I admit to being one of the avid fans of the whole Twilight book series. I read all the books as well as Midnight Sun, Stephanie Meyer's unfinished book about Edward. I was in it for the gory and majestic vampiric nature of the story, although the love aspect also had me hooked. Book-to-film adaptations are common nowadays. A book earns the bestseller status and next thing you know, a film is on the way.
As for the Twilight film saga, I'd say it is over-hyped like Ricky Hatton or a shot Roy Jones. Despite the de facto of a lot of fans (including me), there is no doubt that this gay vampire film saga still has a large fan base, most of which are teenage girls. I'm making it clear that I was a fan of the books, not the movies. The books weren't that bad considering there were no graphical images of Bella and Edward. But when the first movie installment was shown, I resigned myself and vowed not to watch the remaining installments. I'd give Twilight three stars out of five. It skipped a lot of stuff from the book. It was also traumatic hearing girls screaming at the cinema. It seems everybody has forgotten that it is a vampire film. Where are the gory details? As a matter of fact, nobody gave vampires the recognition they deserve as legendary creatures of folklore and culture. I have so much respect for vampires as creatures of literature. Even though there were a lot of crappy vampire films, with Interview with the Vampire being an exemption, at least vampires weren't portrayed as melodramatic creatures.
Without a doubt, vampires are the most fearsome creatures in myth. Aside from being immortal, they possess frightening abilities. As far as history is concerned, vampire folklore started with Count Dracula, a mythical figure linked to real man known as Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler. Vampires are creatures of the dark which feed on human blood. They are also known for their violent and sadistic nature. All these qualities and attributes are either not present or softened in Twilight, making the story unreal from literary perspective.
Vampires have also made it to TV shows. We all grew up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. These two shows also have the teeny bopper factor but they're not as melodramatic as Twilight. Aside from that, they correctly portrayed vampires as evil and sadistic creatures that victimize innocent humans. At the present, two vampire TV shows fare better compared to Twilight. The thing with HBO's True Blood and CW's The Vampire Diaries is the injection of human and vampire love story without destroying the original perception of Vampires. Compared to Twilight, these shows are more mature. People here get killed with blood spilling to the ground. While Edward can safely walk in broad daylight without burning, the villains in Vampire Diaries wear rings that protect them from the sun. The use of a magically enchanted ring is more acceptable compared to Edward's shimmering projection under the sun. Another thing that works for these great TV shows is mythology. Mythology enforces the rules, like for example vampires burning under the sun. Presenting vampire films without the rules of mythology voids the very term vampire. Without the rules that mythology impose, the subject is taken out its context.
What happened to Twilight can be seen as a reinvention of the popular myth. Stephanie Meyer deserves credit for shedding new light on the nature of vampires. However, the innovations in the characters could have been added in a more subtle and less radical method.
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