A Divisive Vampire Movie Franchise Is Taking Over Hulu's Charts In Time For Halloween
It's a massive understatement to say that the "Twilight" saga has been seriously maligned over the years. Really, the multi-part film series based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer is more of a punchline than anything else. Be that as it may, it's crushing the Hulu charts right now according to FlixPatrol, so let's approach this honestly: Should you queue up any of the "Twilight" movies to celebrate Halloween?
Honestly? Yes! You should! First of all, it remains ridiculous (complimentary) to me that the "Twilight" saga managed to birth two of our most audacious, weird, and exciting actors (king of weird voices Robert Pattinson and Cesar Award-winner Kristen Stewart), but also, detractors might need to just chill out a little bit. Are these movies flawless and perfect from a filmmaking perspective? No! Are the performances, even the ones from Pattinson and Stewart, always spot-on? No! The fact of the matter is, though, that the "Twilight" films are silly, fun, super-digestible, and — whether or not this part is on purpose — fully campy.
For that reason, I think you should join the masses watching the "Twilight" movies on Hulu this spooky season. Alongside a wide ensemble cast that includes Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Taylor Lautner, Anna Kendrick, and even Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen, Pattinson and Stewart paint a decently charming picture of young love, despite that young love being between an actual teenager (Stewart's Bella Swan) and a vampire who's over a century old but will look 17 years old forever (Pattinson's Edward Cullen). Again, this is all just fun; let me sell you on the "Twilight" films, if I may.
The first two movies in the Twilight Saga set the scene — and introduce a classic young adult love triangle
After Bella Swan moves to the sleepy, rainy town of Forks in Washington State to live with her estranged dad, Charlie Swan (Billy Burke), at the beginning of "Twilight," she's immediately fascinated by Edward Cullen, a pale white and taciturn teenager who avoids Bella like a proverbial plague at first. Bella, undeterred by the literal stinkface that Edward makes when they first meet, keeps pushing the issue until he finally drags her into the woods and admits that he's a vampire. To compare Edward to a more traditional movie vampire is a fool's errand, though; he sparkles in the sun instead of dying, and he and his adoptive family — patriarch Carlisle (Peter Facinelli), mother figure Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), and "siblings" Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed), and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) — hunt for animals and drink their blood instead of killing humans.
Edward and Bella embark on an uneasy romance (despite Edward's insistence that he's not good for Bella, he obsesses over her, going as far as to climb into her window and watch her sleep every night), but in the second movie, "New Moon," things fall apart for a bit after Bella gets injured at the Cullen house and Edward ends things. This is short-lived, and where Taylor Lautner's werewolf Jacob Black enters the chat to create that love triangle, but by the third film, "Eclipse," Bella and Edward are back together and things start to heat up, especially as Bella finds herself drawn to Jacob and Edward in seemingly equal measure. So, how does the "Twilight" saga come to a close? Well, it's ... interesting.
By the time Twilight draws to a close, it presents the audience with a wild ending ... sort of
Probably the funniest thing about the two-part conclusion of the "Twilight Saga," titled "Breaking Dawn," is that it's two movies in the first place considering how little actually happens. Well, maybe that's not entirely fair; there is a wild vampire C-section and a big climactic battle, kind of. You see, when Edward proposes marriage to Bella in "Eclipse" and promises that he'll turn her into a vampire after they're legally wed, the Jacob issue is largely done and dusted, and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1" opens with Bella and Edward's wedding (which, awkwardly, takes place right after Bella's high school graduation).
During Edward and Bella's honeymoon on a secluded island, Bella realizes she's pregnant, which presents a problem ... because she's still human. After significant duress and what can only, again, be described as a "vampire C-section" where Edward ribs his newborn daughter out of Bella's stomach with his teeth, Bella nearly dies before Edward makes her a vampire at the last second. All finally seems well, until the evil and ancient Volturi — a vampire council residing in Italy — learn that Bella has given birth to a half-human, half-vampire, which is against their rules or something.
You'd think that would culminate in the Cullens and their allies fighting the Volturi, right? It does not! Even though we see what that battle could look like (including Carlisle's horrific death) through one of Alice's visions, she talks Volturi head Aro (Michael Sheen) out of fighting, and everyone just goes home. Also, Jacob falls in love with Bella's newborn baby, Renesmee. It's all really silly! Still, go ahead and check out the "Twilight" movies on Hulu right now. Trust me; they're fun.