Movie Night: Bride of the Monster.

Review #537: Bride of the Monster.

Cast
Bela Lugosi (Dr. Eric Vornoff), Tor Johnson (Lobo), Tony McCoy (Lt. Dick Craig), Loretta King (Janet Lawton), Harvey B. Dunn (Capt. Robbins), George Becwar (Prof. Strowski), Paul Marco (Kelton), and Don Nagel (Martin) Directed by Ed Wood (#183 - Plan 9 from Outer Space and #536 - Glen or Glenda)

Review

Oh how the mighty have fallen. From Dracula to...mad scientist, Bride of the Monster was Bela Lugosi's last speaking role (With silent roles in his last two films afterwards, which were The Black Sleep and Plan 9, respectively), and he goes out with a film that is merely a whimper. Plan 9 was actually more entertaining then this, while Glen or Glenda was at least trying to convey a subject. This is just another mad scientist film that only succeeds in having laughable moments. I think my favorite moment is when the octopus (that is rubber when interacting with the actors, but stock footage when not, which is so jarring when compared as the two have little to no resemblance) attacks Lugosi's character. Not only is the octopus not moving (The actors move the thing to make it look like it's flailing its arms), a lightning bolt strikes the two...causing a nuclear explosion. Lugosi certainly hams it up, especially when he talks about making a perfect race of "atomic super men", while having a little laugh afterwards. It's sad to see him in this role, doing really silly "threatening" faces to the camera when only 20 or so years ago, he was a creepy, but great Dracula. The title doesn't make any sense, I get the Bride part, but Lugosi only turns into the monster with about 10 minutes left in the film. Maybe they mean Lobo, but that doesn't really make any sense either. Wood directs a typical 50's film that only survives from the bounds of obscurity due to it's awful making. And so ends Bela Lugosi Week. What have I learned from this week? That even if the films were awful (Only two of the films I reviewed turned out to be any good, though it's arguable to add Glen or Glenda for its awfulness), Lugosi always made an effort and was usually the best or the most memorable part of the movie, no matter what it was. I hope you enjoyed this Week, I promise at least one theme week in the upcoming months.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.