1) Twilight...from a former "Twi-hard"

Poster Description: The tagline is “When you can live forever, what do you live for?” Edward is white-skinned, his eyes golden and glowing in the shadows, staring into the distance. Bella stares at us, her head tucked near Edward’s chin. She is fair-skinned with pink lips, which emphasises her humanness. The film’s title and release date are situated near her shoulder.

The story behind Twilight is weirdly fascinating. Stephenie Meyer, then an ordinary American mom, woke from a strange dream of a young man and woman talking in a forest. The conversation revolved around the nameless man admitting how he desired to kill the woman, and to her credit, Meyer wanted to explore it further. The young couple would become Edward and Bella, and that dream would make up the pivotal thirteenth chapter in Twilight.

I devoured a free double-chapter-taster of Twilight in my teen magazine, before its cinematic release in 2008; the mystery around Edward Cullen intrigued me (and I recognised Robert Pattinson’s face from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). But then my new favourite band, Paramore, dropped a single for the film, called "Decode." It was like being hit by lightning, such glorious serendipity! I HAD to see Twilight and read the novels in full.

I cannot overstate how crazy the world went for The Twilight Saga. You’ll likely understand if you were a fellow teenage girl of the early to mid-2000s (or, indeed, a mum of one). It grossed nearly $400 million worldwide. Fast forward to 2009, and I had the Team Edward t-shirt, the soundtracks, the works; anything I could get my hands on, really. I considered myself a proud “Twi-hard” back in the day. Bear that in mind.

Naturally, as time went on, it became easier to ridicule the Twilight Saga books and films; this seems to be a common reaction to things loved by teenage girls (even my partner teases me by calling them “Twi-s****e”). Let me be clear: I am well aware that The Twilight Saga is far from perfect as a book or film series, but they are not completely awful.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my original Twilight review from 2008, and so my thoughts will come from my GCSE speech from 2009. While I originally thought I could include my musings from New Moon here too, there is just too much to discuss, and this essay is seven pages long! So, New Moon and Eclipse, and the two Breaking Dawn films will have separate revisits. As of this review, I will not mention the 20^th anniversary novel, Life and Death, because I haven’t read it. However, from what I’ve read and heard about it, I’m not missing much besides the ending change. And the fact that Stephenie Meyer doesn’t understand how cis-boys’ minds work.

As always, my younger thoughts will be clearly marked in blue. Expect some surprises and a ton of spoilers for the entire saga along the way.

2009: Who likes films here? There’s bound to be at least ONE kind of genre you enjoy…romance? What about action/adventure?

Personally, mine is – er well, anything to do with vampires really…ever since Stephenie Meyer’s novel Twilight was released into the cinema, on the nineteenth of December, last year.

2009: I’m also a bit of a sucker for romance, what with me being a typical mad, day-dreamy Piscean. This means “Twilight” is undoubtedly MY cup of tea. Here’s why:

Picture this: accident-prone Bella Swann moves to her native town of Forks [Washington], America’s equivalent to Wales. She attracts a lot of the boys’ attention around the snug little town.

2026: Director Catherine Hardwicke brings it to life in a surprising indie fashion, with amazing swooping shots over the pine forests. One of the things I love about Twilight is the blue filter. Like almost everything about the film, it’s been ridiculed to death, but the filter makes Twilight distinctive, effectively communicating three things: the cold, dampness of Forks, how pale-skinned Bella and the Cullens are, and offering a nice contrast to Edward’s gold eyes. It’s a shame the filmmakers didn’t continue using the filter right up to the end of Breaking Dawn Part 1. It would have made Bella’s completed transformation as a new vampire more dramatic!

2009: However, [Bella] only has eyes for one boy in particular (or is it a man? Since when do seventeen-year-old boys have arms almost as hairy as Simon Cowell’s?).

2026: I remember my English teacher laughing out loud at that comment. Shout out to Ms Franklin. Thank you for not drawing attention to me when I dozed off in your morning lessons in your hot classroom!

2009: His name is Edward Cullen, and yeah, he is the perfect example of “Mr. Tall, Dark and VERY Handsome”, played by Robert Pattinson. Thankfully he doesn’t get killed by wizard with a funny name, in this film.

2026: A not-so-subtle nod to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire there. I can only imagine how shocked I’d have been to learn that Robert Pattinson would play the starring role in The Batman thirteen years later.

As for the perfect example of “Tall, dark and handsome,” sure, on the surface, Edward is all those things. Except, in my naiveté, I’d brushed his many red flags aside. Most notably, the fact that Bella’s enticing scent so overcomes Edward that it takes all his control not to kill her right then and there in their science lesson. In the 2020 companion novel, Midnight Sun, we get to see this play out from Edward’s perspective, and it is as hilarious and disturbing as it sounds. To prepare for the role, Meyer gave Pattinson the first twelve chapters, which were unofficially released (someone leaked them online without her permission, which is why we had to wait so long for the complete book).

