In a year filled with movies such asI Know What You Did Last Summer,The Conjuring: Last Rites,Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, andThe Black Phone 2, it’s time to revisit an old debate: What is the best horror sequel ever made? Some sayAliens, orA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Others point to films likeEvil Dead 2orDawn of the Deadbeing far superior to their originals. Those are all valid choices, but when it comes right down to it, the best horror sequel ever is a 90-year-old classic that set the standard for everything that followed.
Long before the term “franchise” was ever coined as it relates to movies, Universal Studios was busy creating its own cinematic universe way before the MCU came along. Beginning in 1913 withDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the famed studio started takingclassic novels and turning them into equally classic moviesthat would go on to change the horror genre forever. Admittedly, it took a while for things to get moving, as it would be another 10 years before The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released in 1923. However, once the silent film made back three times its budget, they knew they were onto something, and that there was gold in them there hills of horror.
Fast-forward eight years to 1931, and the release of two Universal movies that marked a significant shift in, well, everything:Dracula, andFrankenstein. Both were critical and commercial hits, with the former becoming the studio’s most profitable movie of the year, and the latter exceeding all expectations. So much so that it led to the creation of not only one of few sequels at the time, but the best horror sequel ever made:Bride of Frankenstein.
What Is ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ About?
Released on July 12, 2025,Bride of Frankensteinwas the seminal sequel to James Whale’s classic monster outing that changed just about everything it could from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. No longer an eloquent, well-spoken, and intelligent creation, Whale’s Monster was reduced to a childlike mute who didn’t know right from wrong, and tossed kids into the lake like they were crackers to be fed to hungry ducks. Expertly portrayed by Boris Karloff, the Monster was unlike anything audiences had ever seen, and that, coupled with the movie’s religious undertones and macabre atmosphere, was enough to make it a hit.
Once more starring Karloff and directed by Whale,Bride of Frankensteinpicked right back up from where the first film left off. Recovering from injuries he sustained at the hands of an angry mob, Dr. Henry Frankenstein renounces his horrid creation but insists that he can still unlock the mysteries of life and death. However, he rebukes the advances of his former mentor, the mad Dr. Pretorious, when he’s faced with the option of creating another abomination. After some clever blackmail on Pretorious' part, though, Henry reluctantly agrees to help him in order to save his wife.
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Meanwhile, as the Monster himself flees from the angry mob, he comes upon an old, blind hermit who teaches him not only how to speak a few words, but the value of companionship. When he meets Dr. Pretorious, he’s lured into servitude with the promise of a mate to keep him company.
As all these events converge on one another, Frankenstein and Pretorious create and give life to the Bride, the Monster’s promised companion who was memorably portrayed by the great Elsa Lanchester. Despite turning 90 this year, we still won’t spoil the ending because it’s a classic that, if you’ve never seen it before, deserves to be experienced first-hand.
Why ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ Is the Superior Sequel
You can argue all you want that movies likeAliensorDawn of the Deadare far superior sequelsto the 1935 classic, but if we’re being honest, those films wouldn’t exist if it weren’t forBride of Frankenstein. Whale’s movie set the standard for what a sequel should be. It had more emotional depth than its predecessor, upped the stakes even higher, and – most importantly – was a true continuation that didn’t repeat the same formula that made the original such a hit. So many filmmakers think that the regurgitation of plot points is enough to make a sequel a success, but audiences are smarter than that.
WithBride of Frankenstein, Whale and Universal Studios created the blueprint for all others to follow, with a hat-tip to William Hurlbut’s excellent script that they had to go off of. They were, essentially, the Holy Trinity of horror at the time, and it still shows today. Witha 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,Bride of Frankensteindeserves every positive review it’s ever gotten over the years, because it is, indeed, the best horror sequel ever created, and that’s a hill we’re more than willing to die on.
Sadly,Bride of Frankensteinis currently unavailable to stream, but it is available to rent or purchase on all VOD platforms.
