Viktor/The Bride

Viktor is a fictional reanimate and one of two main characters featured in the 1985 sci-fi romance film The Bride. Played by actor Clancy Brown, the character of Viktor is intended as a reinterpretation of the classic Frankenstein Monster as first seen in Mary Shelley's seminal 1818 classic, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

Biography
Viktor was the name attributed to the Frankenstein Monster, given to him by a dwarf companion named Rinaldo. Viktor was the creation of Baron Charles Frankenstein, who stitched him together from the bodies of corpses and brought him to life in his laboratory with the power of lightning. The monster (whom was never given a proper name) desired a mate -- one who was created in the same fashion that he was. Charles agreed to this and created a female counterpart to the monster which he named Eva. Upon first coming to life, Eva was terrified by her surroundings, including the presence of the monster. Upon viewing the success of his work, Charles Frankenstein decided to deny his first creation a mate, and elected to keep Eva for himself. The monster expressed his disapproval, but Frankenstein admonished him, driving him away from the castle by torch. The brief scuffle resulted in an explosion that tore down a large section of the laboratory.

The broken-hearted creature wandered through the streets until he came upon a gang of children tormenting a dwarf named Rinaldo. The presence of the creature scared the children away and Rinaldo was extremely grateful for his timely intervention. Rinaldo took an instant liking to the monster and invited him to walk with him to Budapest. It was his intent to join a traveling circus and he believed the circus could also benefit from someone of the creature's strength and size. Propping Rinaldo upon his shoulder the two walked until they reached Budapest. Along the way, they discussed their dreams and Rinaldo learned that the monster had been spurned for the love of a woman. To support themselves, they robbed from the local church coffers. Their scheme involved the creature carrying Rinaldo inside a church in a sack whereupon he would distract the attending priest, enabling Rinaldo the opportunity to cut through the sack and steal money when the man wasn't looking.

Upon finally arriving in Budapest, the two joined a circus run by a surly man named Magar. Magar was not particularly impressed with Rinaldo's talents or disposition, but he recognized the need for the monster, who could perform the work of three men. Rinaldo insisted that they worked as a pair, but settled for accepting only a single wage between them.

Rinaldo was a trapeze artist, whose act consisted of pretending to fall from a trapeze onto the crowd below. Part of his act required a special harness that would keep the dwarf suspended high enough from the ground to survive, but still provide amazement for the audience. During one performance, the monster entered the tent and, not realizing that Rinaldo was in no true danger, ran into the center of the ring desperate to catch his friend as he fell from the trapeze. The audience loved watching the monster's horror-stricken reactions and so Magar included him as part of the act.

Tragedy struck soon after. Magar and his knife-wielding accomplice Bela did not like Rinaldo at all so they arranged for him to have an accident. Bela cut the ropes on Rinaldo's harness and during his next performance, he fell to his doom. The monster was beset with tremendous grief over losing the only friend he has ever known.

He soon learned that Magar and Bela were responsible for Rinaldo's murder and he overturned their wagon in a fit of rage. Bela scrambled out of the wagon to fight Viktor, but the monster picked him up and hurled him into a lion cage. Bela's body was impaled on a sharpened, wooden wedge sticking out from the side of the cage and he died. The monster then fled from Budapest before the angry circus performers could exact their revenge upon him for Bela's death.

Viktor made his way back to the land of his birth and had a chance encounter with Eva near an old monastery just outside of Castle Frankenstein. Eva didn't recognize the creature, but showed him great kindness and even offered him some money. The old passions came to life again and Viktor remained in the area to keep watch over Eva. He found an old gypsy tradesman who dabbled in glass jewelry and bought Eva necklace. Returning to the castle, he spied Eva in her bedroom and realized that this was a woman of refined taste and elegance. Embarrassed by his paltry offering, he through the necklace he purchased into the river.

That evening, Magar's circus troupe tracked Viktor down. They succeeded in convincing the local burgomeister that the monster was a murderer and together they hunted him down attacking him en masse. Viktor was arrested and chained inside of a dungeon. During his brief imprisonment, Viktor felt a psychic impression of pain originating from Eva. He knew that she was in great trouble and so he used his massive strength to break free of his chains and escape the dungeon.

Returning to the castle, he stormed into Baron Frankenstein's bedroom where he found his creator forcing himself onto Eva. The two fought with one another, but Charles knew Viktor's greatest fear -- fire. Brandishing a torch, he drove the monster up the steps into the tower that once served as Charles' laboratory. They both ascended to the roof of the building where Charles tried to press Viktor backwards off the parapet. Viktor dodged Frankenstein's lunge and the Baron's own momentum pitched him over the parapet onto the ground far below.

With Frankenstein dead and their respective nightmares over, Viktor and Eva left Castle Frankenstein to eke out their own destiny.

Notes & Trivia



 * Viktor and Eva shared a unique bond with another due to the nature of their origins. They often felt the same sensations that the other was experiencing, regardless of how much distance there was between the two. They experienced each other's fear, inhibitions and even physical stimuli.