Out in the murky swamps lives the evil genius Dr. Eric Vornoff. Obsessed with building a race of evil, atomic powered supermen, Vornoff intends on one day taking over the world and ruling mankind! But his plans for domination are in trouble, because a nosey news woman is about to open his lab and story to the world. But after she is abducted will her saviors be able to stop Vornoff and rescue her in time, or will she become the Bride of the Monster?

Bad plot, worse acting, Tor Johnson, a fake octopus, the Loch Ness Monster, horrible sets, Bela Lugosi and more stock footage than you can shake a stick at can only mean one thing, that’s right it’s another Ed Wood classic. While not as famous, or should I say infamous, as his 1959 landmark Plan 9 from Outer Space, Bride of the Monster is still a diamond in the rough for any fan of bad movies. But, hell, since it’s an Ed Wood film, it’s always a little worse than it could be, but that’s what makes it so damn good.

Sixty eight minutes of pure B horror delight is what you get with Bride of the Monster, and what more could you want? I mean anytime you get a healthy dose of Bela Lugosi, you can’t complain, but when you serve that up with a meaty side portion of Tor Johnson, then it becomes a complete meal, baby. Wood’s regular tag team of mayhem, Lugosi and Johnson, once again do their best to bring Wood’s imagination to life. Tor lumbers around as the atom charged henchman known as Lobo and Lugosi gets to once again show off his eyes and hand motions that made him famous as Dracula, unfortunately those are the only two good aspects of this film. But one, let alone two, good aspects of an Ed Wood film are more than you normally get anyway.

The dialog, plot and effects are all sub-par to say the least, but that goes without saying, but the truth is that’s what you want in a film like this. I don’t care if the effects stink or the octopus effects are terrible, it what makes these films shine, some fifty years after their initial release. And besides where else are you going to hear lines and character interaction like this:

Lt. Dick: “What’s a matter Janet? Something bothering you?
Janet: “You’re bothering me. Captain, tell him to stop bothering me.”
Captain: “Stop bothering her, Dick.”
Lt. Dick: “I’m sorry I bothered you Janet.”
Janet: “I know Dick, but you were bothering me.”

So sour it’s sweet! If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, then leave it alone, but if you are truly a fan of bad movies then you know how great Ed Wood and his movies truly are. Bride of the monster is in no way Wood’s best, that is and always will be Plan 9, but this is his runner up. Call a few friends sit back, drink a few to loosen up a bit and press play, you’ll have a blast.

7 of 10.