Move over, traditional wedding season. Writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal is bringing a much more chaotic, punk-rock ceremony straight to your living room. Her highly anticipated, iconoclastic horror-romance The Bride! is officially set to make its streaming debut this week.
A First Date Gone Horribly, Wonderfully Wrong
Set against the gritty backdrop of 1930s Chicago, the film follows a deeply lonely “Frank” (Christian Bale). He decides to skip the dating apps and take a more hands-on approach to finding love. He enlists the help of the groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to build a companion for him.
The duo decides to reanimate a recently murdered young woman (Jessie Buckley), and The Bride is born. However, the scientists completely underestimate what happens when you give a dead woman a second chance at life. Instead of a docile, grateful homemaker, they unleash a force of nature. What follows is a wild cocktail of murder, a cultural movement, and a romance that redefines “till death do us part.”
An Absurdly Stacked Cast
Gyllenhaal didn’t skimp on the guest list for this resurrection. The film features a powerhouse ensemble that ensures the gothic melodrama hits as hard as the horror. Jessie Buckley stars as The Bride, Christian Bale as Frank, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz, and Jake Gyllenhaal (making it a true family affair).
Behind the scenes, Gyllenhaal produces alongside Emma Tillinger Koskoff (Joker, The Wolf of Wall Street), Talia Kleinhendler, and Osnat Handelsman Keren. With a pedigree like that, expect the film’s Rated-R chaos—certified for “strong/bloody violent content, sexual content/nudity, and language”—to look absolutely gorgeous.
Next-Level Accessibility
In a massive win for inclusive streaming, Max will simultaneously drop an alternative version of The Bride! featuring American Sign Language (ASL). The ASL performance is delivered by renowned dubber Yamila Davis and directed by Rosa Lee Timm (Sinners with BASL). This ensures the film’s radical energy translates beautifully to all audiences.
What the Critics Are Saying
Fans of the 1935 original know the titular character famously got about five minutes of screentime before screaming and rejecting her suitor. Gyllenhaal’s version is righting that historical wrong. As Meagan Navarro noted in her review:
“The Bride! dedicates itself fully to giving the Bride of Frankenstein the chance she wasn’t really afforded in her introductory film: to live.”
Clear your schedules this weekend. Lock your doors, and get ready to toast the happy couple. The Bride! is officially set to make its streaming debut on Friday, May 22, on Max, followed by its linear HBO broadcast on May 23 at 8:00 PM ET.
