Maggie Gyllenhaal turns classic horror icon into a modern heroine

Maggie Gyllenhaal is giving the classic horror tale a modern twist and this time, it’s all about consent.

The 48-year-old actress and director is helming The Bride!, a horror/science-fiction crime film that reimagines the iconic Frankenstein bride. 

Speaking to Deadline, Maggie didn’t mince her words about the movie’s central theme. 

“In the mythology of the Bride of Frankenstein, that’s the major issue,” she said. 

“I can’t make a movie about the bride without consent being really on the table because she fundamentally has no say in it.”

The Dark Knight actress highlighted the imbalance at the heart of the story. 

She pointed out that while Frankenstein may be lonely and desperate for a partner, the Bride’s feelings are just as important. 

We don’t get to choose being born, but that doesn’t mean anyone should be created solely to serve someone else’s needs.

She also revelaed her inspiration and that is a man at a party with a full forearm tattoo of the Bride of Frankenstein. 

“It just hooked me,” Maggie told SFX. 

“I’d seen the image but never the movie. I went back to my hotel, looked her up, and watched the original 1935 picture. Coming to her fresh, without much history, was liberating.”

Maggie was particularly struck by Elsa Lanchester’s minimal screen time as the original Bride. 

“She doesn’t speak, yet she’s unforgettable,” Maggie said. 

Having already impressed audiences with her directorial debut on The Lost Daughter in 2021, she promises The Bride! will offer a fresh, feminist spin on a legendary horror figure.

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