The Twilight Scene That Made Some Fans Physically Sick

The "Twilight" franchise is not generally known for its stomach-churning horror, thanks to its emphasis on teen romance with a side of vampire lore. For that reason, it isn't often brought up in conversations about movies that make people sick, at least not physically. But there is nevertheless an infamous sequence that received mainstream news attention for its capacity to create physical symptoms in specific viewers.

The scene in question is featured in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1," which came out in 2011 and boasted one of the most awkward on-screen love scenes in movies. However, it is a different scene in the film that reportedly had audience members rushing for the emergency exits in need of medical attention.

So if you felt woozy during your most recent "Twilight" rewatch, take this to heart: You are not alone, and perhaps you can consider yourself lucky to have survived the experience.

Few "Twilight" fans could forget the birth scene of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward's (Robert Pattinson) vampire baby Renesmee, one of the central set-pieces of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1." What you might not remember, is that the scene's flashing lights reportedly caused some viewers to have epileptic seizures during the film's original theatrical run.

An ABC News report in 2011 captured the phenomenon by which audiences all over the country were stricken by seizures caused by photosensitive epilepsy. One of those viewers was Brandon Gephart, who reportedly suffered convulsions during the scene, and had to be taken from the theater by paramedics.

Instances of epileptic seizures triggered by "Breaking Dawn" became so commonplace that a Facebook page was created to warn viewers of the scene's intensity. It hasn't been updated since 2012, but it gives you a good time capsule of the phenomenon, including disclaimers posted in movie theaters when the film was screening.

It's not the same as a horror movie making audiences sick through sheer intensity. Still, it does technically put the "Twilight" saga into some pretty rarified cinematic company, like William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" or Tod Browning's infamous "Freaks." So remember this the next time you hear anyone say that "Twilight" isn't horror!