SXSW Film Review: The Transfiguration

It’s easy to tell what kind of vampire movie The Transfiguration wants to be, because its antihero, Milo (Eric Ruffin), comes out and tells us: He likes Let the Right One In and Nosferatu, not True Blood and certainly not Twilight.

In his first feature, director Michael O’Shea follows in the footsteps of Let the Right One In, often to remarkable effect. Milo is a loner thirsty for blood, growing up in the projects with no parents and a distant veteran brother. He watches web videos of animals eating and being eaten, trying to make sense of his own dark urges.

As a metaphorical depiction of budding introspective psychopathy, The Transfiguration is quite an accomplishment. Its racial politics are more of a work in progress. Milo’s “hunting” adventures are clearly echoed in the unrealistic behavior of the street gang that terrorizes his block, at one point stomping and shooting a white interloper for sport. It’s impossible not to think of thankfully bygone buzzwords like “super-predator” once aimed at alienated black teenagers like Milo.

Yes, Milo’s character grows on us, and he becomes much more than a monster. But the film’s metaphorical language summons another sort of monstrosity that it never entirely unpacks.

---

The Transfiguration

Festival Favorites, North American Premiere
Monday, March 13, 9.45pm, Alamo Ritz 1
Sunday, March 17, 2.15pm, Alamo Ritz 2