Spoiler alert: The answer is NO.

Ah, The Twilight Saga, or should I call it my tween obsession. The five movies in the saga are based on the novel Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. These movies have been quite a conversation starter for a decade now, and almost everyone claims they “hate” these movies, and they are so “cringe”.

First of all, that’s rude. Second, you may be right. Even someone as obsessed with the movies as me can agree they are pretty cringe-worthy. However, what do you expect from a vampire love story? Especially one that was marketed towards the tween/teens of the 2010s.

The films star Kristen Stewart who plays Isabelle Swan, Robert Pattinson plays Edward Cullen, and finally Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black. The series has gained over $3.4 billion worldwide. The first movie, Twilight, was released on November 21, 2008. The second movie, New Moon, followed close behind on November 20, 2009, breaking box office records as the biggest midnight screening and opening day in history, grossing an estimated $72.7 million

Facts aside, I may be very biased since I loved the books, but I really don’t think the Twilight films deserve the hate they continuously get.

You better hold tight, spider monkey. We’re about to branch into a few reasons why this widely hated film series is so great.

(For those who are Twi-Hards such as myself, you would get that reference)

One of the reasons people seem to hate on the movies is the portrayal of the “vampire”. Meyer decided to make the Cullen clan, as well as the rest of the vampires in the story, have their skin sparkle in the sunlight versus turn to ash/dust. I remember my step-dad making fun of the sparkling bodies relentlessly – like, we get it, they look sparkly and a little stupid, but calm down.

Everyone who writes a story involving vampires, or anything supernatural of that sort, should have the right to create them in their own image and use their own creativity to the full extent.

In all honesty, I think it’s cool to see another variation of the vampire storyline that is vastly different than the usual “sunlight = bad” concept. And, no offence, but just because you’re in your forties (ok boomer) and have watched old *iconic* vampire movies doesn’t give you the right to crap on a new genre of vampires. This movie wasn’t marketed for you - it was meant to be appealing to the teenage audience that already fell in love with the books to begin with.

I also once read somewhere that people were so terribly upset over the fact the werewolves in this story could turn between human and wolf form at will. Now, why is that a big deal? Why are you mad over that? Makes me want to roll my eyes into the back of my skull.

Meanwhile, the action scenes in the films are actually pretty sick and very enjoyable. Especially in Eclipse and 100% in Breaking Dawn Part 2 – I distinctly remember seeing this in theatres, and when certain things were happening in the fight scenes, the audience were all gasping and yelling together out of shock. You know it’s a good movie when the entire theatre is going crazy.

Another amazing thing about this film franchise is the soundtrack. The songs are so beautiful and fit so nicely with the tone of the movie. The scene where Bella is severely depressed in New Moon plays the song Possibility by Lykke Li, the scene in Breaking Dawn Part 1 where Bella and Edward are going through a rough patch plays the beautiful (yet depressing) Cold by Aqualung and Lucy Schwartz, the scene in Eclipse where Bella and Edward get engaged and share an intimate moment plays My Love by Sia. And that’s just naming a few scenes.

You can’t deny the simple fact that Twilight has one of THE best soundtracks, ever. You cannot, and will not, change my mind.

I sincerely hope that after reading this your mind has changed even just a tad, and you won’t just blindly hate Twilight anymore. For its release time, you have to admit the movies were perfect for what they intended to be: a cringe fest of a love story between human and vampire.

Maybe one day these movies could be your own personal brand of heroin. No?

Madilyn Bailey

I’m Madilyn, a full time student at Algonquin College. I have an addiction to coffee scented candles, enjoy watching anime, as well as making my family fat from all the baking I do.