The Blackcoat's Daughter (I) (2015) User Reviews

Creepy Sleeper Gem!

[ryan_sy · 7/10 · 24 February 2019]

Im glad I found this movie; unfortunately it had a limited release and there was not much buzz about it. So when I found it, I did not expect much. But I couldn't have been more wrong. Although there is not much originality, it was well done and made me uncomfortable!

The tone of the movie was dreadful and was beautifully supported by the score, the cinematography, and the acting. The pace of the movie was slow, but the payoff was excellent. No cheap jump scares, the right amount of gore, and a clever plot.

Horror fans should definitely give this movie a watch!

Implores a second viewing

[hi_im_manic · 6/10 · 13 July 2016]

'The Blackcoat's Daughter' is a dark and brooding suspense about two pretty but very different teenage girls left behind at a religious boarding school during a winter break. The eldest girl has devised to stay behind and has made plans to visit her boyfriend. The younger, more reserved girl seems anxious, and grows distraught about her dilemma. Our third lead character is a mysterious and troubled young woman (Emma Roberts) who has fled from a psychiatric institution and is making passage towards the school. She's helped by a concerned middle-aged couple.

The film cuts erratically from girl to girl, to the girls together with the two remaining staff members, and to the traveling young woman. Interwoven with these cuts are some brief and confusing flashbacks. All hell begins to fly loose and the audience is tasked to make sense of it. This is fun for some, but frustrating for others.

The tempo is mostly slow and the mood is dreary, but it's not tedious to watch. The sound effects and track were way over the top and became a distraction. I'm convinced that a blind person could piece things together just with the sound and a basic description of the scenes and characters. The set and costumes were unremarkable and lent nothing... a solid D. The acting was largely convincing and our three leading ladies did very well, B+ or better.

Those who appreciate thoughtful suspense that presents the audience with a puzzle with minor twists, then you'll certainly enjoy this. It's for this reason that I strongly advise viewers NOT to read any reviews that contain spoilers or an extended synopsis, nor seek out trailers or clips. This is a good date or bestie movie for those who can enjoy a macabre suspense. It allows plenty of conversational material during and following.

There are some moderate horror elements to the movie, increasingly so towards the end. These elements won't repel those who don't normally enjoy horror flicks nor fulfill the explicit horror fans.

Very Chilling Film With An Excellent Dark Tone

[HorrorOverEverything · 7/10 · 9 June 2016]

One my my favorite horror films of the last decade was 2015's "The Witch", I loved how the movie set a dark tone that continued to get darker and darker as the movie progressed. I don't mind horror films that are a little lighthearted or even a bit humorous, however I really love when a horror film decides to just be dark & dreary as possible without ever really making you feel like things are going to get better. "February" does not quite pack the punch the The Witch had but it is still a very interesting film with a pitch black tone.

The film follows Kat and Rose, two girls at an all female boarding school who are left alone at the school when their parents fail to pick them up for break. From there things take a bit to really get going, the film moves at a very slow pace however I thought that worked and matched the tone well. There really isn't much action or shock scenes, but for me that just made the shock scenes even better when they finally did happen. There was one scene in particular that kind of just pops out of nowhere and actually gave me chills a bit.

I honestly don't have a lot to say about this film, but at the same time I really felt the need to write review because this is one that stuck with me and had me still thinking about it a few days after viewing it. It's not perfect, the pacing won't be for everybody and I'm sure many people will find it too drab and depressing to get any enjoyment out of it. But I really liked it and think it does a good job of standing out in a genre that is filled with too many cliché films.

7/10

Just a few inches from greatness.

[Unalasa · 6/10 · 19 April 2021]

Blackcoat's daughter has been sitting on my watchlist for a little while now. I was intrigued by it's mystery and eeriness, but something told me this won't be as great as I think it will.

And that little voice was right. Blackcoat's daughter had a massive potential. Not just that, it was very close to reaching that potential by having all the right details and twists in the plot. I think it was the execution that made the whole thing flop.

When you're watching it and assuming you're a fan of horror, you know there's something good there, but there's also a lot of that "wait what?" filter over it.

It's like listening to an almost good joke at a family gathering from your cousin. You know there's something hilarious about it, but your cousin is probably telling the joke the wrong way. So everyone is kinda lost, smiling awkwardly, and not sure about what they just heard when the joke's over. Then someone googles the joke and everyone gets that "ooooooh, right, that's actually pretty funny' moment.

Same thing with this movie - it took me a Youtube explanation video to understand that the idea behind the movie was actually genious.

I love it when the viewer has to use their brain and untangle a plot. But there's a line, where if you make it too mysterious, the audience just loses the thread completely.

I think my expectations were too high, or this movie just missed the mark.

