Viewed – 18 July 2009  Blu-ray

Hyped as the next big thing with a series of books up for adaptation and a media hype to rival Harry Potter.  This gently told tale of a loner teenage girl who moves to a new town after her Mom moves in a new husband, is instantly appealing in a Lost Boys fashion where creepy kid turns teen girl’s eye and soon a subtle, awkward romance plays out, where said creepy kid is hiding a dark secret.  Simple cliched set-up for sure, but Kristen Stewart as pasty faced teen girl, Bella has an air of likability about her despite a restrained, down beat personality, and Robert Pattison as Edward is every bit the cool strange kid a lot of girls would be intrigued by I’m sure.  Just a shame he’s a vampire then, eh?  As you can imagine this romance does not bode well for his secret lifestyle, and  although his family and himself are basically ‘good’ vampires who choose to feed on animal blood, there’s always a few bad apples in the neighbourhood who still like the taste of a human.

Catherine Hardwicke’s slow-burning movie may lack the showmanship of something like Lost Boys, Near Dark or even an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but as this is primarily an unconventional love story, I can let the director off for not making this a sex & fangs gore fest (ho hum).  It actually plays out very effectively for being so tame … is not particularly violent or sexy, and to be honest the bad vampires are painted so wafer thin as to be almost none existent apart from an intense confrontation towards the end.  Also I might add many subtle hints are dropped in to set up the next movie (or movies) showing that this is very much just a taster of things to come.  I did at times feel the love story was a bit too easy, the reveal of Edward as a vampire rather unbelievable (especially Bella’s reaction) and not a great deal really happens.  Yet saying that, this was good entertainment that at least made me eager to see what happens next.

The Blu-ray boasts a very nice picture even if the film’s deliberate blue tint prevents it looking at all natural.  The sound is especially pleasing with some moments really shaking the room, and the soundtrack while like the film introduced with subtelty, livens up the sound stage no end.  A quality disk with a wealth of extra features for the fans, especially the commentary by the director and cast members.

Verdict:  3 /5