La novia del monstruo

I really don't think this deserves the "honor" of being in the Bottom 100 of all times. I've seen much worse films without nearly the notoriety. In "Bride of the Monster," Edward Wood shows himself to be a typically competent director doing a typical low-rent horror film. There are no mistakes in continuity, the lighting is adequate, the performances are pretty good…how "Plan 9" came from the same director is beyond me. I *am* put off by the DVD, though. For a premium price, you get the film, the trailer, and chapter stops—that's all, folks. If this is supposed to be a camp classic, I could at least hope for some interviews, outtakes, and other amusements. The transfer isn't bad, with few scratches or specks that I noticed and a faithful rendering of the black-and-white movies of that era.

Ever since The Golden Turkey Awards chose Ed Wood as the world's worst director back in the 80s there have been a lot of people who automatically dismiss all Ed Wood movies as garbage. Even Tim Burton's terrific 'Ed Wood' has encouraged this. My opinion is that there are many, many worse directors out there, because at least Wood's movies were fun and entertaining, unlike many of those made by the likes of Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay, directors who are able to work with budgets a 1000 times bigger than Wood I might add! 'Bride Of The Monster' is one of Wood's most underrated movies. It was his second movie to star horror legend Bela Lugosi, but unlike the first, the truly mind blowing 'Glen Or Glenda', it isn't completely inept. True, some of the acting is terrible, especially the talentless leading lady Loretta King who is (I admit it) lousy, and Wood regular Paul Marco, who has a small supporting role as a cop. But, and this is a BIG but, Lugosi is terrific. Many fans regard this as his best performance. I wouldn't go that far but it's hard not to get choked up at Lugosi's immortal "I have no home" speech. 'Bride Of The Monster' is the first Wood film to feature the amazing Tor Johnson. He plays Lugosi's Tibetan servant/slave Lobo. All the scenes with Lobo are great fun to watch, especially when Lugosi whips him. Apart from Lugosi and Tor this movie is best remembered for the rubber octopus monster. Of course it's a hoot, but the rest of the picture isn't anywhere near as bad as many claim and is comparable to say 'The Devil Bat', which Lugosi starred in back in the 1940s. Both movies suffer from their minuscule budgets, but both are still worth watching to see Lugosi struggle for greatness. I recommend 'Bride Of The Monster' to all horror fans, especially those of Bela Lugosi.

AS others have commented on, BOTM is indeed a competent B-movie. After

seeing it on public domain video I was glad to buy the Image DVD which has

very good image quality. You can see the movie the way Ed Wood intended it.

The lighting is competent; the camera work is competent.

But what elevates BOTM to film nirvana is Bela Lugosi's performance as Dr. Eric Vornoff (sp?). To those who say that Ed Wood exploited Bela (including Bela Jr), I say, at least he didn't put Bela in white plastic go-go boots and give him no dialogue, like the director of The Black Sleep did.

Without exception Bela's performances are hypnotic. His strange intonation, his deliberate facial gesture, his gravitas -- he is always the magnetic center of his films. And BOTM gives a summary of his career -- the Dracula hands, the White Zombie hands -- and the pathos of his "I have no home" speech -- give his

performance a dimension most of his roles (though check out "Invisible Ghost" for another excellent role) lacked.

"Nuff said. I enjoy the delirium of Glen or Glenda? and Plan 9, but Bride of the Monster is Bela's show ALL THE WAY.

Having enjoyed Plan 9 many times and Glen or Glenda once, I really expected this to be a serious turkey...and it wasn't! It's not overly good, but (since it came before Plan 9) I had ASSUMED Ed Wood had used this as a movie making dress rehearsal. Wrong! Lugosi is great! Tor Johnson is certainly more believable here than in Plan 9.

It's a dumb movie with a dumb monster and dumb effects, but it works...almost. It's a fun watch: grab some popcorn and your buddies, set the bar low, and enjoy. Lugosi's performance makes me wonder what Plan 9 would have been like had he lived beyond 3 days into Plan 9's filming.

This really isn't such a terrible little movie. Sure, it's cheap, the acting is horrible, the sets wobble if sneezed upon and the special effects consist of stock footage and a rubber octopus, but "Bride of the Monster" is much, MUCH better than "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

Mad scientist Vornoff (a sickly Bela Lugosi) has apparently set up shop in the Florida Everglades, kidnapping anyone unwise enough to wander too close to his house (and his pet octopus) and conducting sinister experiments upon them. Vornoff, for some odd reason, is determined to create a race of super giants with incredible strength. We're never really sure exactly WHY he wants to do this, but one can only assume that, if one possesses an army of super strong giants, one could take over the world and rule it and stuff. That seems to be the goal of every other mad scientist in the unruled world, anyway. Into this diabolical plan stumbles loudmouthed newsgirl Loretta King, who is determined to get the story on the Lake Marsh Monster. Whether the title of "Lake Marsh Monster" refers to the octopus, Tor Johnson as the fumbling Lobo or Bela's drug problem, we're never sure. Take your pick. Anyway, Loretta is kept under constant hypnosis by Bela's eyebags and is slated to become The Bride of the Monster! By this point, we're all quite ready to see the annoying Loretta fried to a crisp, but unfortunately, her wimpy boyfriend shows up to save her. The stunning climax is packed full of raging Lobo's, rolling boulders, lightening bolts, gunfire and death by octopus!

The story doesn't make much sense, but were you really expecting it to when you saw Ed Wood's name listed under the title of director? Still and all, it's certainly Wood's most coherent effort and can be entertaining for those of us who stop to look at road accidents.