In 1935, Universal Pictures hyped Bride of Frankenstein by making a mystery out of the Monster’s Mate. “Who will be the Bride of Frankenstein? Who will dare?” asked Universal’s publicity machine,

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” imagines an empowered mate for the monster. We look back at other memorable cinematic versions.

The Bride! is guilty of overindulging in feminist buzzwords and girl power imagery; it even has Buckley's Bride jarringly screaming "Me too! Me too!" in the final act. But it never lives up to the radical display of female autonomy it promised. And therein lies the real tragedy.

Maggie Gyllenhaal has transformed Frankenstein’s Bride into a bizarre modern spectacle starring the Jessie Buckley that is taking on Wuthering Heights. With a weird monster movie and the return of Ghostface, horror rules on the big screen this week. Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Her version of The Bride! is much harder to parse, and much harder to swallow. It’s a provocation and a challenge — a movie designed to prickle and puzzle the brain more than warm the heart. At times,

Jessie Buckley as The Bride, and Christian Bale as Frankenstein, on the set of “The Bride!” with director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures Jessie Buckley and Christian