[Internetghost · 4/10 · 5 July 2017]

The Blackcoat's Daughter, originally titled February, was a film that received quite some buzz during it's initial screenings at film festivals back in 2015. It eventually got a quiet release in limited theatrical screenings in February (of course) 2017 before its home release.

As a connoisseur of horror films, I was intrigued (even though I dislike Emma Roberts) especially because despite its derivative themes of demonic possession, the film apparently does new things with the formula. Bought it day one and I have to say I was kind of disappointed.

In a boarding school, students Katherine "Kat" (Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton) stay behind during school break while the other girls leave with their families. Kat's parents don't come because they are deceased while Rose intentionally gave her parents the wrong date, she suspects that she might be pregnant and doesn't yet want to face her parents about it. The third girl, "Joan" (Emma Roberts), is a mystery as she gets off on a bus stop and is implied to be an escaped mental patient as she removes her hospital bracelet in the bathroom. She is soon picked up by an elderly couple (James Remar and Lauren Holly) who mention that they are on their way to the boarding school.

Watching the film I was underwhelmed because it is hollow and has no soul. It's plenty creepy with looming hallways and dark spaces but there's never anything here that's actually frightening. Kat is orphaned and as a result is supposed to be metaphorically raised by darkness because she summons a demon in the boiler room after Rose taunts her with a story that the nuns are satanists and worship demons. I never once got the indication that Kat was lonely, sure she looks gloomy but she's like that for the entire movie even before we find out what happened, she never grieves her parents and never looks lost and desperate. She has no character arc or any semblance of a personality. It makes it hard to believe that she'd befriend the demon out of loneliness as a result, the demon itself also doesn't have a threatening presence. I never got chills of dread about the demon or what it's capable of, it isn't unnerving and almost feels like a plot device threaded thorough the film so that the movie can exist.

Rose is equally as uninteresting and hollow. Her entire character is just her hanging out with her boyfriend and interacting with Kat for a small conversation. I understand why she stayed behind but the problem is that I know it but I don't feel it. Rose never once looks anxious or panicked about the possibility of being pregnant, if you didn't catch it the first time you would probably never pick up on it. There's also never any friction or tension when she is with her boyfriend over the fact that he might have gotten her pregnant. She has no arc and never becomes involved in the plot as anything more than another plot device. In the third act she finally has her period, much to her relief, and is suddenly killed by a possessed Kat after she also murdered the nuns, and offers their decapitated heads as an offering to the demon before she is blasted with a shotgun by the police and sent to an institution. No resolution, nothing, her death carries no meaning because she never had any either as a character.

This leads me to my next point, the "big" twist in the film is that "Joan" is actually an older Kat after she escaped the asylum and has returned to the town 9 years later to return to the boarding school and is actually picked up by Rose's parents who are heading to the school to place flowers at her grave. The glaring problems with this twist is that it's pretty obvious. Joan/Kat is never in the same scene with the other girls and exists in her own subplot completely separated from the boarding school. While Joan/Kat is showering, we can see a shotgun wound on her shoulder where Kat was shot before the twist is revealed, she also looks extremely similar to Kat in terms of hair color and facial appearance. The dead giveaway is that in the diner scene with Joan/Kat and Rose's father, he reveals that their daughter Rose died 9 years earlier and shows her a picture of her before Joan/Kat heads to the bathroom and starts to giggle before we see the driver's license of the woman she killed and stole it from, who was named Joan Marsh.

The film clumsily ends with her killing the parents in their car before decapitating them and taking the heads to the now closed down boarding school. She again offers the heads as a sacrifice in the boiler room and yet nothing happens. She walks out in despair and starts to cry uncontrollably. The point you were supposed to get was that she is lonely and wanted the demon back, because she was exorcised by a priest before she was institutionalized and wanted it to stay with her. There's no raw emotions to this scene because we never got a sense of desperation or loneliness from Kat, the exorcism scene is the only time in the whole film she expresses her attachment to the demon. With no emotional knowledge of the situation there's no impact.

This film reminds me of Proxy, both have loosely attached events with a scattered plot messily clashed together with no semblance or fluidity to it. The few redeeming qualities I saw are the eerie and beautiful winter setting, the unnerving music, and the cinematography is somewhat creepy. But otherwise this movie is soulless and has no weight attached to it. It's forgettable. I still recommend you check it out if you're curious, just temper your expectations because it isn't as good as you'd hope it is.

Mesmerising

[ozyhmandias792 · 6/10 · 12 February 2017]

Much appreciated. Sophisticated and subtle. Great job in the sound department.

Those who have not witnessed Kiernan Shipka's talent in "Mad Men" will surely find here some convincing material to make up their minds. The other two main actresses were also remarkable, however for exclusively aesthetic reasons, I must add.

