In many ways, “Twilight” is very similar to “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” Both know exactly who their target demographic is and give them exactly what they want.

There is a catch, however, because these movies, specifically “Twilight,” cater to what their fans want by completely excluding the rest of the movie-going public. “Twilight” will make a lot of money not because it’s a good movie, which it isn’t, but because women age 15-35 will flock to theaters to see the novel they love so much come to life on screen.

I’ll admit, I haven’t read “Twilight” by BYU-alum Stephenie Meyer, and after seeing the movie, I have absolutely no intention of doing so. Those who claim that I must read the book to understand the dark, gloomy world of love between Bella and Edward the vampire are mistaken. I review movies, and as a movie, “Twilight” is incredibly amateurish.

That said, those devout fans of Meyer and the four-book series will love every second of this movie. “Twilight” might not have been as bad if I hadn’t had to sit through it with hundreds of women, many older, who squealed at the first sight of Edward’s pale, brooding face or any of the other dull characters.

My main problem with this movie is Meyer’s absurd attempt at changing the mythology of vampires. Anyone who knows anything about vampires can tell you that the way Edward and the rest of the Cullen family are portrayed isn’t accurate. For instance, vampires burst into flames when hit with sunlight. This would mean that if they are outside during the day, they would die. Even if there is heavy cloud cover, like in rainy Forks, Wash., there is still light from the sun. Meyer completely negates this and instead makes vampires glisten like diamonds in sunlight. Dracula would be incredibly disappointed.

If “Twilight” was a good movie, these problems could be easily overlooked. This movie relies heavily on characterization and character development, but with Rob Pattinson as Edward and Kristen Stewart as Bella, the movie stumbles along. They’re still young actors who haven’t been able to find their own form of acting, thus making every film they’re in look bad. Director Catherine Hardwicke doesn’t help matters. From the bad dialogue to ill-fitting avant-garde cinematography and strange 360-degree camera movements, “Twilight” is poorly constructed, shot and acted — not to mention the terrible make-up jobs.

In “Twilight,” 17-year-old Bella Swan has just moved from hot Phoenix, Ariz., to the gloomy weather of Forks, Wash. She’s beautiful, intriguing and quite pale and that’s what catches the attention of just about every student in her high school. It’s the one who doesn’t seem to like her, Edward Cullen, who she’s most interested in. Her father, Charlie Swan (Billy Burke), is Forks police chief and works long hours leaving Bella alone for most of the time. Bella learns that the members of the Cullen family are all foster kids. They have the same pale, blank stare and only associate with each other.

After being saved by Edward in the school parking lot before a car hits her, Bella now wants to know Edward’s secret. At times he is nice and then others becomes cold to her. Eventually she confronts him. Edward is pale, cold to the touch, never eats or drinks and has incredible speed and strength — he must be a vampire. This makes her fall irresistibly in love with him and he with her. (Edward finds her scent so alluring he has temptations of leaving his animal blood-only doctrine to feast on her blood). Their relationship starts to bloom, until a few murders occur near Forks. They are first thought to be the work of animals, but Edward and his family know it’s another group of vampires, the “bad” vampires.

When one of those vampires, James (Cam Gigandet), smells Bella’s scent amongst the Cullen family, Edward knows she’s now in danger and they find a safe place for her to hide. Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone), two of Edward’s siblings, take Bella to Arizona where they think James won’t track her. Before it’s too late, Edward must save the mortal he loves so dearly or else she may become one of his kind.

The end of “Twilight” is a cliffhanger. It’s clear that this isn’t the end of Bella and Edward as the next book in Meyer’s series will probably hit the silver screen. Another character, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), doesn’t have much to do, but apparently has a stronger presence in the later books.

There are so many things wrong with “Twilight” that it doesn’t make up for the small parts that are good — mostly dry, well-timed, comic relief. In the end, it doesn’t matter what I say because fans of the book are going to see “Twilight” anyway.

Missy Thompson: missy@tooeletranscript.com