The small town of Forks, Washington is the cloudiest, wettest place in the country, and it is here that author Stephenie Meyer chose to set her bestselling tale of vampires, werewolves, and eternal love called Twilight. Various fans, townspeople, and media contributors discuss the phenomenon of the books and films of this saga as well as the unique American town that serves as it’s setting.

CRITIQUE

As I recently indicated in my review of the DVD of New Moon for this site, the phenomenon that is the Twilight series of books and films shows no signs of abating any time soon. Naturally, the studio that has made its fortune with the films, Summit Entertainment, also wanted to capitalize on the success with a documentary about… that success. Well, technically about the town that serves as the books’ setting: Forks, Washington.

The engaging format of the documentary Twilight in Forks, as well as the personalities of the people interviewed, provide entertainment, though a viewer would have to be a fan of Twilight to truly enjoy it.

Let’s get the first thing out of the way first: the Twilight fandom, though hugely and understandably successful, isn’t quite the contribution to culture that this documentary may suggest. There are book series with not nearly as many copies sold that are better written, and at least one (Harry Potter) that has sold as much or more AND is better written.

However, the lure of the kind of love story told in the Twilight books and films-- unconditional, long-lasting, and intense-- is a universal one for women, and the supernatural accoutrements of vampires and werewolves just add more fans. So the enthusiasm of the fans shown here, from the teens who met Robert Pattinson to the mom who organized the screening of the first film in Forks, has a certain validity. MTV’s “Twilight Tuesdays” and the websites Twilight Lexicon, Twilight Moms, and The Twilight Guy are featured here talking about why the fandom is so popular.

In this discussion of the Pacific Northwest town of Forks, though, it is ALL the people who make it interesting. The people who call this place home have all good-naturedly catered to the surge of visitors, it seems. The local police chief letting himself be called Charlie Swan, a local inn stands in as the Cullen house, and the Chamber of Commerce has saturated the area with merchandise and more to satisfy the fans.

A local store, Dazzled by Twilight, has even taken over the Chamber of Commerce bus tour of the town. The genuine gratitude they all seem to feel for the benefits of increased tourism to their town is touching, and my favorite bit here is the brief interviews about the culture of the Quileute Native American tribe of the area, which is from two tribal members and serves as the heritage of werewolf Jacob Black in the books.

Twilight in Forks does pleasantly entertain, despite the fact that only those who obsess over the books and films will be more than mildly interested for the most part, because of the engaging personalities of the people interviewed and the respect shown to a quintessentially American town.

THE VIDEO

Widescreen format with no apparent color or picture transfer problems. Subtitles for English and Spanish are available.

THE AUDIO

Viewers might be disappointed that the only option is an English Stereo track, but it suffices.

THE EXTRAS

There are no extra features on this disc.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Twilight in Forks features a unique American place full of entertaining people, and it’s connection to the phenomenon of Twilight is examined in a way that does generate interest. Those who are the central audience for the fandom-- young women-- will no doubt find the most to enjoy here, though. Many might want to at least rent this glimpse into Twilight mania, while I know those fanatics for Meyer’s world will rush to own a copy.