Adaptations of anything to film, whether it be a book, a video game or a comic, are always going to annoy loyal fans of the source material if the filmmakers happen to change even the tiniest of details. But for anyone not familiar with the source, watching a film adaptation can be a great experience because you get to watch it with no preconceived notion as to how it should turn out.
I’m sure this will be the case for many with Twilight, as it is with me, which makes it even more surprising that I really liked it. Perhaps not having any knowledge about it beforehand allowed for any changes through adaptation to go unnoticed and therefore forgiven. Twilight is not the event movie that it’s been made out to be, but it’s an enjoyable film that introduces some great new ideas to the well-worn vampire mythology.
After moving to a small town in Washington, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) attempts to settle in at her new school. Her eye is immediately caught by the mysterious Edward Cullen, and they soon start to form a connection with one another. But Bella quickly notices he isn’t like other people; he is stronger and faster and his skin is ice cold. She then discovers that Edward is vampire who lives with his vampire family on the outskirts of the town. But Bella isn’t scared away by this but drawn closer to Edward and the pair's connection starts to grow stronger.
As a fan of vampire movies (along with zombie, werewolf, and pretty much any other kind of monster movies) Twilight was instantly appealing. As I haven’t read the books which the film is based on I have nothing to compare the film to. Sometimes that’s for the best; that way you have no way of criticising the film on any other basis. And what I found that Twilight has going for it the most was the vampire mythology at the centre of it.
It introduces some ideas to the whole vampire mythology that are refreshingly unique and that add an original element that seems to be missing from other movies of its type. These vampires don’t burn when exposed to sunlight but rather change in look which in turn gives away their identity and they each have a special ability different from one another. For instance Edward can read minds, whilst one of the vampires he lives with has visions of the future. It’s been a very long time since a movie introduced some new ideas other than the allergic to sunlight and crosses routine. Whatever you think of the movie one thing you can't say is that it isn't original.
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