Concerning the plot, I believe it is important to emphasize its non linear nature : a key element to reconstruct the overall "Stimmung".

I must criticize the trailer, despite having been convinced by it to approach the movie in the first place; the allusions to "erotic charge" are deeply misleading and cast a negative influence on the viewers, distracting them from the main, yet hidden, theme of the movie : the Occult. I rarely experienced a more discrete and effectively symbolic handling of such a complicated and debated matter. The way the Occult's first appearance on the scene is connected to the principal plot twist is also deeply satisfying. The final scenes also need to be focused on : they both bring the missing pieces in the plot and offer an open, surprising end.

My only critic would regard the excessive abundance of implicit hermeticism : some traits of the story could and should have been properly expanded (Kat's parents, some more details about Rose, a more complete view of the boarding school, the true origins of Kat's "sickness", just to make a few examples).

Nonlinear Bore

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 4/10 · 11 June 2017]

It seems that these days there are a number of young directors and writers who were raised on the gore fest of the 80s and 90s that have found the need to try and legitimize the genre by taking similar types of stories and repainting them in artistic pieces instead. I'm not sure if it's a fear of being associated with the genre for future projects or trying to lead it into a direction where it can be taken seriously. What they're missing is the fact that those movies were made not to be hailed as artistic highlights but pure escapism, a way to dodge the art house films and have a full on blast at the movies. Case in point THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER.

The movie opens with freshman Kat (Kiernan Shipka), a strange young girl at a boarding school, who seems to have an infatuation with the priest who is also the headmaster. He's going away for the holidays which disappoints her since she's performing for the class and he will miss it. Instead she'll wait patiently for her parents to arrive late as well who will then take her home for the holiday.

Concurrent with this story is that of Rose (Lucy Boynton), a senior at the same school who is also waiting for the late arrival of her parents as well and placed in charge of looking after Kat. The difference between the two is that Rose is actually staying behind to meet with her boyfriend to discuss the fact that she may be pregnant so she put off her parents coming.

Sneaking out and leaving Kat behind Rose returns to find her missing. Searching the building, listening to noises emanating from the heating system, Rose tracks Kat down to the basement of the building, bowing up and down in front of the furnace as if in worship. She takes her back to her room and tries to calm her down but Kat is now odder than before.

As this story unfolds we are introduced to another character, Joan (Emma Roberts), a young girl who exits a bus with no apparent means to support herself or the trip she is on. We get glimpses of her in a hospital for what appears to be the insane and see her tear off a hospital wrist band in the bathroom of the bus station. Joan receives and offer for a ride from Bill (James Remar) and his wife Linda (Lauren Holly) who take sympathy on her.

As the few days the story takes place move forward, Kat begins to act more strange than when she was first introduced, something Rose notes but make no mention of but the two older women left in charge of the school notice right away. A combination of foul language and improper behavior while saying grace concerns them all.

Back to Bill, Linda and Joan. We're not quite sure what is up with Bill. Has he truly taken a sympathetic interest in Joan or is there something more deviant going on here? When he tells her the story of his daughter who died years earlier and says she looks just like her, is it wishful thinking on her part or is this a sinister secret he's sharing with her, something that happened better left unsaid.

This might sound like an interesting movie with some scares that are indeed genuine but unfortunately my description is better than the movie itself. It turns out the story is unfolding in non-linear movie time. This means that the story is being told in bits and pieces not in the order things happen but back and forth in time to suit the needs of the director and author who use it to both confuse and to attempt to create a more artistic vision for the viewer. Instead it leaves you confused and wondering just what is really going on until perhaps the last 30 minutes of the film.

From a technical aspect the movie is well made with some great cinematography on display. The performances are well done with Shipka providing a truly creepy character while at the same time offering little emotion in her performance. But none of that can save this movie.

The worst two items to be seen are the way the story is told to begin with and the music. This non-linear form doesn't help the story but just makes it confusing. If that was the intent then the film makers here succeeded. If they were trying to make an interesting story they failed. The music is so overused here as to interfere with the story rather than assist it. Every time something unusual happens the music gets more mysterious than what we're looking and swells to a volume as to force you to pay attention to it rather than the story.

I had hopes for this movie having read the description of what it was about. Instead I got a movie that made me realize far too many new horror films are filled with this dependence on music, slow story telling that doesn't unravel a mystery so much as drag it along and the end results of these films as being less horrifying and more torture to sit through. My suggestion is wait to watch this until it shows up on Netflix or the Chiller Channel and only then if you must.

