I went into the screening of Twilight expecting to pan it. I figured if a film is making 14-year-old American girls go absolutely bananas, then it was probably going to miss the mark with me.

There’s a lesson in this – never underestimate the girly teen in all of us.

Twilight has created a lot of excitement among the movie-going community, as the film is based on a series of incredibly successful novels – just like the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise.

The (relatively) small studio which optioned the script has struck a gold mine. The film grossed $70.6 million (US) at the box office in its debut weekend, drawing more attendees than Interview with a Vampire's debut to claim the biggest vampire weekend on record. And it cost an absolute pittance to produce.

Twilight tells the story of Bella, a mopey teen who relocates to rainy Forks, Washington to live with her gruff yet lovable father. At her new school she comes across the Cullen family - a brood of pale-faced hotties who skulk around the corridors and make everyone feel generally uncomfortable. And rightly so. It turns out the family is a kiss of vampires, and this becomes problematic when Bella and the devastatingly pasty Edward Cullen fall deliriously in love.

And this love story is the crux of Twilight’s appeal to a generation of young ladies (for proof, check out this Twilight haiku competition). The film centres on a forbidden love that spans centuries. It’s about the girl who wins the seemingly unobtainable high school heart-throb. There’s a splash of magic. The male lead is a smouldering 17-year-old on the outside and a worldly gentleman on the inside. There's no doubt about it, that author Stephenie Meyer is a clever cookie indeed. She knew exactly which buttons to push with her young female audience.

While the film is clunky in parts (and often there are gaping holes which are left unexplained), it has a strange appeal. It’s quick, gripping and oddly mesmerising. It also boasts a sufficiently angsty soundtrack (including Muse, Paramour, Collective Soul) which will appeal to the demographic.

Kristen Stewart does a fine job in the role of Bella (though her interview skills could do with a little work), but it’s Robert Pattinson who really shines as tousle-haired Edward. Admittedly there are a few moments where he goes a bit over the top (there’s an “emotional” scene in the woods where he hams it up a bit too much and I wanted to curl up under my chair to escape), but otherwise he’s quite captivating. The lad certainly has some screen presence.

Twilight isn’t breaking any cinematic ground. No one is going to win an Oscar for their performance and countless adults are going to grimace through the experience. But it will get many a young heart a-fluttering. And there’s always room at the movies for that.

Twilight is released in Australia on December 11.
You can view the Twilight trailer here on TheVine.