Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

jacobjohntaylor1 This is one of the scariest movies you will ever see. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It is scarier then A Nightmare on elm street. The is a classic horror film. If you want to something really scary see this movie. It is scarier then The Shinning.

ksimkutch Ed Wood had, has, and will continue to have one of the most lousy reputations out there as far as filmmaking is concerned. This highly incompetent film and science fiction enthusiast managed to manufacture some of the biggest schlock piles that made Roger Corman's early "motion pictures" seem like worth while efforts. Both written and directed by Wood "Bride of the Monster" presents us with poor, ill, elderly Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist who plans to create an army of atomic super-humans based upon his somewhat successful zombie-like prototype (Tor Johnson) so he can rule the world. With the law, discount Torchy Blane, and another scientist chasing him around Lugosi's shadow of his former self begins to dispose of these unwanted pests by having a giant octopus that's clearly just a rubber puppet devour them.It's difficult to get a laugh out of any of it considering how visibly miserable and confused the actors appear. Lugosi especially as he mumbles his ridiculously tedious dialogue, Johnson comes off less frightening than what was obviously intended, everyone else float around somewhere between overly over the top and too low-key to be even remotely worthy of mentioning.Far from being ironically enjoyable this movie is nothing more than an awfully depressing experience mixed with extremely tiny bits and pieces where there's a swift glimpse of whatever bizarre vision Wood originally had. As a man of vision Wood perhaps immersed himself in it so deeply which morphed his perception of the actual dismal reality taking place that is my theory anyway.

Tor Johnson-Lugosi BOTM isn't quite the delirious howler like PLAN 9, but it sure has its fair share of giggles. The atomic salad-bowl helmet is a treat (and makes a cameo appearance in Ed's NIGHT OF THE GHOULS as well). But Bela doesn't "shine" as much as he struggles through it all with the tattered remains of his dignity. For that alone, we applaud him. If you want to see what a great character actor he truly was, check out his performance as Ygor in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN.Dracula will always be his signature role, but when he fit the bill he did it flawlessly. If you've never seen him in Universal's THE RAVEN by all means do! Even the lesser productions such as DEVIL BAT and THE HUMAN MONSTER are delightfully sinister. He is sorely missed.

bkoganbing Bride Of The Monster was Bela Lugosi's last completed film and was done for that legendary director of bad movies, Ed Wood, Jr. At least Lugosi didn't live to see Plan Nine From Outer Space, he was spared that humiliation.Once again Bela is a mad scientist who has a scheme to create a race of atomic supermen and he's got a great old prototype in Tor Johnson formerly the Swedish Angel of pro wrestling fame. In fact Tor's nocturnal wanderings have given rise to a monster legend in and around Lugosi's secluded digs in the woods. That and the pet giant octopus he keeps around for no discernible reason other than to dispose of unwanted guests.Bela has all kinds of people on his trail, the cops, a Lois Lane type reporter who is girlfriend to one of the cops and another scientist from Lugosi's home country who wants to bring him back so he can do his work there. Bela however is a believer that a prophet has no honor in his home country and disposes of that unwanted guest via the octopus.The octopus and Ed Wood's inability to use it somewhat realistically are the main reasons that this Ed Wood classic is remembered today. I just read a very thorough biography of Lugosi and the rubber octopus was the one John Wayne struggled with in Wake Of The Red Witch. It was the property of Republic Pictures. But Republic was slowly going out of business so Wood got the thing from Herbert J. Yates somehow, he rented it, Yates sold it to him in a fire sale, or he just gave it to him there not being a big market for giant rubber octopuses. Now that thing would bring thousands of dollars in an on line auction if it still exists. Even with a missing tentacle, broken off during the shooting of Bride Of The Monster.Not much else to recommend it, cheesy sets, acting on the junior high school level, and a man with no eye for special effects directing this epic. Still worth a few laughs though.