Before you ask, yes, of COURSE, I read those chapters Meyer posted on her website in 2010. Reading Midnight Sun as an adult, though? It unnerved me terribly. I realised just how much Edward infantilises Bella, like when he all but orders her to eat at a restaurant after her close call with a group of men. Clearly, E.L James took this concept and ran with it when it came to her notorious Twilight fanfiction, Master of the Universe. Yes, I will be discussing that in another instalment of my essay series. Why? Because I’ve never put those thoughts to paper/screen before.

In short…Edward is a mopey sociopath. And that’s all before he sneaks into Bella’s room to watch her sleep at night. Bella is, somehow, okay with this, too! Even after Edward sneakily brings an oil can to stop her window from squeaking as he opens it. Suddenly, Pattison’s decision to play Edward as a person with an addiction riddled with self-loathing makes more sense; likewise, how much he hated the role as time went on!

Ah, yes, the rare, lesser-spotted Cullen!

Image Description: Edward perches in a tree, looking down. He appears agitated.

Many have also criticised Kristen Stewart’s performance as Bella over the years. The lack of emotion, the awkward body language, but I think she gets it spot-on. As a protagonist, Bella is a bit of a blank slate. Still, it’s the film’s screenwriter, Melissa Rosenberg, who lets us down by taking out any of the moments from the book where Bella actually shows some personality. Anna Kendrick saves the school scenes as Jessica, consistently offering a voice for the more rational members of the female audience. Meanwhile, in the book, Bella comes across as a bit snooty when thinking about her class friends, that dreaded “not like other girls” trope. For example, when she shouts at Edward for driving too fast, she’s independent to the point of stubbornness, and faints at the sight of blood because she “hates the smell.”

Nevertheless, I’d argue the true hero of the story is Bella’s dad, Charlie. Played by Billy Burke, he’s less useless than his book counterpart and adds a gruff reality to Bella and Edward’s relationship. When she announces Edward is officially coming over, Charlie is cleaning his gun. In response, he says, “Alright, let him in,” before snapping the barrel of his shotgun shut. It’s a funny, natural reaction for a father to a teenage daughter!

2009: …Bella’s suspicions are aroused, after Edward saves her from being squished by a van, by pushing it away with just one hand.

2026: The film’s soundtrack really shines in moments like these. In the aftermath of Edward intervening, Collective Soul’s “Tremble for My Beloved” is especially spine-tingling for about 40 seconds before it devolves into a fairly standard, angst-ridden single. The editors did well to fade it to the score when they did. Howard Shore scores the film, giving “Bella’s Lullaby” a lush, ethereal voice that my imagination failed to capture from the book.

2009: Eventually – after LOTS of meaningful glances and close-ups of Edward – we all find out he is in fact a VAMPIRE with skin that sparkles in sunlight (ooh!).

2026: Here is the crux of why I still hold a candle for the Twilight series. Vampires were clichéd to the point of a joke in the 2000s. The hissing and cowering at the sight of crucifixes, sizzling in sunshine, and crumbling to dust via strategically placed wooden stake; it had all got rather boring. For this essay, I researched why sunlight kills vampires and the origins of the myth. It turns out we must blame the notoriously unofficial Dracula adaptation, Nosferatu; Count Orlock is so overcome by bloodlust that he attacks poor Mina, but loses track of time, and collapses under the early rays of the sun. From a filmmaker’s perspective, it was likely a cheap way to get around the 1920s censors and didn’t require any sound or subsequent subtitles.

Meanwhile, Stephenie Meyer chose a different look for her vampires. The Cullens drink animal blood, hence their golden eyes. The old-fashioned ones, drinking from humans, have red eyes, but all are beautiful, with hard, cold, diamond-like skin and bones, all the result of the venom in their bodies. Once bitten, a person feels like they’re being burned alive as the venom courses through their veins, effectively hardening every organ and replacing all fluids. So, the fact that Bella didn’t turn into a vampire on the first night of her honeymoon in Breaking Dawn Part 1 remains a snigger-worthy plot hole. While the implications for such a body are not exactly practical, I still admire Meyer’s decision to do her own thing.

Image Description: Bella and Edward lie side by side in the green meadow. Sunlight streams through, touching Edward’s chiselled face. It sparkles softly, and Bella stares in wonder.

That said, her vampires retain some common traits, such as the aforementioned super strength and speed. It’s cute that Edward gives Bella a piggyback, though I’m surprised she doesn’t faint in the film. The infamous line, “You better hold on tight, spider-monkey!” is silly, but it’s a moment of unexpected joy for both straitlaced characters, so I allow it.

2009: But it’s not just [Edward] who is…er let’s say, slightly attractive, there’s his brother’s Emmet and Jasper, their Dad Carlisle, AND there’s James. He’s evil by the way, and pulls off the long ponytail pretty well.

2026: Good grief, teenage hormones so overcame me, I neglected to mention the women in the Cullen coven. Esme (played by Elizabeth Reaser, The Handmaid’s Tale) is Carlisle’s wife, but she doesn’t have a lot to do in any of the Twilight films. Likewise, Rosalie (Nikki Reid, Sleepy Hollow) offers some antagonism against Bella, though we don’t understand precisely why until Eclipse.

