Many fans, like myself, find it hard not love The Twilight Saga. Known for including some of the best vampire movies around, the franchise sees the human Bella and immortal Edward battle obstacles while attempting to be together. Of course, the memorable film franchise is not without its campy elements, and it’s also received backlash in some respects. Now, over a decade later, one of the franchise’s directors, Bill Condon, is weighing in on the hate his Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 received, and he makes a solid point.
It’s hard to pinpoint where to start on the unintentionally laughable moments of Twilight’s concluding movies. Edward breaking furniture while losing his virginity to Bella, the creepy baby scene or quotes that ended up being really funny, like Bella discovering Jacob nicknamed her daughter “after the Loch Ness monster.” When it comes to the Breaking Dawn movies, Bill Condon, told THR he’s aware of people feeling “superior” to them. Condon also explained, however, why the films remain worthy of defending:
It became such a target for people, and people felt superior to it, and I thought, ‘God, you were really missing the point.’ Because this is a big franchise that is in on the joke. For me, personally, as a gay director, I thought I brought a bit of camp to it that was permissible. Michael Sheen, that laugh.
Yes, I can still hear that creepy laugh from Michael Sheen’s Aro Volturi as he meets Renesmee. However, if a moment like that can make audiences laugh, is there really any harm done? After all, like Bill Condon said, the franchise was “in on the joke,” so the campy elements didn’t go unnoticed during filming.
Those who are fans of the Stephenie Meyer-penned books may have thought they knew what was coming in the franchise’s final films. Yet one major difference between the books and the movies was the epic battle scene in Breaking Dawn: Part 2, which came after Aro killed Carlisle. Condon got real about the fun of adding that shocking and massive ending twist to the movie:
It’s been a wonderful opportunity to mix it up and to have something where there is such a dedicated audience waiting for it, and you’re in dialogue with that audience knowing that we were going to do this incredibly cruel thing of killing off all of their beloved characters. That, to me, was like, ‘Oh, I have to,’ because I just want to be there the first time we show it. I’ve never, ever heard a scream as loud and last as long as when we cut off Carlisle’s head.
My jaw was on the floor when I saw Arlo holding Carlisle’s head. I also couldn’t ignore the gasps and screams from other audiences in the theater when that moment happened. I mean, we’re talking about Carlisle, one of the most genuine, kind-hearted characters in the series, who both accepted Bella into the family from the get-go and looked out for his kind. With all that said, it’s easy to imaging fans cheering when Carlisle’s death was just revealed to be Alice’s vision.
All in all, even though Breaking DawnParts 1 & 2 received backlash from fans, it doesn’t appear that Bill Condon cares. It sounds like the veteran filmmaker set out to make the films he was intending to make — camp and over-the-top twists and all. As a fan of the series (and reasonable lover of cinema), I respect him for his opinion. You can relive the conclusion of the beloved vampire movies, as they’re available to stream with a Hulu subscription.
