The 2026 movie schedule will mark the releases of some truly off-the-wall titles, and The Bride! is certainly one of them. Maggie Gyllenhaal wrote and directed the monster film, and it seeks to put a punk rock-inspired spin on the story of Frankenstein’s famous partner (who’s played by Jessie Buckley). The newest trailer for the delightfully over-the-top-looking flick just dropped, and it sheds more light on the journey of Buckley’s protagonist. We also get better looks at that wild smudge on her face, which Gyllenhaal is shedding some light on.
Gyllenhaal and Buckley’s version of the Bride of Frankenstein looks considerably different from the version most are probably familiar with. This version of the beloved character sports hair that’s completely white, singed eyebrows, an orange dress and most notably, a black smudge that runs across part of her face. Maggie Gyllenhaal was asked about that beauty mark when talking to CinemaBlend and other outlets during a Q&A to mark the new trailer’s release. The smudge actually has something to do with an element seen in the footage:
Okay, so the smudge, yeah, I mean, I was working with such incredible people. I was working with Jessie, of course. I, again, as an actress, really believe that it's a collaboration, right? It's my mind, my ideas, mixed with Jessie's, mixed with our makeup artist, Nadia Stacey. And so we let it emerge. I think first of all, there is, and you see this in the trailer, this black, unnameable, inky tar stuff that is part of the formula, obviously, that brings you back to life. I mean, I'm just kidding. Obviously, there's no way to do that. But I love the visual of that and the aspect of that.
The black substance appears in the lab of Dr. Euphronious (Annette Benning) and is one of the key ingredients used for the formula that resurrects the dead. Anyone who’s a Marvel fan, such as myself, may liken the goo to the Venom symbiote from a physical standpoint. Yet there doesn't seem to be any extraterrestrial intervention at play in The Bride!, and it seems to be quite important to the story. At least, that’s the impression Gyllenhaal while she talked about the black material and its place within the Karen Murphy-designed lab:
I love the femininity of that lab, and it's gorgeous, but there's this chandelier full of almost test tubes that are full of this black that comes down these thick plastic wires and go straight into her arm. So as we were imagining and building all of that, we were like, well, what's the result of that? And I won't give too much away because there's more to learn about this black stuff. But it's like, how could it stain her skin? In what way could it stain her skin that would be graphic, that would be gorgeous, that would appeal to us both from a makeup standpoint, a style standpoint and a story standpoint? And I think that's what we did.
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “radical” vision seems to be full of both style and substance, based on The Bride!’s trailers. The latest look at the film provides more insight into how the eponymous character is killed and revived, and it also shows off the dangerous-looking adventures she and Frankenstein's monster (played by Christian Bale) embark upon in a version of 1930s Chicago check out the trailer:
Of course, there are a few other familiar faces within the cast in addition to the two lead actors. In addition to Benning, the cast also includes Julianne Hough, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard and Jake Gyllenhaal, with the latter two being Maggie’s husband and brother. Maggie has certainly assembled a capable cast, and I’m intrigued as to how their characters all contribute to the story.
The Bride!, as a whole, feels like a massive swing, and one that Maggie Gyllenhaal seems incredibly excited about. Making a monster movie of any kind is no small feat, and that’s especially true about a film of this magnitude, which was also shot with IMAX in mind. Fans will get a chance to witness the exploits of Buckley’s reborn character – and learn more about the circumstances behind that smudge, when Gyllenhaal’s latest film opens in theaters on March 6. In the meantime, check out some excellent monster and horror movies.
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