Based on the first book in the highly popular young-adult vampire series, Twilight the movie has been creating a stir among teenage girls (as well as their older sisters, cousins, and even mothers) pretty much since its production was announced. During interviews and publicity tours leading up to the film's release, the film's stars, Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson, have not only drawn crowds but incited riots. And if the pre-release screening I attended only days before its November 21 release is any indication, the delighted screams of its eagerly awaiting fans easily stand to dominate the box office this weekend.

As a movie, Twilight really isn't any better than any other teen movie that has come and gone in the past ten years. Its Bella (Stewart) is who we want to be, its Edward (Pattinson) is who want to date, and its story is one that offers us the promise that being 17 doesn't mean life has to be boring. Cheesy lines, check. Character introduction in front of strategically placed fan, check. Undying love ready to commit to unto-death-do-us-part before even deciding on a college major, wouldn't be a teen romance without it.

But more than just a generic teen flick, Twilight is a vampire story. While its actors might be hot in any role, as vampires they elicit screams every time they appear on screen. While its love story might be cute between mortals, between a vampire and a human it may well be the romance of a generation. And while its story would still be entertaining in between SATs and Junior Prom, situated within a framework of eternity it becomes one with meaning beyond just high school.

From Bram Stoker's Dracula to the WB's Buffy, the romanticism of vampires is a phenomenon that has been around for ages. Vampires may be cold, dangerous, and distant, but ever since their legends came into being, women have been falling for them more than almost any anti-hero in history. And with yet another example of that phenomenon in Twilight, I find myself wondering exactly why that is.

Twilight begins when Bella Swan moves to the town of Forks, Washington to live with her father. Soon after moving there, she meets the mysteriously handsome (and I might add somewhat creepy) Edward Cullen. Although their first encounter results in one of the most socially awkward interactions ever, within the week Edward has saved her life not once, but twice. "I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore," Edward tells Bella. "Then don't," she says. But since Bella is no dummy and Edward is obviously no weakling, she soon puts two and two together to figure out that Edward is a vampire.

Cue a story about a love that should not be, the forces (specifically another vampire with a thirst for Bella's blood) eager remind both Bella and Edward of how vampires and humans normally interact, and Edward and Bella's refusal to give into those "social norms."

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb," says Edward. "What a stupid lamb," says Bella. "What a sick masochistic lion," says Edward. "I'm the world's most dangerous predator," says Edward. "I'm not afraid of you," says Bella. "What if I'm not the hero? What if I'm the bad guy?" says Edward. "You're not," says Bella. As much as Edward creeped me out at times, I also must confess that when it comes to vampires, I have thing for them too. Ask me to choose between Dracula and the Phantom, and it will always be Dracula. Why? Even though I like to believe I don't fall for stereotypes, in the vampire is pretty much every stereotype that, if it doesn't kill us, epitomizes the ideal man. The vampire is the bad boy our presence somehow tames and the tortured soul our love somehow soothes. He is the protector always standing by to rescue us. He is youth with wisdom beyond his years. He desires us more than we can ever comprehend. And assuming he hasn't turned us into a vampire too, his restraint also reveals a love that is willing to sacrifice of itself for our own well being.

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