Watching ‘Twilight’ for the first time, I was surprised by how engrossing the first hour is. It begins as a moody coming-of-age story: a teenage girl, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), moves from sun-drenched Arizona to the perpetually rain-soaked forests of Washington State after her parents’ divorce. At her new high school, she’s seated next to Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a mysterious classmate who first recoils from her, then disappears for a week, and finally returns with an almost otherworldly protectiveness.

When Bella discovers that Edward is a vampire, their relationship deepens into something both dangerous and strangely innocent. He’s drawn to her – perhaps fatally so – yet his love manifests as restraint, as the constant struggle to protect her rather than consume her. Their attraction is charged precisely because it’s abstinent, and ‘Twilight’ turns physical desire into moral conflict, making chastity part of the romance’s tension.

The film’s Pacific Northwest setting is one of its greatest assets. The misty forests, the damp light, the moss-covered trees all heighten the sense of myth and melancholy. There’s even a lyrical beauty in the scenes of Edward and Bella soaring up treetops, the world below swallowed in fog. Bella isn’t quite a damsel in distress – she has agency – but she’s also enthralled, drawn to Edward’s danger as much as his devotion.

What begins as a brooding Gothic romance, however, gradually loses some of its bite. The second half drifts toward melodrama, and the film becomes increasingly chaste and cautious. The central question – can a romance survive without physical consummation? – remains unresolved, though the film ends clearly signalling sequels to come. There’s a lingering sense of postponement, of avoiding the inevitable.

Still, ‘Twilight’ is a striking reimagining of the Gothic for a new generation. Its vampires call themselves “vegetarians” for refusing to feed on humans – a wry, modern moral code that mirrors teenage idealism. Beneath the supernatural premise, it’s really a story about outsiders – two people who don’t fit in, drawn to each other precisely because of that shared otherness.

For anyone who’s ever felt on the margins, ‘Twilight’ speaks directly to the fantasy of being seen, chosen, and understood… even by someone who, quite literally, might kill you.