With the hype surrounding the release of New Moon, the film based on the second in the Twilight series of books, any sense I had of being in touch with ‘the youth’ has well and truly been lost. The last time that the release of a film was met with such tweenage veneration was the latest of the Harry Potter films, of which I knew merely the basic details, but I still felt as if I could join in the hype. With Twilight, it has all passed me by; I am static noise failing to penetrate the edgy soundtrack of modernity.
Nightlight, the latest offering from the Harvard Lampoon, parodies this typical girl-meets-vampire story, of which said yarn has been spun all too frequently before. A certain level of respect for the parodied work is almost an essential element in such a text, and Nightlight is no different in this matter.
Yet, the satirist stands precariously on a tightrope of sorts. Using bad writing to poke fun at worse writing can make the parody appear badly executed, and this is a trap that Nightlight falls into on occasion – weak puns and cliché-ridden utterances are still as hard to stomach whether they are used intentionally or ironically.
The renaming of characters – Bella Swan of the original becomes Belle Goose, how imaginative – is quintessential of the book in its entirety: moderately clever, but only provoking wry smiles at best. It is probable that those that are familiar with Twilight, those that have affection for Meyer’s cast and realise the limitations of her prose, may find this spoof entertaining – it is short, sweet and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Alexander Britton
Tags: nightlight
