Twilight’s originality cannot be questioned. The film is memorable as no one has yet dared to unite the classic Romeo and Juliet love story line with the genre of soft horror. This is what I think makes this film utterly brilliant. The last vampire film to have this impression on the audience was Dracula made in 1931. When we think of a vampire, more often than not the first image to come in to our heads is the typical basic Halloween bloodsucker, with the Eastern European accent, the black cape, and the slicked-back hair. Even people who haven't seen the film can imitate the voice, or at least the version filtered through the ‘The Count’ on Sesame Street, and everyone knows it's a "classic" horror film from the same era that produced movies like Frankenstein. This is no coincidence that Dracula has made such a huge impression on people’s thoughts of vampires and why it has influenced so many films today. Horror movies were hardly around during the silent era, and when dialogue broke through to the big screen, Dracula was one of the first scary films to have been shown. So the audiences who saw the sound version of the film were getting a double dose of cinematic innovation: a movie that not only talks but scares us, too! People remember unique and different things, and this is why Twilight is such a phenomenon. It has blasted our image of what we think of as a ‘typical vampire’, and in a way has made its own brand of monsters. This is the first film I have seen in a long time that plays on almost all of our emotions.
There are countless reasons why this film is so popular. The music is the key to suspense, the lighting is the key to creating curiosity amongst the viewers and the actors are the key to winning our hearts. The two main characters Bella Swan played by Kristen Stewart and Edward Cullen played by Robert Patterson a young British actor are no strangers to the film industry, in fact some could say they are experts in the genre of ‘subtle horror’. Both actors have been behind the screens since children, and their familiarity with making films makes their roles so believable. Robert Patterson starred in the rivalry saga Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire in 2005. He played a main part as Cedric Diggory, a new comer to the wizardry sensation and he was undoubtedly a natural behind the camera. Patterson has a wonderful ability to act; his death scene in Harry Potter was breathtaking as he can really manipulate our feelings. This may be part of the reason he beat a staggering 3000 people in becoming the vampire everyone with intelligence knows and loves today. I congratulate Patterson as it must be a challenge acting as a mythical creature and he makes it so original and fresh, maybe better than Bela Lugosi I dare say. The chemistry between Bella and Edward draws us closer into their lives and they make it seem like they have been together for years. Kristen Stewart is an actress; she was first seen to be confident in front of an audience at the age of eight where she was spotted performing a nativity play. Kristen is an experienced actress, and has practice in all type of film genres. Stewart had a major role in the Hollywood film Panic Room, (a thriller) playing the sullen, diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). The film received generally positive reviews, and Stewart garnered positive notices for her performance.
Twilight is far from straight-forward, not only can you not place it in one genre but the story line is exciting yet quite complex. Edward lives with a family of ‘vegetarian’ vampires; this means they only feast on animals, which is very rare. When Bella moves to Forks, Edward is crazy for her, for her blood at first. He describes her as his ‘own brand of heroin’ as she makes it so difficult for him not to suck her lifeless. Even knowing she is in danger by staying with him, she can’t resist Edward and who can’t resist a great love story? Edward proves his mental strength and love for Bella as he controls his longing for her blood. He is not the one to endanger her in the end; he saves her from her death. The sexual tension between the two characters grows throughout the film, and we are all the time sitting on the edge of our seats. Bella narrates her thoughts during the movie, and the monologue used for this is taken from the Twilight book. This technique works very well as we feel somewhat more connected to Bella as she shares her emotions with us. The film hooks us in straight away with thrilling stringed music and fast camera shots of a deer running for its life away from something or someone. Afterwards Bella is introduced to us as she speaks the prologue taken from the book “I'd never given much thought to how I would die--though I'd had reason enough in the last few months--but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.” This prologue could be compared to Romeo and Juliet, only in comparison it is better as by not telling too much it leaves our minds guessing.
Stephanie Meyer shows a great sense of humour which can only be appreciated the second time you watch the film. She cleverly uses subtle irony which makes it forebodingly funny, and opens up the film to more age groups. An example of this is when Bella asks why Edward isn’t eating at a restaurant for him to reply “I’m on a special diet.” I especially like it when we get an insight into Bella’s dream after she finds out the truth about Edward. She lies in an old fashioned coffin with Edward dressed as Dracula (although looking more like a young Brad Pitt) biting at her neck. This shows the comparison of just how far vampire films have come, and even mimicking the once scary legendry movies. The dark lighting and edgy music supports that this film has elements of horror, and the fantastic dialogue and romantic scenes prove that this film is a unique yet wonderful love story. The scene in which Bella finds out who Edward really is is just outstandingly directed and the actor’s passion for their roles we can see is heightened. The camera acts as us, as we follow the two into an opening in a forest, waiting curiously for what is to happen. The camera circles around the characters like they are trapped in their own little world alone together, and stops as the secrets are being revealed. Bella begins by describing Edward “you’re incredibly fast and strong, your skin is ice cold to touch, you talk as though you are from a different time ...” All the while we are coming closer to the truth the camera is zooming and the music is building to create tension. As soon as the words “A Vampire” leave her lips you can feel chills run down your spine and the camera flashes to their eyes and the music booms mimicking the feeling of excitement in us. “And so the Lion Fell in Love with the lamb......What a Stupid lamb.....What a Sick Masochistic Lion” and what a clever me for going to watch this memorable film. Watch out as ugly has been replaced by beautiful, scary has been replaced by romantic, human-eating has been replaced with animal flesh and Dracula has been replaced with Twilight. I am definitely a fanpire, are you?