Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Back Lobo! Back Lobo!!!, 2 Mar 2004
"One is always considered 'mad', if one discovers something that others cannot grasp", is what Bela Lugosi's "Dr. Eric Vornoff" rants in this classic Ed Wood movie, and it would seem to apply to fans of the movie also! Lugosi hams it up magnificently in his last screen appearance, aided by his "man-beast servant" Lobo played by Swedish wrestler Tor Johanssen. Dr. Vornoff is trying to create a race of atomic supermen using a photographic enlarger suspended from a mike stand and a salad bowl (placed on victims heads), with the protection of a giant octopus. Though slow-moving initially, the Lugosi scenes are magnificent - my personal favourite is when he has to whip an amorous Lobo away from the "Bride" of the title. It all ends in an inexplicable atomic explosion and the police detective's infamous musing "He tampered in God's domain". Unmissable, if only for the 'acting by numbers'!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Lugosi shines ..........but not on this disc., 25 May 2006
This review is solely for the Elstree Hill DVD edition of this film.
Everyone must know that this is the last Lugosi film where the great man has a substantial role, playing the mad Dr. Vornoff, his actual last role being "The Black Sleep" AKA "Dr. Cadman's Secret",where he is relegated to playing a mute servant ( I discount "Plan 9..." for the known reasons. ), fighting rubber octopus, dealing death from a dentist's light and chewing his way through dialogue written by Ed Wood, Jr.
I love this film, it's my favourite of all the Ed Wood movies, and when I saw it available on DVD, I jumped at the chance to buy it. What a disappointment! The quality is just awful; the picture looks like 25th generation from video, and the coffee house sequence is missing. A very,very poor DVD. My copy went straight in the bin.
If you are a fan, like me, get the Region 1 version from Image Entertainment, available from Amazon.co.uk. I'm glad I did.
Five stars for Lugosi. Zero for the Elstree DVD.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Ed Wood film with Bela Lugosi and the rubber octopus, 16 Jan 2004
"Bride of the Monster," also known as "Bride of the Atom," is the 1956 Ed Wood film where Bela Lugosi wrestles with a giant fake octopus (oh, THAT Ed Wood film). The argument here is not that this is a good movie, because we are talking Ed Wood here, which means a whole different criteria for evaluating a film and your enjoyment in viewing same. Yes, this is a bad film, but there is such an earnestness to Wood's efforts that he is obviously oblivious to it all, which makes the film equally endearing and depressing. The man got his movies made, so I just do not see this as sad as those people who finally get the opportunity to make a film and make some dreadful splatter flick. So, now, Ed Wood is not in the lowest circle of the cinematic inferno. This is not a four-star film, just a four-star experience. Big difference.Lugosi is the evil mad scientist Dr. Eric Vornoff, who uses his dumb assistant, Lobo (Tor Johnson) to capture the locals so he can use atomic energy to transform them into supermen back as his laboratory in an abandoned house in the middle of a swamp where the pet rubber octopus out back is used to dispose of the mistakes. Intrepid girl reporter Janet Lawton (Loretta King) investigates the disappearances, although her fiance, Detective Lt. Dick Craig (Tony McCoy) tries to warn her off. Janet is captured by Lobo and (horrors) forced to wear a wedding dress (thereby justifying if not explaining the title). Can Dick and the other cops rescue her in time? "Plan 9 From Outer Space" remains the apex of bad Ed Wood films, but all things considered "Bride of the Monster" probably comes in second. The acting is probably worse, but so is the script, so I do not find as many memorably lines that force you to howl in laughter. Much is made of Lugosi's participation in these Ed Wood flicks and this is the one where the old actor has the most to do as he goes tampering with God's domain. He gives it his all despite the problems with the script and the fact there is no budget for making this movie. "Night of the Ghouls" is considered a sequel to this film because Tor Johnson again plays "Lobo," but do not expect any more continuity between the two than that if you bother to track it down, but then there is not reason for you to do so. After "Plan 9 From Outer Space" this is the Ed Wood film to check out, and if you really want to find out more about Ed then "Glen or Glenda." But beyond those three, you are on your own.
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