Hated and Loved: A faith based look at 'The Bride of Frankenstein.'

Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!
I am so very sorry it’s been so long since my last entry, things have been very busy.

It’s nearing Halloween, and so I have a faith- based look at one of my favorite classic monster films.

First, though, I just want to quick give my personal thoughts on something, and you’re all welcome to disagree with me if you feel differently:
There has long been a lot of debate among Christians as to whether or not it is morally right to celebrate Halloween. I am well aware of its less- than- savory origins as the pagan holiday Samhain, in which some genuinely awful things were done by people who served the Devil, and as such, I fully understand and respect the views of Christians who do not celebrate Halloween. However, keep in mind that both Christmas and Easter also started as pagan holidays, yet we have turned them into days to celebrate Jesus’s blessed birth and resurrection, respectively.
The way I see it, Halloween is one of the only cases in which the secularization and commercialization of a religious holiday is actually a GOOD thing. As a result, the darker and more reprehensible aspects of its early years (i.e. Human sacrifices, people being in genuine fear for their lives) are almost completely gone, and it has instead become mostly a fun and harmless time to wear costumes, go to parties, give and receive candy (Or buy gigantic portions of it at discounted prices the next day, as I do), and in my case, watch a ton of monster movies from all periods in cinematic history, one of which I shall now talk about.

I’ve always loved the classic Universal monster movies (i.e. ‘Dracula,’ ‘Frankenstein,’ etc.), and one of my favorites of them is unquestionably ‘The Bride of Frankenstein.’ This was, in my opinion, the first case of a movie’s sequel being better than the film which preceded it. It has a more complex plot, better special effects, mostly better acting (With the possible exception of Una O’Connor as Dr. Frankenstein’s obnoxious, shrieking maid) and more richly- developed characters, especially the Creature (I personally refuse to call him “The Monster”; The way I see it, the real monsters in this movie are the enraged and ignorant villagers and the scientists who try to toy with God’s creations). It also has a very nice religious subtext to it, with a lot of faith- based messages to it. The only real issue I have with the movie is that the title is a bit misleading: The Bride doesn’t even appear until near the end of the film.
When the villagers learn that the Creature survived the windmill fire that they believed had killed him in the first film, they once again become driven by fear and hatred, and set out to imprison or kill him. In real life, Jesus Himself and much of the early church knew what it was like to be the victims of a panicked, hate- driven mob. I’d imagine that even in the present day, Christians living in Communist nations and especially in nations under Sharia law are familiar with this, as well. Jesus said in John 15:18- 21, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong in the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours as well. They will treat you this way because of My name, for they do not know the one who sent Me.”

To add further to making this point and possibly even making the Creature something of a Christ- allegory, there is a scene early on in which the villagers capture the Creature and tie him to a tall wooden pole as a way to carry him to the village dungeon. Seeing that, I couldn’t help somewhat imagining Jesus on the Cross.
Probably my favorite scene in the movie (And one of my favorite scenes in ANY Universal monster film, for that matter) is when the Creature, while later on the run from the villagers, comes across the home of an old blind man. This man has lived a hermit’s life for many years, and as such, has hardly seen a soul in years, leading to him feeling intensely lonely. When the Creature comes to his house, the blind man not only is not afraid of him, but he is actually quite thankful to finally have a little company. He takes the Creature in immediately, feeds him, gives him a little bit of medical attention (The Creature suffered a gunshot wound to the arm earlier in the film), and even gives the Creature his own bed to sleep in. The blind man then says a prayer, joyously thanking God for having finally brought him a friend. Upon finishing the prayer, he weeps with happiness, and we can see the Creature tearing up as well. The two live together for a while, and the blind man helps the Creature to become more docile and develop his speaking skills a little. They develop a very nice friendship, and it seems hard to tell who is happier: The blind man for having at last found a friend, or the Creature for having found someone who not only doesn’t hate or fear him, but actually likes him and cares for him. Eventually, though, a pair of lost hunters arrive at the hut, recognize the Creature, and ruin everything.

The Christian symbolism of this segment is pretty much off the charts. First and foremost, the blind man demonstrates a true servant’s heart, offering his house, food, and bed to someone he just met and knew nothing about, who was in need, and showing Godly love and care for him. It’s pretty much the perfect embodiment of the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25- 37. Second, even though the hermit is physically blind, he is able to “See” and bring out what the villagers were unable to see; The gentle nature that the Creature possessed deep down. It brings to mind 1 Samuel 16:7, which points out that “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
            And so, that’s just a brief analysis of some of the Biblical messages that can be found in ‘The Bride of Frankenstein,’ a classic film in every sense, and one that is most definitely worth a look, if you haven’t seen it yet.
That’s all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I should be back soon, as I have a couple great ideas for future entries. Until then, happy Halloween and may God bless you all!