Two people seek refuge from a thunderstorm at a mansion on Lake Marsh, but one is killed by a giant octopus from a lake, while the other is kidnapped by Lobo, a brute mute who works for a crazy scientist, Dr. Vornoff, who uses the guest for experimentation in the lab. Vornoff intends to create a new race of superhumans to take over the world. Since these mysterious disappearances of people keep piling up, reporter Janet decides to investigate herself, despite the objection of Lt. Craig. She also gets kidnapped by Lobo in the swamp and brought to the mansion. Vornoff wants to use her for the experiment, but Lobo rebels and releases Janet. In the ensuing chaos, the police shows up and chase Vornoff outside. Vornoff falls off a cliff and is killed by his octopus.
Out of many weird films by Edward D. Wood Jr., "Bride of the Monster" is arguably his most closest to being actually semi-competent: it owes that to a solid budget, building off the popular theme of a threat of misuse of science during the atomic age as well as Bela Lugosi's effective performance as the mad scientist Vornoff, whose enthusiasm may stem from identifying with the outsider character who was rejected by his country and thus has to live in exile, as identified in Burton's "Ed Wood". However, "Bride" is still only a lukewarm film with several flaws. At best, Wood manages to insert a few moments of humor, such as the scene where the police chief pours a glass of water in his office, only to give it to his parrot that drinks it. At worst, Wood is unable to conjure up real suspense due to too many naive, too serious or trashy elements: for instance, in the swamp, one character actually draws a gun and shoots continuously at an alligator approaching, instead of simply running away. The alligator and the octopus are isolated in their own world, since they are just stock footage from a different film, and thus one cannot quite buy into the idea that they are a threat. This is especially obvious in the octopus case: when it is not a real octopus swimming in the sea, a rubber puppet just lies in the puddle, while some guy just (unconvincingly) pretends its tentacles are encompassing him. Wrestler Tor Johnson is also solid as the mute Lobo. Overall, "Bride" is a guilty pleasure, if one simply does not expect too much from it.
Grade:+
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