Milo (Eric Ruffin) is a quiet black teen obsessed with vampires in the New York City hood. He gets bullied by the local kids. He is haunted by the death of his mother and lives with his older brother. He is befriended by Sophie (Chloe Levine) who lives with her abusive grandfather. One day, Milo is approached by a young white couple from out-of-town looking for drugs.

At about the point of the white boy, I was expecting the big turn. Certainly, I wasn't sure it would go down that road. When that happened to the white boy in the basement, I was hoping that road be forgotten and the story would go down the more logical road. The police, the gang, and the brother could combine to be a harrowing realistic tale. Nevertheless, this is very solid indie with an interesting twist. Chloe Levine could be a future star. Milo is a little too quiet to truly know.

This is not a vampire movie. This is a movie about a troubled young man with homicidal tendencies and delusions of being a vampire, either because of mental illness or as a way to understand himself as something more than just being a murderer. It is quite clear that Milo has led a troubled life of solitude and lack of love--mother kills herself, dad is not around, and his only other family, the brother, sits detached from reality always watching TV as his escape from the pain they have both endured (pay attention to the limited roles adults play in this movie and how even when an adult is present on screen you don't really see their faces.) When he finally finds love with Sofie, he has to acknowledge the truth of what he is: a violent killer. Instead of destroying the one pure thing he has, his relationship with her, he chooses instead to save her and to destroy himself (his ultimate plan.) This is what the title, The Transfiguration, refers to since a transfiguration (in biblical terms) is a complete change to a more spiritual and pure form. Milo thus, changes from a savage, remorseless killer to a compassionate, selfless savior. It really is a psychological film that centers around characters, not action. Bear that in mind, and you won't fall into the "this movie moves too slowly" trap.

That being said, the blood sucking scenes are truly disturbing because they are indeed very "realistic" (main point director/writer is trying to convey by having Milo obsess about liking vampire movies to be realistic.) There is no fantasy in this movie, no mythical supernatural monster, just a real-life sick human boy killing and sucking the blood out of his murder vicitims and that is truly horrifying because it is rooted in reality.

Almost a modern reimagining of George Romero's Martin meets Let the Right One In - both of which are referenced by name in the film - this goes real deep into childhood trauma and poverty through the lens of being a young Horror movie fan. I think a lot of Horror fans relate to the genre to deal with the trauma of the world, to some degree, and this is a moving exploration of that (as well as themes of self-loathing and social isolation).