THE GOODS: Bride of Frankenstein

Thursday, October 23, 2014

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (Day 23): STATION IDENTIFICATION

Now we've come to the part of our show where we take a break from all of the Horror Hosting to focus more on the imagery that one can find.

Remember kids, this slideshow may be eerie and strange and it may tickle parts of your brain that you don't even know you have, but don't worry, that just means it's working!

And remember, chances are you can click on one of these images to make it 'spode to full size for a better look--that is, if you dare!

Here we go:

Stay tuned tomorrow night for another exciting chapter of

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN's

Horror Host Tribute!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (Day 9): AND NOW A BRIEF WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR...

You know how, when on a Halloween of trick-or-treating, you'd come across the house that had left the porch light on even though they weren't home at the time?

How they'd leave a bowl of candy out for the taking by any group of kids who would come by? How they may have left a note reading something to the effect of how the reader should only take one piece of candy?

Well, I'm doing that tonight.

I'm going to trust you rambunctious kids to do the right thing.

Leave some for the next kid...

HULK SMASH CANDY HOG!!!

I'll be back tomorrow night with more in my

Countdown of Horror Hosts as my part of the

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN!

For now I leave you with this series

of images to haunt your nightmares

and confound your dreams:

Sunday, October 28, 2012

MONSTER-MONTH: A COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (Day 28)

Tonight we go all new wave with the Monster as we take a look at perhaps the blondest Doctor Frankenstein and the most exotic Bride of Frankenstein ever put to film!

THE BRIDE is a 1985 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN starring Sting as the Baron Charles Frankenstein, Jennifer Beals as his female creation, Eva, Clancy Brown as Viktor, the Monster, and David Rappaport as Rinaldo the Dwarf.

The film begins with the creation of Eva as a mate for the Monster, Viktor. Upon her creation Eva’s physical near-perfection is noted by all and her rejection of Viktor causes the Monster to fly into a rage that destroys Frankenstein’s laboratory. Dr. Frankenstein and Eva are seemingly the only survivors and so they flee back to Charles’ castle. Charles falls in love with her and attempts to make her his ideal woman. Very Pygmalion of the good Doctor, isn’t it?

Now Charles Frankenstein is a kind of feminist in that he wants his creation to be a new kind of woman--one bold and independent as any man. Soon enough, during his teachings, Eva shows enough promise to match her teacher. And so a coming out party is planned for the bride. All goes swimmingly until a common house cat appears and she reacts in a savage and violent way as she had never seen one before.

Sting wants her to be his and his alone and yet she becomes intrigued by another man and has a liason with him. Jealous, Frankenstein reveals that he is Eva’s creator and shows her his lab and journal so as to convince her of his power over her--in a sense declaring that he’s her father as well as her husband-to-be.

Up until that point, Eva had believed that she was an amnesiac. Even still, this new knowledge steers her away from her strong independence not one bit. She declares that he will have no hold over her so long as she lives.

It is this other half of the story that most intrigued me as a viewer, I mean, sure the movie is called “The Bride” but that’s not what I tuned in for! Clancy Brown, in the earliest role I remember seeing him, was a fine Monster. The make-up is more subtle in this incarnation than in most. With a normal flesh-tone and merely an enlarged forhead and some scars, this Monster can almost pass for human rather than humunculus.

Having survived, the Monster wanders into the countryside where Rinaldo, a dwarf, joins him on his journey of self-discovery. Eventually they become involved in a circus, whose owner eventually kills Rinaldo. Viktor is thrown into a rage and sorrow deeper than he has known. Eventually he decides to return to Castle Frankenstein for Eva.

By now, Eva discovers her psychic link to the monster. She then rejects the Baron as the Monster arrives to rescue her. In the end, the Baron falls to his death and Viktor and Eva reunite and leave for Venice.