Despite being all about vampires and werewolves, the Twilight Saga never slotted into the horror genre. Instead, it fits into the romance and drama genres and is a love story at its core. It has some action sequences thrown into the mix every once in a while, but they were never really scary or horrific, just very tense at times. However, that did sort of change in the fourth entry of the franchise, Breaking Dawn: Part 1, which may just be the most surprising one to hear dips its toes into the horror genre. After all, Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is the chapter where Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) get married. It’s supposed to be peak romance and domesticity, but it ended up giving us one of the most horrifying scenes in the entire saga – the scene where Bella gives birth.
What Happens in ‘Breaking Dawn’ Before Bella Gives Birth?
Breaking Dawn was split into two parts; the first was Bella and Edward’s marriage and her pregnancy. The second was the aftermath of Renesmee’s (Mackenzie Foy) arrival and the subsequent wrath of the Volturi since they think she was created as an immortal child by Edward and Bella, which would be against the Volturi laws. Part 1 of the epic conclusion to the Saga saw Bella become pregnant on her and Edward’s honeymoon, something that should be impossible given that he’s a vampire and there should be nothing viable about him. But somehow, and rather inexplicably, since Bella is still human when they marry, she becomes pregnant with a half-vampire, half-human child.
This proves worrisome to all the Cullens. After all, since this baby is part-vampire it’s going to want blood. But Bella is determined to have the baby, and Rosalie (Nikki Reed) backs her decision, much to Edward’s chagrin. As we know, Rosalie feels as though her life was taken from her when she was changed by Carlisle, and she wants nothing more than to have a baby of her own, so it’s only natural she would support Bella’s decision.
But what should be a joyous and beautiful moment in Bella’s life, bringing a child into the world and feeling it grow, proves to be near-suicidal. The Cullen family’s initial worries prove to be right as the baby grows rapidly and slowly kills Bella, crushing her from the inside out, and even cracking her rib. It gets to the point where Bella is basically skin and bones, gaunt and fragile, with bruises covering her body. She can’t even move without help, and though the Cullens are doting and there for her every need, the longer she’s carrying the baby the more dire her situation becomes. Things seem to look up a bit though when they decide to have Bella try drinking blood, hoping that it will not only boost her health but also fend off the baby’s thirst, if only a little bit. It seems to work for a little while at least, but it’s only a matter of time before things take a dramatic turn for the worse.
What Happens During Bella’s Birth Scene in ‘Breaking Dawn’?
One night when Bella is excitedly telling Edward her… unique baby names, her back breaks, sending her into emergency labor. Over the phone, Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) tells them that the placenta must have detached. He’s not home at the moment, and so Rosalie decides they’ll have to deliver the baby themselves. There’s not even time to let the morphine spread before giving Bella a C-Section, since the baby is dying quickly. Bella tells them to get the baby out, despite the lack of pain medication, and thus the most traumatizing scene in the entire Saga ensues.
Though the entire C-Section is shown through Bella’s point of view, meaning we don’t see anything explicit, the implication and what we do see is enough to leave a lasting impact. At one point, Edward has to tear through her body with his teeth in order to get the baby out, and Bella’s screams of pain are so intense it’s hard not to want to cover your ears. The entire time, you can hear more of Bella’s bones cracking, and the squelching of the makeshift surgery. The actual birth itself only lasts about a minute and a half, but it feels longer. It’s shot so frantically since it’s from Bella’s point-of-view, making it all the more anxiety-inducing.
But even when the baby is safely brought into the world, the horror doesn’t stop because Bella is fading fast. The camera zooms out as Edward cradles his newborn daughter, and we see Bella grow still unmoving, looking so small on the bed, and so gaunt it’s frightening. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) begins CPR, but Edward knows what needs to be done. Pulling out a syringe full of his venom he jams it into her heart, and when that doesn’t immediately work he bites into every inch of skin he can see. We then travel into Bella’s mind, and though she’s stiff and still on the table, we get into her head as the venom takes over her body, freezing her heart and veins, and causing even more excruciating pain as she turns into a vampire. Edward’s tears are interspersed with shots of Bella writing uncontrollably inside her head, though physically she doesn’t move a muscle, and her screams of pain are so agonizing and haunting you have to wonder if this is even still Twilight you’re watching.
‘Breaking Dawn’ Delivered Some of the Cast’s Best Performances in the Franchise
Twilight may often get a bad rep for being rather memeable, and though it’s certainly not devoid of criticism, this scene is so effective you have to give props to it. It proves that Twilight can be extremely dark if it wants to be, and Bella’s birth scene is so brutal and unforgiving that it’s quite surprising the film still managed to land a PG-13 rating. Seriously, this scene is not for the faint of heart, and though it may sound silly to some to hear that when talking about a Twilight movie, it really is true. This was the closest the Saga ever got to horror, and it makes you wonder if maybe it should have done so more often. Despite being a truly chilling and tragic scene, it delivered some of the cast’s best performances and remains just as effective now as it was when it first came out.
