Facets' College Corner: Bride of Frankenstein

This week in College Corner, student Brian Frehr of Oakton Community College writes about the Universal horror classic Bride of Frankenstein—just in time for Halloween! Inspired by a clip of Frankenstein shown in class, Brian watched many of the Universal classics, noticing the Expressionist visual style. Here is his interpretation of James Whale’s much-loved classic.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) is one the many classic horror films produced by Universal Studios. Although it is a sequel to Frankenstein (1931), it’s thought by many to be a better film than its predecessor. Both were directed by James Whale, and the influence of German Expressionism is evident in both pictures. German Expressionists were famous for their unique use of mise-en-scene, which is the visual design of the compositions and includes elements of lighting, camera angles, set design, costumes, and blocking.

Many scenes in Bride take advantage of low-key lighting, which features an even layer of shadows in the foreground, middle-ground, and background for a shadowy, spooky atmosphere. The opening shot of the outside of Lord Byron’s estate cloaked in darkness sets the mood for the entire film. The Monster is often seen fleeing through dimly lit murky forests and dingy graveyards with dark clouds in the background (see above). In high-contrast lighting, a character is illuminated so there are dark shadows contrasted with brightly lit areas.  This can heighten the emotion in a scene, such as Dr. Pretorius’s first scenes. Part of his face is lit, and part is in shadow. As he walks to Henry’s room, his shadow follows along on the wall. Inside Henry’s room, wavy shadows from the fire or smoke cover and surround him.

Certain camera angles can also heighten the meaning in a scene. A high angle shot is when the camera is higher than the character or item being shot. It may help express weakness or lack of power in a character. In Bride, after the Monster is captured and chained up, there is a high angle shot of the guards exiting the dungeon. They are powerless against the Monster who uses his superhuman strength to break free of the shackles and then kills one of them. The opposite of the high angle is the low angle. The camera is below the subject, pointing upwards. This instills a feeling of power in the subject. It makes the hero appear more heroic, the Monster more foreboding, or Frankenstein’s castle more ominous.  

    

The dutch angle is achieved by tilting the camera off its horizontal axis. This not only creates a feeling of disorientation in the viewer but also implies a threat in the scene or madness in the character. Much of the climatic laboratory scene is shot using dutch angles, depicting Henry, Pretorius, or both as they “play God” by giving life to the Monster’s bride. Everything about this scene, such as the doctors and their experiment, screams “madness,” which the dutch angles underscore. Also, this scene employs an extreme high angle at one point. The camera appears to be high above in the heavens, shooting downward. This suggests God is looking down on them, and he is not happy with these two imitators and the work they are doing.

The set design in Bride has many Expressionistic influences. The walls of Frankenstein’s laboratory are not made of uniform bricks but with uneven stones that are crooked or placed at bizarre angles. The large spiral-shape (often representing “chaos” in German Expressionism) of the staircase is the entranceway to the lab. The graveyard scene has crosses and tombstones at different angles. The set design in the film evokes a feeling of instability because the sets seldom feature straight vertical or horizontal lines or edges.

 

Besides their use of mise-en-scene to heighten the mood, evoke feelings, or to hint at hidden meanings, films with Expressionistic influences are also rich in themes, symbols, or recurring motifs. The most obvious in the Bride is Christian imagery and references. There are crucifixes seen throughout the film, with the most obvious being in the hermit’s dwelling. After the hermit says a prayer thanking God for his newfound friendship with the Monster, and they both shed a tear, the scene fades to black. The shining crucifix takes a second or two longer to fade. The next morning the hermit gives his friend bread and wine, both symbolic of the Christian sacrament of communion. Later when the Monster is captured, he is tied to a pole and carried away to the village. The pole is raised and the Monster, in a pose obviously similar to Christ on the cross, is stoned by the villagers.

Christian symbols appear only in scenes with the Monster, providing a clue to an underlying meaning. I believe that he is a Christ-like figure once dead (end of Frankenstein) and now resurrected (beginning of Bride of Frankenstein). He has participated in a second coming (and second film), returning for the final judgment, similar to Christian belief. The Monster’s judgment of who should survive and who shouldn’t occurs in the closing scene in the laboratory. The Monster has all the power, by holding the switch that can “blow them all to atoms” as Pretorius points out to the viewer. He decides that there is still good in Henry, and says to him: “You go. You live!”  To Pretorius, the Monster commands: “You stay. We belong dead.”  Henry flees, the Monster flips the switch, and he (along with the other two evil and undead characters) perishes.    

The Monster is to Christ as Dr. Pretorius is to the Devil, which is hinted at not only through Pretorius’s actions, but also the way he appears. In the scene where he arrives at Frankenstein’s castle, hellish, fiery shadows surround him. In his laboratory, there is a special effect or lighting trick that gives an intense glow to his eyes. He almost declares himself the Devil in this scene when referencing one of the miniature humanoids he “grew,” which he names the Devil. “There is a certain resemblance to me, don’t you think?” he asks Henry. He oddly states: “I have often wondered whether life wouldn’t be much more amusing if we were all Devils. No nonsense about angels and being good.” 

The doppelganger story is a common theme in German Expressionistic films. Literally translated doppelganger means “double walker” and can represent a character’s dark side, or his “other.” In both Frankenstein and its sequel, Henry Frankenstein has a doppelganger. In the original, the creation of the Monster represented Henry turning from a good doctor (and human) into an evil monster. In Bride, the maniacal Dr. Pretorius is Henry’s doppelganger. The first scenes with the doctor’s face half-cloaked in shadow along with his body’s shadow clearly cast on the wall are both clues that he is has a doppelganger. Usually in a story with an evil doppelganger, the death of a character’s doppelganger insinuates that his wicked impulses have been successfully repressed. When Henry meets Pretorius in Bride, he thinks the Monster is still dead. As Henry’s new doppelganger is trying to coax him into continuing his twisted God-like experiments, he seems caged by a fence-like shadow cast behind him on the wall. This symbolizes Henry’s repressed desires to regenerate the dead. Pretorius releases the evil side from him and he then leaves the web of shadows to head to Pretorius’s laboratory.                        

Bride of Frankenstein is an outstanding film with excellent performances and brilliant directing and mise-en-scene. The lighting, camera angles, set design, costumes, and blocking all create hauntingly beautiful imagery. And, the provocative use of religious symbols and themes, along with the doppelganger effect, add to the eerie and unnerving feeling of this classic horror film.     --Brian Frehr