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).

This intriguing little film tries to merge various genres into one. What we have is the story of a young black boy living in a one parent household (actually it's his big brother as his guardian) who fantasises to help get him through the days in anotherwise hard life on a violent gang led estate. The dark side is that the boy has an obsession about vampires, which leads him to copy him 'heroes'. The film references lots of vampire movies, and you can see the labels of the videos he watches to get him up to speed on the genre. However as he begins to kill to ape his heroes, it is uncomfortable. His other escape turns out to be a lovely girl who moves into his building, and he is finding a life beyond his fantasies, but it beins to have an impact on that relationship. This is a low budget but intriguing movie. The odd critic has tried to say it's a copy of Let The Right One In, bu it's not. It's a different take on the idea and merges other ideas in. It's thoughtful, emotional and very well acted by the young crew. It stood out, but sadly has gained little attention. Disappointed to see the reaction to it by some, but it's a nice simple gem. Give it a go. It's worth it.