Twilight (2008) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on Twilight

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 11 November 2026 · The Pros 59 · The Punters 39 · Spore Score 55 · How we write our takes

Why The Pros rate it higher than The Punters

Twilight is one of the surprising splits on Fuzzy Mushroom, because it runs the opposite way to what many people expect. The Pros give it 59. The Punters give it 39. The 20-point gap leaves a Spore Score of 55: fuzzy. Critics in 2008 were mixed but often fond of its moody atmosphere and its two leads. Public ratings sites, meanwhile, became a battleground between devoted fans and a far larger crowd who loved to hate it.

What it does well

Seventeen-year-old Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to the rainy town of Forks, Washington, to live with her father. At school she is drawn to Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a pale, aloof boy from a strange family. Edward, she learns, is a vampire, and the Cullens drink only animal blood. Their romance draws the attention of a much more dangerous vampire.

Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the teen drama Thirteen, gives the film a blue-grey, misty look and a sense of teenage awkwardness that the later films lost. Stewart is good at Bella's loneliness, and Pattinson gives Edward an odd, intense energy. The baseball game in a thunderstorm is the film's most enjoyable scene.

Where people push back

The dialogue is often stilted, and the relationship, in which an older, controlling boyfriend watches Bella sleep, has been criticised as unhealthy. The effects, especially the glittering skin in sunlight, were mocked from the start. The villain plot arrives late.

Context

Twilight is based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling 2005 novel and launched a five-film series. Both leads went on to acclaimed careers, which has helped the film's reputation recover.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Hit and miss, with a Spore Score of 55. Better than its reputation, especially as the most stylish film in the series. The Pros were fairer than the internet.