A shock of white through a black bouffant is iconic enough as a hairstyle to overshadow its owner’s slight screentime despite her being the title character. Sequel to the original Franky feature, director James Whale returns to the windmill laboratory with his sillier instincts awakened. From an opening scene that has Mary Shelley basically say “And also” to her original story to the big bolt-headed monster sharing a stogie with a blind man, Bride is a romp – which doesn’t take away from its devastating ending. Such is the Whale way: Make you laugh the whole runtime before gut-punching you outta the cinema. – James Scott
