Although the ՛Twilight՛ saga achieved massive box office success, certain aspects of the five films drew criticism from audiences. The director of the first installment recalled one of the major challenges the production team faced at the time.
It should be noted that while the love story between Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) remains appealing, viewers continue to point out flaws in specific elements of the first film. When the movie was released in 2008, fans already considered the special effects to be weak, and today their low quality seems even more glaring. In an interview, director Catherine Hardwicke admitted that the visual effects of the first film were below standard and explained why.
Money played a key role, including on set. The first Twilight film was an independent production with a “modest” budget of 37 million euros. After paying the actors, building sets, creating costumes, and covering the costs of various production crews, little money remained for special effects. As the director explained, aside from the scene in which Edward shows Bella how his skin sparkles in the sunlight, the Cullens do not appear in the sun simply because the production could not afford it.
The film was shot in winter because the sky is cloudiest during that season. Bright sunshine was not an option, since vampires were supposed to sparkle, and the team neither wanted them to glitter constantly nor had the funds to make it happen. Sparkling CGI effects were extremely expensive.
A Critical Mistake
Even though the later Twilight films no longer suffered from financial constraints thanks to the success of the first installment, the fourth movie still contained a significant misstep. The introduction of Renesmee Cullen, the child born from a human–vampire union, caused considerable surprise. Initially, the filmmakers intended to use a mechanical doll, which turned out to be so terrifying that the crew nicknamed it “Chuckesmee.”
Ultimately, the team decided to use visual effects to blend the face of a real baby with that of Mackenzie Foy, who played the older Renesmee. Although the filmmakers had good intentions, viewers found Renesmee’s digitally altered face disturbingly unnatural and difficult to forget. Bill Condon, the director of the fourth and fifth Twilight films, later admitted that this decision was a critical error that ended in disaster.
