diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Theme/Registry.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Theme/Registry.php
index 0ad005d..1c883d5 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Theme/Registry.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Theme/Registry.php
@@ -401,6 +401,9 @@ protected function build() {
    * @see _theme()
    * @see hook_theme()
    * @see list_themes()
+   * @see twig_render_template()
+   *
+   * @throws \BadFunctionCallException
    */
   protected function processExtension(&$cache, $name, $type, $theme, $path) {
     $result = array();
@@ -430,12 +433,6 @@ protected function processExtension(&$cache, $name, $type, $theme, $path) {
         $result[$hook]['type'] = $type;
         $result[$hook]['theme path'] = $path;
 
-        // If function and file are omitted, default to standard naming
-        // conventions.
-        if (!isset($info['template']) && !isset($info['function'])) {
-          $result[$hook]['function'] = ($type == 'module' ? 'theme_' : $name . '_') . $hook;
-        }
-
         if (isset($cache[$hook]['includes'])) {
           $result[$hook]['includes'] = $cache[$hook]['includes'];
         }
@@ -451,20 +448,33 @@ protected function processExtension(&$cache, $name, $type, $theme, $path) {
           $result[$hook]['includes'][] = $include_file;
         }
 
+        // Templates are the default implementation for a theme hook. If a
+        // theme hook provides a theme function callback, check to ensure that
+        // it actually exists.
+        if (isset($info['function']) && !function_exists($info['function'])) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        // Provide a default naming convention for 'template' based on the
+        // hook used. If the template does not exist, the theme engine used
+        // should throw an exception at runtime when attempting to include
+        // the template file.
+        elseif (!isset($info['template'])) {
+          $info['template'] = strtr($hook, '_', '-');
+          $result[$hook]['template'] = $info['template'];
+        }
+
+        // Prepend the current theming path when none is set. This is required
+        // for the default theme engine to know where the template lives.
+        if (isset($result[$hook]['template']) && !isset($info['path'])) {
+          $result[$hook]['path'] = $path . '/templates';
+        }
+
         // If the default keys are not set, use the default values registered
         // by the module.
         if (isset($cache[$hook])) {
           $result[$hook] += array_intersect_key($cache[$hook], $hook_defaults);
         }
 
-        // The following apply only to theming hooks implemented as templates.
-        if (isset($info['template'])) {
-          // Prepend the current theming path when none is set.
-          if (!isset($info['path'])) {
-            $result[$hook]['template'] = $path . '/templates/' . $info['template'];
-          }
-        }
-
         // Preprocess variables for all theming hooks, whether the hook is
         // implemented as a template or as a function. Ensure they are arrays.
         if (!isset($info['preprocess functions']) || !is_array($info['preprocess functions'])) {
diff --git a/core/modules/system/theme.api.php b/core/modules/system/theme.api.php
index 089334f..18a2cb7 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/theme.api.php
+++ b/core/modules/system/theme.api.php
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@
  *       'plugin_id' => NULL,
  *     ),
  *    'file' => 'search.pages.inc',
- *    'template' => 'search-result',
  *   ),
  * );
  * @endcode
diff --git a/core/modules/views/views.module b/core/modules/views/views.module
index 3ba93f5..8ac542c 100644
--- a/core/modules/views/views.module
+++ b/core/modules/views/views.module
@@ -187,35 +187,44 @@ function views_theme($existing, $type, $theme, $path) {
         'variables' => $variables[$type],
       );
 
-      // For the views module we ensure views.theme.inc is included.
-      if ($def['provider'] == 'views') {
-        $def['theme_file'] = 'views.theme.inc';
-      }
       // We always use the module directory as base dir.
       $module_dir = drupal_get_path('module', $def['provider']);
+      $hooks[$def['theme']]['path'] = $module_dir;
 
+      // For the views module we ensure views.theme.inc is included.
+      if ($def['provider'] == 'views') {
+        if (!isset($hooks[$def['theme']]['includes'])) {
+          $hooks[$def['theme']]['includes'] = array();
+        }
+        if (!in_array('views.theme.inc', $hooks[$def['theme']]['includes'])) {
+          $hooks[$def['theme']]['includes'][] = $module_dir . '/views.theme.inc';
+        }
+      }
       // The theme_file definition is always relative to the modules directory.
-      if (isset($def['theme_file'])) {
-        $hooks[$def['theme']]['path'] = $module_dir;
+      elseif (!empty($def['theme_file'])) {
         $hooks[$def['theme']]['file'] = $def['theme_file'];
       }
+
       // Whenever we got a theme file, we include it directly so we can
       // auto-detect the theme function.
       if (isset($def['theme_file'])) {
-        $include = DRUPAL_ROOT . '/' . $module_dir. '/' . $def['theme_file'];
+        $include = DRUPAL_ROOT . '/' . $module_dir . '/' . $def['theme_file'];
         if (is_file($include)) {
           require_once $include;
         }
       }
-     // If there is no theme function for the given theme definition, we assume
-     // a template file shall be used. By default this file is located in the
-     // /templates directory of the module's folder.
-     // If a module wants to define its own location it has to set
-     // register_theme of the plugin to FALSE and implement hook_theme() by
-     // itself.
+
+      // If there is no theme function for the given theme definition, it must
+      // be a template file. By default this file is located in the /templates
+      // directory of the module's folder. If a module wants to define its own
+      // location it has to set register_theme of the plugin to FALSE and
+      // implement hook_theme() by itself.
       if (!function_exists('theme_' . $def['theme'])) {
-        $hooks[$def['theme']]['path'] = $module_dir;
-        $hooks[$def['theme']]['template'] = 'templates/' . drupal_clean_css_identifier($def['theme']);
+        $hooks[$def['theme']]['path'] .= '/templates';
+        $hooks[$def['theme']]['template'] = drupal_clean_css_identifier($def['theme']);
+      }
+      else {
+        $hooks[$def['theme']]['function'] = 'theme_' . $def['theme'];
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/core/themes/engines/twig/twig.engine b/core/themes/engines/twig/twig.engine
index e0cfcc2..06ec07c 100644
--- a/core/themes/engines/twig/twig.engine
+++ b/core/themes/engines/twig/twig.engine
@@ -38,23 +38,28 @@ function twig_init(Extension $theme) {
  * If the Twig debug setting is enabled, HTML comments including _theme() call
  * and template file name suggestions will surround the template markup.
  *
- * @param $template_file
+ * @param string $template_file
  *   The file name of the template to render.
- * @param $variables
+ * @param array $variables
  *   A keyed array of variables that will appear in the output.
  *
- * @return
+ * @return string
  *   The output generated by the template, plus any debug information.
  */
 function twig_render_template($template_file, $variables) {
   /** @var \Twig_Environment $twig_service */
   $twig_service = \Drupal::service('twig');
-  $output = array(
-    'debug_prefix'    => '',
-    'debug_info'      => '',
-    'rendered_markup' => $twig_service->loadTemplate($template_file)->render($variables),
-    'debug_suffix'    => '',
-  );
+  try {
+    $output = array(
+      'debug_prefix'    => '',
+      'debug_info'      => '',
+      'rendered_markup' => $twig_service->loadTemplate($template_file)->render($variables),
+      'debug_suffix'    => '',
+    );
+  }
+  catch (\Twig_Error_Loader $e) {
+    drupal_set_message($e->getMessage(), 'error');
+  }
   if ($twig_service->isDebug()) {
     $output['debug_prefix'] .= "\n\n<!-- THEME DEBUG -->";
     $output['debug_prefix'] .= "\n<!-- CALL: _theme('{$variables['theme_hook_original']}') -->";