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Is Twilight Horror?
Reported by Matt Grace - 08:00 PM 2009.11.18
 With "Twilight New Moon" coming out this Friday, I was asked by ENI to 'take one for the team', and write about Twilight's role in the horror genre. This got me thinking...Twilight is really not horror, but part of a new (and extremely popular) genre: "Vampire Romance". (What a wacky upside down world we live in). From my point of view, VAMPIRES SHOULD BE SCARY ADVERSARIES, NOT 'BOYFRIENDS'!!! Christopher Lee was and is the ultimate Dracula to myself and millions of other folks...is his Count someone that would be highly desired as a mate??? Unless you're dead (or one of the Bush twins), I think not...Simply put, vampires are monsters, and monsters have this unpredictable DEADLY side to them that would seem to quash any logical (or even illogical) ideas of romance. And let's not even delve too far into the idea of sex with a vampire (COLD COLD COLD!!!). Other than two vampires getting it on together, thinking about the cold/warm thing with a human/vampire relationship is the only scary part of this genre...Yuck! If monsters are 'sexy', would a woman have a zombie for a boyfriend? They're both dead, and they're both cold to the touch (sounds about even to me). Women don't seem to mind giving their blood up to the vampires...how about an entire body part? Nope, zombies are never even considered for romance roles, so WHY ARE VAMPIRES IN? Is it the 'bad boy' thing (my wife's take on it)? Ultimate power? A closet awakening of Necrophilia as a national pasttime? I've heard some say it's a safety thing...(a vampire will keep outside forces at bay, and will always protect you). Well, in every show/book/movie that I've seen within the vampire romance genre, the vampire is the catalyst for a whole bunch of awful stuff to happen to the protagonist and his/her friends. The vampire always saves the day of course (or the night as the case may be), but not until after a character or two (NEVER the romance interest) dies horribly...but somehow, not scarily. That being said, with the proliferation of vampire books, movies, tv shows etc. with a central thesis of romance, my feelings of vampires as monsters (and not 'awesome boyfriends') definitely puts me 'behind the curve'. I have watched, and I've enjoyed many items in the vampire-romance genre, such as True Blood (Still the zenith in that genre as far as I've experienced...it's even...SCARY sometimes!). BUT...as a horror fan, the vampire-romance genre RARELY SCARES ME. No matter what, the protagonist's vampire will ALWAYS save him/her...usually her, from horrible (but not too scary) situations. I prefer when the vampires are CAUSING the horrible situations. Also, other than the afore-mentioned True Blood, the 'gore-factor' (and not the global warming kind) is pretty much non-existent in Vampire Romance movies/shows. A true horror fan likes buckets of blood spurting everywhere...it's our version of "Old Faithful". That being said, we've reached a zenith in popularity for the vampire romance genre...Twilight. The books, and now the movies are incredibly popular with teenagers and young adults. Last night the wife & I sat back for a watch (hadn't seen it yet...). I definitely see why Twilight is so popular as we were postively inundated with ANGST & romance. However, scary it was not. And the simple fact is, if a movie is not scary, it isn't a 'horror movie'. Twilight had a fairly interesting story, some incredibly annoying characters, and romance, but NO HORROR (when Bella was bitten and it looked like she was turning into a vampire, it was NOT SCARY! Her character was irritating enough that I was cheering on the change). And as befits a movie of this genre, there was barely any gore...the gore was measured in DROPS! I need to say that again...DROPS!!! As a drama or romance, it was a decent movie, but as horror, it failed miserably. Being a horror fan, I admit that anything that brings possible new fans to the genre is a good thing. However, the emotions & reactions being tweaked with Vampire Romance are NOT the same as good horror. The fright is missing. The freaked out suspense is missing. The "laughing uncontrollably as something horrible happens to an unlikeable character" is missing. Are Twilight fans (and fans of the whole Vampire Romance genre) going to enjoy these (admittedly more perverse) emotions/reactions? I personally have my doubts. There's a major difference between "What prom dress do I wear with my vampire boyfriend?" and "Should I eat this liver while it's still warm?" I would imagine the industry is going to ride the vampire romance genre/phenomenon/fad as long as they can, but eventually, the genre will become as cold as a vampires...well...you know. Time will tell whether the Vampire Romance genre/phenomenon will translate into more fans for the horror genre. Real horror movies will always be here...hopefully vampire romance fans will be able to make the transition. Let us know what you think in the comments section below. MORE Horror NEWS
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