Thirsty for Twilight: Why Local Fans are So “Twihard”

            Moviegoers at AMC Marple 10 Theater in Springfield are still as they watch: Bella Cullen is lying on her deathbed, her pale blue dress and chestnut hair flowing off to the sides of her, and her white skin fresh with makeup. She is dead, ready for her burial, peaceful and still, but beneath her angelic outer appearance, something is alive within her. A surge of crystalloid venom rushes through her veins, instantly healing a previously broken rib; her chest juts out sharply and suddenly; and her eyes flash open, an unnatural shade of crimson. She is alive. The screen turns red, and big black credits begin rolling. But the movie isn’t over. “Stay, stay!” whispers Cuiana Smith*. “There’s more!” The theater empties with the exception of a few people who have overheard Smith’s warning. About a minute later, a scene from the next movie of the saga plays out.

            Smith is one of millions of “Twihard” fans of the Twilight series who, in addition to having viewed each of the four movies, has also read all four Twilight books authored by Stephenie Meyer, which she highly recommends. “Twihards” like Smith have contributed to the success of the most recent Twilight installment, Breaking Dawn Part 1, which raked in $283.5 million dollars worldwide its opening weekend on November 17, its earnings coming in second to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, which made $476 million.

            It’s been a year and a half since the last Twilight movie Eclipse, a lapse of time which had Summit Entertainment producers concerned that less people would view Breaking Dawn. But the movie surprisingly raked in $3.1 million more than the preceding film on its opening day.

            So why do Twilight fans keep holding on? It may be because Bella and Edward Cullen have set the precedent. Edward, a vampire, and Bella, an eighteen-year-old human, have been in love since their first encounters in high school. Edward, in addition to rejection from fellow vampires over his relationship with Bella, has experienced unpleasant run-ins with the Volturi, or enforcers of the vampire law, and with lifelong enemies to vampires, the werewolves. Bella’s side of the story is no easier. The dangers and near-death experiences she has faced through the course of her involvement with Edward should have been enough to end their relationship, but, against all odds, the two eventually marry, as depicted in Breaking Dawn. The ups, downs, twists and turns of Bella and Edward’s situation never cease, and neither does their love. “Endless love is addictive,” says Katrina Fleming, a longtime “Twihard” fan of the films.

            So, love is one hook, and according to Fleming, drama is another. Jacob, a werewolf and Bella’s friend since childhood, is also in love with Bella, creating an additional hurdle—a love triangle—for characters to overcome. “It’s silly teenage drama,” Fleming says. “Who doesn’t love that?” She believes the idea of two men fighting for Bella’s heart adds a great deal of interest to the film. “Twihards” in the past have even divided themselves into “Team Jacob” and “Team Edward,” members of the team of whomever they favor Bella to end up with. Fleming says that underlying themes like confusion, even though they are fictional, are things that all teens go through. “It brings us back to our teenage years,” she says.

            This must be especially true for females. According to The Wall Street Journal, 80 percent of opening weekend ticket buyers were females. Laura Otello thinks that the centering of the story around the female character Bella, contributes to what Otello calls the movie’s “teenage chick flick” categorization. But males are still a part of the equation. “I think it’s because of the wolves, and the muscle-y guys without their shirts,” she says.

            There’s also an element of intensity in every scene and an often eerie juxtaposition of gore and romance. A pack of large, angry wolves thrash and snap their teeth at a smaller group of equally strong and fast vampires; Bella twirls, her silky wedding dress flowing in the wind, as she dances with a resentful Jacob on the night of her wedding to Edward; and a beautiful vampire child is born to a weak and screaming Bella who is killed during the painful birth. The screams and pulsating flashes of red and white that fill the screen in the birth scene have even been found to cause seizures in susceptible audience members. Talk about intense.

            Though Smith doesn’t believe that Breaking Dawn meets the standards of the three preceding Twilight movies or the book, she still found it enjoyable. “The fact that it’s still a love story in the end makes it worth it. It’s a love that shouldn’t exist but still does.” Walking out of the theater with a smile, she is contented. She says that watching Breaking Dawn has made her feel hopeful because Bella and Edward have conquered everything to make their relationship last. Well…almost everything. There is still, of course, more romance and teenage drama to come in Breaking Dawn Part 2, due in theaters next November.

            (Breaking Dawn Part I is in theaters at AMC Marple 10 Theater until Tuesday, December 20. Go check it out!)

*Names have been changed.