Movie Review: The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration **** / *****

Directed by: Michael O'Shea.

Written by: Michael O'Shea.

Starring: Eric Ruffin (Milo), Chloe Levine (Sophie), Aaron Moten (Lewis), Carter Redwood (Andre), Danny Flaherty (Mike), Dangelo Bonneli (Kevin), Anna Friedman (Stacey), Tarikk Mudu (Malik), Tyler Rossell (Asher), Luis Scott (Corey).

 

There is probably not a movie monster more malleable than vampires – who can be horrific in one telling, and sex machines in another, and pretty much everything in between. At this point, I’ve seen every kind of vampire movie imaginable. So it’s somewhat surprising that debut director Michael O’Shea has crafted a vampire movie not quite like anything I’ve seen before – even as it is steeped in vampire movies of the past – referencing everything from Nosferatu to Twilight.

 

This ultra-low budget film is set in Brooklyn – where Milo (Eric Ruffin) plays a young, black teenage boy, living with his older brother – an Army vet who rarely ventures off the couch, and basically just trying to survive. He dodges questions from the school counsellor – who wants to know if he’s thinking about hurting animals again. He dodges the gang who gathers outside his building – who call him a freak, and if they want to, could kill him with little consequence. Milo has no friends – and spends hours by himself, watching vampire movies, taking notes, marking his calendar – and occasionally slipping in Manhattan, where he does, in fact, kill people and drink their blood. His is solitary and miserable. And then, Sophie (Chloe Levine) moves into his building. She’s maybe a year or two older than Milo, white, and has just moved in with her abusive grandfather. Milo may well have a death wish – but Sophie has her own self-destructive tendencies. She likes vampires too – she references Twilight early and often, he counters with Let the Right One In – and these two damaged young people find some sort of solace in each other, and have a relationship that honestly reminds you of a combination between their favorite vampire films.

 

The Transfiguration is an odd mix of themes and tones that somehow works very well together. The relationship between Milo and Sophie is surprisingly sweet and keeps these two lonely people from falling apart. The performances are good, but again, don’t seem like they should fit together – but somehow do. Milo is one of the quietest protagonists you will encounter in a movie – and Milo does little to betray any emotion as he goes through the film, without ever coming across as blank. Levine as Sophie is more overtly emotional – she’s got a winning smile that lights up the screen when she flashes it, but is mired in misery for most of the time she and Milo are in their own world together.

 

The film keeps its cards close to its vest – perhaps too close at times. It is nearly the end of the movie before we get to the origin of Milo’s vampirism – and the film never does really tell us if Milo needs to do what he does (personally, I think he doesn’t – but I’d be willing to listen to a counter argument). As the film reaches its conclusion it has become a surprisingly emotional climax – and an intelligent one. Race is not overtly mentioned in the film – and yet it certainly plays a role, and really does cast everything we see in a different light. The end of the film is tragic, but probably unavoidable. There have literally been thousands of vampire movies over the years – and most are largely forgettable. While The Transfiguration may not quite hit the heights of the best the genre has to offer, it does offer a fresh, original take on it – and should be a must for fans of the genre.