How The Bride of Frankenstein created the first symphonic horror score
21 February 2026, 09:43
Jessie Buckley returns to the big screen to play one of horror’s most iconic characters – The Bride! But her creation in 1935 birthed something far more sinister…
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Horror movies and scary music are a match made in hell. Some of the most iconic film scores feature haunting music from petrifying pianos to violent violins. But what was the first true symphonic score to a horror movie?
The story begins with the creation of one of Hollywood's most terrifying monsters.
Frankenstein Official Trailer #1 - Boris Karloff Movie (1931) HD
1931’s Frankenstein captured the imagination of cinema goers. Based on a 1927 play, and not the novel, it famously grossed 12 million dollars on release and allowed Universal to produce many more creature features. But what is so striking about Frankenstein is that, bar the opening and closing credits, not a single note of music was composed for the film.
This changed only four years later with the critically beloved sequel The Bride of Frankenstein which is responsible for creating the first true horror score.
So, why do movies like Psycho and The Shining owe so much to composer Franz Waxman? And what unspeakable horror was created in that laboratory, in 1935?
Read more: The 13 scariest horror film soundtracks ever written
Who is The Bride?
The character of The Bride originates from Mary Shelley’s novel as an unnamed female creature that is destroyed before being animated. The film expands on her role and gives her agency, violently refusing The Creature’s advances and resisting a life of domesticity.
Despite only four minutes of screen time, The Bride has endured as a feminist symbol for rejecting the male gaze. Director James Whale explores the patriarchal-dominated attempts to control female reproduction for their own desires while indulging in camp aesthetics.
Why is Franz Waxman’s score so terrifying?
German-born composer Franz Waxman garnered critical success throughout his career in film music, winning an Academy Award for his score to Sunset Boulevard. His score to The Bride of Frankenstein is considered a classic of the genre and changed the way horror movies are scored. Rather than using incidental music, Waxman created a sonic soundscape to deliberately evoke the story’s themes.
The climax of the story involves the characters slowly preparing The Bride for animation, raising her up to be struck by lightning. The scene is underscored by pulsing timpani which slowly increase in tempo, symbolising the beating heart of The Creature. The haunting strings juxtapose the industrial crunches of electricity which help to make the audience uneasy.
The music crescendos before abruptly stopping as soon as The Bride’s finger moves. This jarring break sends a shiver down your spine, tensely anticipating her next move. The music is restrained for just enough time, before Frankenstein removes the bandages and reveals The Bride’s haunting eyes.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Official Trailer #1 - Boris Karloff Movie
What makes the music so influential?
The close-up shot is as invasive as the music. Waxman uses a symmetrical whole-tone chord to create a dissonant sound that is instantly off-putting. The chord then changes to a higher octave to shock the ear. The increase in rhythm, dynamics and tone work harmoniously to instil a sense of impending dread.
These musical techniques have been employed by countless other film composers to evoke a similar effect. Most famously, Bernard Herrmann uses the same trick in Psycho, during the infamous shower scene.
Likewise, John Williams’ haunting score to Jaws uses the increasing tempo technique to raise the tension of the scene and evoke impending dread.
And even the most hide-behind-the-sofa franchise Halloween uses a distinct tonal range to make you feel uneasy.
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Who is the composer behind The Bride! (2026)?
The new movie will be scored by Hildur Guðnadóttir, the composer behind Tár, Chernobyl and Joker – for which she won the Academy Award in 2020.
The film is set to include big musical sections with dance numbers and singing. It is exciting to see how Guðnadóttir will bring these moments to life. She told Variety: “It was both very punk and very romantic, which made it kind of crazy. There’s screaming electric guitar AND an orchestra.”
Read more: Hildur Guðnadóttir wins the Best Original Score Oscar for ‘Joker’
With Jessie Buckley and Hildur Guðnadóttir at the helm, we have faith that this new adaptation has the chance to be as revolutionary as its original. Who knows, maybe horror and show tunes will become the standard?
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