is he wrestling the lethargic octopus. It is stuntman Eddie Parker, wearing a hellified pair of platform shoes! I love Ed Wood's films - they are hard NOT to love, in their naive goofiness. "Now here in this forsaken jungle hell, I have proven that I am all right!" ...If it was good enough for Bela Lugosi, it's good enough for me!