It’s Alice (Ashley Greene) who arguably has the better chemistry with Bella, as Edward’s chirpy, psychic sister. She also inspired my hairstyle for my high school prom, haha! Another aspect I favour about Twilight is how some vampires have special abilities and characteristics, carried over from their human lives. Edward is telepathic, but cannot hear Bella’s thoughts. It’s about the only thing that sets her apart from anyone else in the film. I’ll discuss the other Cullens’ special abilities in more detail in my Eclipse revisit, but in Twilight, we should learn more about Alice. It’s a real shame, then, that the filmmakers wanted to keep focus on Bella and Edward, because Alice’s backstory connects her to the film’s main villain.

Forget Team Edward or Team Jacob, I’m Team Alice!

Image Description: Alice (Ashley Greene) is pale with dark eyes. She gazes off into the distance. She has a short, fluffy bob cut, and wears a white, frilled shirt and a blue waistcoat. The Cullen crest hangs around her neck with a blue ribbon.

In the book, we learn that James had originally hunted Alice whilst she was still human. She showed signs of psychic powers even then, which led to her being cruelly committed to an asylum. It just so happened that James got wind of her, until a kindly vampire actually saved Alice’s life by turning her to get him off the scent. Unfortunately, due to the electroshock treatment she’d experienced, Alice forgot her human life. It’s bleak, but it adds an extra layer to Alice beyond her abilities and her lack of a verbal filter. Her cry of, “Oh! You DO smell good,” upon meeting Bella will always be sweetly unsettling.

I recently watched a video by Alyssa Grenfell about signs that a Mormon wrote Twilight. You can watch the full video here, but Meyer is outspoken about how The Book of Mormon inspired her. That’s the religious book, and NOT the musical by the South Park guys as I’d originally thought. That would have turned Twilight into something wildly different. Mormons believe that, in the afterlife, good Mormons will get reborn into their new, “perfect” body. According to their book, this means being tall, thin, pale, and beautiful. So…it’s racist and ableist, all in one.

Also, Mormons have no qualms over huge age gaps between partners, so clearly Meyer is fine that Bella is seventeen when she meets Edward, and Edward is 104 years old. No, I am not fine with this, but things are only going to get worse in New Moon.

2009: The two best bits in the film had to be the baseball game the Cullen’s play, while thunder cracks. It mingles in amazingly with the song in the background. In fact, it gave me goosebumps!

2026: Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” was a genius choice to include in that sequence. One tradition Meyer keeps for her vampires is superhuman strength. They’re proper Americans, so naturally, enjoy baseball; the only way to disguise the loud noises of their game is to play during a thunderstorm.

2009: The other bit was near the end. The fight between Edward and James would have had me on the edge of my seat…if I hadn’t been wearing my seatbelt…you don’t see any toothy action, and the only way to kill a vampire is to rip it to shreds and BURN them.

2026: Stewart chills the blood with her performance when Bella is attacked by the film’s main villain, James (Cam Gigandet, Violent Night). Despite being adverse to gratuitous violence and sex, Meyer unintentionally wrote some of the most chilling scenes I’ve ever read, but this final fight is translated incredibly well on screen. We don’t see James die; we only see the Cullens’ reactions, and the audience can fill in the gaps with the visceral sound design.

2009: In conclusion, to answer the question “why do I like vampire films overall?” I enjoy them because I honestly find the possibility of a different, hidden species out there in the world, not only quite frightening, but also mesmerizing!

2026: I missed out the part in my speech where I called Bram Stoker’s Dracula my least favourite vampire film. That came as a shock, given how much I enjoy it now, but the old saying is that time makes the heart grow fonder. I must admit it’s the opposite for Twilight: it makes me cringe to watch it now, yet I still remember it with great affection. Stephenie Meyer gave us a different slant on vampires, and the romance is overdramatic – but isn’t that how teenage love feels?

No doubt you’ve noticed I said nothing about Jacob Black, but I shall leave him and Stephenie Meyer’s oh-so-dubious werewolf lore to another essay. In New Moon, we’re also going to find out the darker sides to teenage romance, but for now, we shall leave Twilight here, with Bella and Edward, dancing together at prom with the future unknown ahead of them...

My Rating:

(From memory) 2008: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

2026: 3 STARS OUT OF 5

My Sources:

Twilight poster - https://www.movieposters.com/products/twilight-mpw-39441?srsltid=AfmBOoqZOO_6UQUQGVkfvP-V9apyeUbODwFpRafwD562LqBfV7LhsK47

Paramore’s “Decode” video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvnkAtWcKYg

How well did Twilight do at the box office overall? - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_twiight

When does Edward reveal his true nature to Bella? - https://www.studypool.com/studyGuides/Twilight/Chapter_Summaries

When was The Batman released? - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877830/

When was Midnight Sun published officially? - https://www.goodnovel.com/qa/release-date-midnight-sun-full-book

Twilight soundtrack - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twilight-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B001ED7C58

Image: Edward Cullen - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274460593060