Movie Reviews: The Bride! & They Will Kill You
- Faiz Faisal
- 6 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride! is a bold reimagining of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Blending gothic horror, romance, and dark comedy, the film follows Frank (Christian Bale), a lonely version of Frankenstein's monster, who seeks the help of the eccentric Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create a companion. Their experiment resurrects a murdered young woman named Ida, who is reborn as the Bride (Jessie Buckley). But instead of simply becoming Frank's soulmate, her arrival sparks a social revolution that challenges the city's deeply rooted patriarchal order.
A Great Premise That Never Fully Comes Together
I really liked the core idea behind this movie, and honestly, I was quite excited going into it. A fresh take on Frankenstein with a stacked cast and a gothic aesthetic? It sounded right up my alley.
Unfortunately, the execution left me feeling pretty conflicted.
Even though this is a fictional gothic horror-romance, something about the way it was filmed made it feel more like I was watching a documentary than an actual movie. I'm still not entirely sure whether that style was intentional, but for a story that's supposed to be so fantastical, it made the experience surprisingly difficult to immerse myself in.
Trying Too Hard to Be Profound
The storyline itself isn't complicated at all. In fact, it's fairly straightforward.
The problem is that the film constantly feels like it's trying to convince you that there's a much deeper meaning behind everything happening on screen. It reaches so hard for symbolism and artistic expression that, at times, it loses sight of simply telling an engaging story. Instead of naturally unfolding its themes, it almost feels determined to prove how intellectually ambitious it is—and unfortunately, that approach kept pulling me out of the experience.
The Cast Deserves Better
If there's one thing I can't fault, it's the performances.
Jessie Buckley completely commits to the role of the Bride, effortlessly balancing vulnerability, mystery, and defiance. Christian Bale also brings an unexpected tenderness to Frank, making him far more sympathetic than terrifying. Together, they create some genuinely compelling moments that remind you why they're among the finest actors working today.
It's just a shame that the screenplay doesn't always give them enough to work with.
A Slow Burn That Burns Too Slowly
The biggest hurdle for me was the pacing.
At 2 hours and 6 minutes, the movie feels much longer than it actually is. I usually don't mind slow-burn films when the payoff is worth it, but The Bride! never quite reaches that point. Instead, it continues to lumber from one scene to the next, making it increasingly difficult to stay emotionally invested.
Final Verdict
I can absolutely appreciate the ambition behind The Bride!. It's visually striking, features excellent performances, and certainly isn't afraid to take creative risks. But for me, it mistakes complexity for depth, resulting in a film that feels more exhausting than rewarding.
If you're someone who enjoys highly stylized, art-house interpretations of classic literature, you may find a lot more to appreciate here than I did. Personally, though, I struggled to connect with both its storytelling and its pacing.
Rating: 4/10
A beautiful-looking film with fantastic performances, but one that ultimately gets lost in its own artistic ambitions.
Directed by Kirill Sokolov, They Will Kill You is a stylish action-horror comedy led by Zazie Beetz. The film follows Asia, a woman desperately trying to get her life back on track, who lands what appears to be the perfect live-in housekeeping job at an ultra-luxurious Manhattan apartment building known as The Virgil. But her dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when she discovers the building's wealthy residents are members of a bloodthirsty Satanic cult—and the staff are next on the menu for their ritual sacrifice.
It's Impossible Not to Think of Ready or Not
The moment I watched the trailer, my first thought was:
"Wait... is this just another Ready or Not?"
It's a fair question, especially considering Ready or Not 2 is arriving later this year. I have to give credit where it's due because the marketing team did an excellent job of hiding the movie's biggest surprises without giving away too much.
That said, once I actually sat down to watch it, the similarities became even more obvious than I expected.
Both movies revolve around a badass female protagonist trapped in a confined location, desperately trying to survive against a group of wealthy people involved with sinister supernatural forces. Sure, the motivations are different—one is a newlywed trying to escape her murderous in-laws, while the other is a sister risking everything to save her sibling from a cult—but strip away the details, and the DNA feels remarkably similar.
Thankfully, It's Still a Blast
Even with those comparisons hanging over it, They Will Kill You is genuinely entertaining.
The movie is packed with over-the-top violence, creative kills, slick action sequences, and just the right amount of dark comedy to keep everything feeling fun rather than overly grim. It knows exactly what kind of movie it wants to be and never takes itself too seriously.
I honestly think the biggest obstacle this movie faces isn't its quality—it's its timing. Releasing so close to another Ready or Not film makes comparisons almost unavoidable, and that's a shame because there's plenty here to enjoy on its own merits.
A Shared Universe? I'm Totally In.
I couldn't help but imagine how fun it would've been if this movie secretly existed in the same universe as Ready or Not.
Think about it—a world where multiple wealthy families are secretly involved in demonic cults and human sacrifices? That honestly sounds like a franchise I'd happily keep watching. Maybe it's just the horror fan in me, but the idea feels like such a natural fit.
Final Verdict
They Will Kill You may not be the most original horror movie you'll watch this year, but it's certainly one of the more entertaining ones.
If you're looking for a stylish survival horror packed with gore, action, and plenty of dark humor, this is an easy recommendation. Just try not to spend the entire movie comparing it to Ready or Not... because, trust me, that's much easier said than done.
Rating: 6/10
A fun, bloody crowd-pleaser that wears its influences on its sleeve—but still manages to deliver a great time.
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