When Mary Shelley wrote her book Frankenstein in 1818 - her first ever novel, she would probably die of shock – then hopefully be brought back to life again - knowing that it would inspire hundreds of filmmakers, that would see her creation appear in over 480 films, and counting.

Although she would be no doubt chuffed by that, she would possibly be irked by the fact that the Bride of Frankenstein, who appears in the same book, has only had three major films made about her, with this third one, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Waking up on the table in the Chicago lab of scientist Cornelia Eupronius (Annette Benning) is a young woman (Jessie Buckley), but she has no memory of who she is. Standing over her is Frank (Christian Bale), who had brought her there, with a very selfish reason, he is unbearably lonely. Not a surprise really, when you consider that he’s a dead man who had been brought back to life, and had live for over for a century since then, with the many scars to prove it.

Little does the young woman know that exactly the same has happened to her; her name is Ida, and just before she was killed, she was possessed by a certain Mary Shelley, who wanted another story to tell.

Her unusual appearance causes a lot of attention, as her and Frank soon find themselves on the run, as she attempts to find meaning in her new life through challenging circumstances.

This is a very different route taken by Gyllenhaal, for the follow-up to her directorial debut, which she co-wrote, The Lost Daughter in 2021.

It is a meta monster mash-up, that feature’s Mary Shelley – also played by Buckley, who appears in the mind of Ida, which leads to her wildly entertaining schizophrenic behaviour. Bale makes for a solid side-kick, with his Frank(enstein) who enjoys going to the movies, especially those featuring Ronnie Reed, as played by Maggie’s brother Jake.

On top of that, it also has echoes of Bonnie and Clyde, with the pair running from the law.

And as if that wasn’t enough, it also has a political agenda, with Ida inadvertently creating a political movement along the way.

Some audiences may find it a tad busy, But Gyllenhaal’s script is dripping with gothic romance, with some absorbing performances; Buckley may have won the Oscar for the seriously dramatic Hamnet, but she lets her dyed-white hair down and just embraces the chaos that comes from playing Ida, which is just a joy to watch.

Bale is strong too, but never steps over the limelight line, giving kudos to Buckley and all she does with the role.

Perhaps Gyllenhaal wasn’t given all the credit she deserved for what she has created here, reflected by its poor box office takings ($24 million on a budget of around $80 million); del Toro’s recent Frankenstein was a safe, somewhat generic adaptation, that didn’t surprise on any front, whereas Gyllenhaal’s is a riveting, creative approach to the material, with two incredible leads in monster mode, against an atmospheric 1930’s USA, with a brilliantly bonkers story.

With so very few takes of The Bride’s story, Gyllenhaal’s version, and indeed vision, is a welcome one, and brings new meaning to the term girl power.

Although not the monster hit it deserved to be then, The Bride is a modern classic in the making.