While best known for her acting, Maggie Gyllenhaal has also achieved recognition as a director and producer in recent years. Her previous works include “The Lost Daughter” in 2021, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, and for starring in and producing the successful HBO series, “The Deuce,” for which she was nominated for an Emmy. This year’s “The Bride!” is her first attempt at a big-budget horror film.

The film was directed and written by Gyllenhaal and stars Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet,” “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”) as Ida/The Bride, and Christian Bale (“The Dark Knight,” “The Fighter”) as Frank/Frankenstein’s monster. The supporting cast includes Annette Bening (“Nyad,” “Apples Never Fall”) as Dr. Euphronious. It also features Penélope Cruz (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “Ferrari”) and Peter Sarsgaard (“The Batman,” “September 5”) as detectives Myrna Malloy and Jake Wiles. The film was made on an estimated $90 million budget and made $7.3 million on its opening weekend.

“The Bride!” makes allusions to the 1818 gothic novel, “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley, and is a loose adaptation of the James Whale 1935 classic, “The Bride of Frankenstein.”

The film opens with a close-up of Mary Shelley, who is introducing the story, before the scene cuts to 1930s Chicago. Here, a woman named Ida is sitting at a table in a busy restaurant. Ida begins acting abnormally, climbing on tables and swearing. This causes the mob boss, who owns the restaurant, to send two men to take Ida outside to kill her. Before they can do so, Ida trips and falls down a flight of stairs, hitting her head and dying.

In the next scene, we see a masked man watching a movie in a movie theater before cutting to him walking into Dr. Euphronious’ laboratory. The masked man attempts to communicate what he wants the doctor to do without revealing his identity. He eventually takes off his mask, revealing himself as Frankenstein’s monster, Frank. Dr. Euphronius is not put off by this, though. Frank explains that living for so long has left him extremely lonely and asks if the doctor can create a companion for him. And after some negotiating, the doctor agrees.

Frank doesn’t have a preference for what kind of woman he wants, so the two of them go to a graveyard and dig up a random woman who just so happens to be Ida. Upon bringing her body back to the laboratory, Frank looks at her face for the first time and begins to have second thoughts, but Dr. Euphronious says it’s now or never.

Ida is brought back to life and continues to act erratically, despite not remembering who she is. One night, Frank takes her out to an underground nightclub where he watches her dance. As Ida dances, she is groped and harassed by two men, causing Frank to get up, grab her, and leave the club. As they leave, the two men follow them out and continue to harass Ida, resulting in Frank brutally killing the two men. Though Frank tries to convince Ida to leave him, Ida refuses, and they both end up running and going on the lam.

This is where the film begins its B plot. A detective named Jake Wiles and his secretary, Myrna Malloy, are investigating the murder scene, following a series of clues that lead them to Frank and Ida/The Bride.

The character of The Bride seems very silly, but Buckley’s performance is surprisingly grounded while never being too serious. And Bale’s performance is quite refreshing for a character that has been around for as long as Frankenstein’s monster. Frank does have some characteristics that are ubiquitous to the character: a deep voice, a gentle personality, and the ability to become violent. But because this version of the monster has been alive for so long, he has become adjusted to life as an undead being and has a better understanding of how to navigate this world. Bale’s portrayal is very tender and earnest, making Frank the perfect contrast to The Bride, who is much more brash and loud.

Everything that makes The Bride’s and Frank’s scenes so endearing and fun to watch is completely absent in the B plot. Sarsgaard and Cruz aren’t bad actors, but their dialogue and characters are so poorly written that it is very hard to invest in them and their arcs. Myrna Malloy’s arc as a female detective is so heavy-handed that it is almost groan-worthy. Her whole character is completely unnecessary–even to the B plot. There is a twist involving Jake Wiles that ties into The Bride’s backstory, but it is very underdeveloped.

As well as the characters not working, the B-plot had a completely different tone compared to the main plot. Switching from The Bride and Frank, who are on a fun, campy ride across America, to Jake and Myrna’s serious investigation was jarring to watch.

Despite the flaws in writing, the film’s art direction and costuming are quite beautiful, blending classic noir, gothic, and classic musical elements to create a really beautiful atmosphere. The editing and passing of the film were also well done; nothing ever felt rushed or cut short.

Clearly, Gyllenhaal wanted to do a lot with this film, and the themes of feminism and identity are defined well, if not over the top. The main storyline between Frank and Ida/The Bride is great and should have gotten more focus, while the side plots and characters could have been cut out or rewritten to enhance the main plot. This script could have used a second pass.

Despite its B-plot making the film more like a B-movie, “The Bride!” is still worth a watch. The aspects of the movie that work really work. The fact that such a horror-comedy was produced in the current movie industry is fantastic, and Gyllenhaal clearly has promise as a filmmaker.

“The Bride!” is currently in theaters and is rated R for strong/bloody violent content, sexual content/nudity, and language.