THE TRANSFIGURATION

THE TRANSFIGURATION opens with a shocking scene: a teenager named Milo calmly and methodically slurping up blood from the neck of a man he presumably killed. However, this suspense-filled, poignant film is anything but a gory horror flick—and Milo is anything but a typical vampire. Quiet and laconic, he tends to stay in and watch monster movies in the apartment he shares with his brother Lewis. Milo becomes even more conflicted about his bloodsucking proclivities after meeting his guileless new neighbor Sophie, who takes a liking to him and confides she’s trying to escape a traumatic home life. He develops a detailed plan to deal with his uncontrollable impulses and help Sophie. And as the story unfolds along with this sometimes-harrowing strategy, it’s clear Milo has more heart, soul, and conscience than one might expect. THE TRANSFIGURATION is a fresh, smart take on a familiar trope and illustrates that ingrained expectations and perceptions can be deceptive. —A.Z.