For three movies the Twilight franchise has flirted with subject matter that would normally garner an R-rating. Blood-thirsty vampires, sharp-fanged werewolves, and teenage sexual awakening are all subjects that require a delicate touch to win a PG-13 from the MPAA.
In the upcoming Breaking Dawn, the Twilight team faces it's trickiest challenge yet. The fourth book in the series takes all that mostly unspoken sexual tension and off-stage death and smashes it on the twin rocks of sex and gore.
While we know that Breaking Dawn's PG-13 rating is all but a foregone conclusion, here we take a look at the very- persuasive evidence that producers should think about making a mature-eyes-only Rated R tween movie... even if it only makes the unrated DVD release. In order to better illustrate these specific scenes which so far don't exist, we turn to the Internet with its happy abundance of Twilight-themed fan art. Click here to see the fan art.
1. Breaking More Than Just Dawn
In the Twilight films so far we've watched Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart do little more than play footsy while the sexual tension just builds and builds. After a total of more than six hours of nothing but playful hints of sexuality, the audience needs the honeymoon scene almost as much as Bella and Edward do. Of course if they did show it, it would be very controversial, and not just for Rob's blindingly white naked torso.
In the book, Bella describes the aftermath of the couple's first night together.
"I stared at my naked body in the full-length mirror behind the door. I'd definitely had worse. There was a faint shadow across one of my cheekbones, and my lips were a little swollen, but other than that, my face was fine. The rest of me was decorated with patches of blue and purple." Ch. 5, pg. 75
Bella also woke up covered in down feathers because Edward "bit a pillow. Or two." Of course the second time the two experience physical love there's not so much bruising, but it would definitely take things to the next level to see Robert Pattinson do the damage described in Chapter Six. After realizing her night gown has been torn to tatters, Bella assesses the rest of the damage.
"Were there any other casualties?" I asked timidly. "I'll have to buy Esme a new bed frame," he confessed, glancing over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and was shocked to see that large chunks of wood had apparently been gouged from the left side of the headboard. Ch. 6, pg. 109
2. Li'l Killers
In Breaking Dawn, we're introduced to the epically creepy/ awesome concept of vampire toddlers running around annihilating villages thanks to their unchecked thirst for human blood. Bella even has a dream where one little vampire toddler with a cherubic face sits on top of a mound of bodies that includes all her closest friends and family.
If nothing else, can we please get these blood-guzzling tykes in the DVD extras? Carlisle describes them early on in the book.
"However, they could not be taught. They were frozen at whatever level of development they'd achieved before being bitten. Adorable two-year-olds with dimples and lisps that could destroy half a village in one of their tantrums. If they hungered, they fed, and no words of warning could restrain them. Humans saw them, stories circulated, fear spread like fire in dry brush..." Ch. 2, pg. 34
3. The Birth Scene
More than anything else in Breaking Dawn, the birth scene is a tough sell in PG-13. It will be hard to get across just how painful Bella's birth and subsequent transformation are without showing at least a little of the extensive gore in chapters 17 and 18.
At the end of Chapter 17, Jacob describes the "ripping sound" he hears as Bella prepares to give birth. Things go downhill from there.
...Bella screamed. It was not just a scream, it was a blood curdling shriek of agony. The horrifying sound cut off with a gurgle, and her eyes rolled back into her head. Her body twitched, arched in Rosalie's arms, and then Bella vomited a fountain of blood. Ch. 17, pg. 347
It's hard to get Kristen Stewart to go all Exorcist in PG-13, but it gets much worse as Jacob literally compares the amount of blood in the room to "a bucket being turned over, a faucet twisted to full."
And of course there's the actual delivery of the baby, which is only made possible by Edward's steely fangs.
The next sound jolted through me, unexpected, terrifying. Like metal being shredded apart. (...) I glanced over to see Edward's face pressed against the bulge. Vampire teeth -- a surefire way to cut through vampire skin. Ch. 18, pg.351-352
4. Bella Goes Hunting
OK, so you can definitely kill a mountain lion in PG-13, but to be faithful to the book, Kristen Stewart would really have to go after this thing. PETA would likely have words for her.
My teeth unerringly sought his throat, and his instinctive resistance was pitifully feeble against my strength. (...)
It was effortless as biting into butter. My teeth were steel razors; they cut through the fur and fat and sinews like they weren't there.
The flavor was wrong, but the blood was hot and wet and it soothed the ragged, itching thirst as I drank in an eager rush. The cat's struggles grew more and more feeble, and his screams choked off with a gurgle. Ch. 21, pg. 422
5. Strange Love
Stephenie Meyer leaves some wiggle room as to what exactly it means for a werewolf to "imprint" on someone. But there's no way around the fact that it's straight up creepy when Jacob imprints on Bella and Edward's new-born daughter, Renesmee.
The whole thing is made even weirder (even at PG-13) when Edward basically calls Jacob his future son-in-law near the end of the book, when Renesmee is at roughly the same maturity level as a seven-year-old.
Edward leaned his head against the same shoulder where he'd placed Renesmee. "Goodbye, Jacob, my brother ... my son." Ch. 37, pg. 723
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