For Those Who Didn't Understand What Was Going On Events Explained ****Spoilers****

[Mehki_Girl · 8/10 · 31 May 2019]

If you watched the film to the end and have no idea what was happening, this "review" is for you. There are spoilers galore, so beware....

First, the movie's timeline is not linear. It's in the present and the past and sometimes goes back to previous scenes to give you a different perspective from what you originally thought you were seeing. We see the story arc of girls left behind at an all girls Catholic school during holiday: Rose an older student (who stayed behind at the school because she thinks she's pregnant and lied to her parents about when to pick her up so she could see her boyfriend about her pregnancy), Kat, a freshman student whose parents haven't come to get her either and its not entirely clear why (later Kat says they are dead), and Joan, a girl on her way to the all girls school.

Ostensibly, this movie is about the devil and possession. It is not. It is about longing, loneliness, and mental illness.

Little Kat is lonely. At first you assume she's just a little strange; but near the end of the film, we see some scenes again (marking the days on a calendar until mom and dad come, singing at the recital, staring out of the window while sitting alone in a classroom) we come to see that she is a very lonely little girl and most likely not right in her head and we start to realize she may have been mentally ill all along.

Everyone is saying that her transition to wanting and accepting possession by a demon was too sudden; but it's not (once you see those scenes again), she was already "off" and with the right suggestion (Rose tells her when they are alone that two of the nuns are devil worshipers], she goes right for it (later she tells Rose, she's "too late", i.e. Her friendship is no longer needed, she has the devil for companionship now)).

Early on we see "Joan's" arc and through quick cuts we can surmise that Joan has escaped from a mental hospital. She's headed toward the school. At first you think the journey is being taken at the same time Kat and Rose are staying at the school But "Joan" in reality is Kat, nine years after she killed everyone left at the school. She's escaped and is using Joan's ID (apparently a of a nurse she strangled at the mental institution), whom she's killed to escape.

She's headed back to where she had companionship with the devil. Only to find out that the couple who give her a lift are the parents of Rose (whom she killed nine years ago) and are coincidentally headed up to the school. They apparently do not recognize her. When one of them goes outside to warm up the car because a storm is coming, Kat/Joan sees a knife on a plate and grabs it, which she later uses to kill Rose's parents while in their car, and then brings their heads to her old companion, the devil.

The devil never existed, of course. But this is a Catholic school, so her mental illness manifested into devil possession.

Her phone calls may have been partly real or imagined. Early on Kat says her parents are dead. Are they? We have a brief scene at the beginning where it appears her dad comes to get her and silently walks her to a wrecked car where we see black hair (presumably mom's) blowing in the wind outside the window. When this did happen? It may be a premonition and happened on their way to the school (we see police visit the school.) Did her mom's death and apparent father's abandonment or death, too, set off her mental illness and loneliness? That, I can't tell you. It does look as though they both died in a car accident and she's dreaming her dad came to get her and show her the wreck. They never explicitly clarify the parents' death, Kat does say that are dead.

The carnage starts when Kat gets a phone call and a distorted voice tells her to kill all the c***ts, which she does. The headmaster shows up with the police (did Kat lure them with a phone call?), finds the dead bodies of Rose and the two nuns who had been caring for them until their parents showed. The cop finds her in the basement and after warning Kat repeatedly to put down her knife, shoots her in the shoulder (you see the scar on "Joan/Kat" 9 years later). Presumably she's spent the last 9 years in the mental hospital making no friends or feeling love and is heading back to rejoin the devil, when Rose's parents pick her up and she gets a chance to sacrifice them. The devil being fickle (and only in her mind) doesn't show up.

I had to watch twice to get this.

Edit: minor typos.

Well Done Mr. Perkins!

[geraldohanna · 6/10 · 11 June 2016]

The Blackcoat's Daughter, or originally titled February is the first feature film from Oz Perkins, and it's warmly welcomed and loved if you love a slow- build horror in the likes of It Follows, The Babdook, The Tall Man, or recently surprise hit The Witch. This film follows the same beat, while not necessarily executing it in a lively fashion it does deserve to stand on it's own merit.

Winter break is approaching so the students of Bradford Academy are all leaving to rejoin their parents over the two weeks... Expect for the exception of Kat (Kiernan Shipka) truly haunting each time on screen; and Rose (Lucy Boynton) who are forced to await the arrival of their parents who mysteriously fail to retrieve them. With their time spent there, we also meet Joan (Emma Roberts) another kindred soul trudging her way to the unknown. And thus, begins our film... A look at three different woman bound by a constant fear, ever present throughout the film.

For a first time director, Oz gracefully masters the camera as he glides slowly across the scenery meticulously acknowledging every shot... From a long tracking shot down a dark hallway to the swinging of a door in the wind. Every detail cleverly puts you on ease as you await the next scene. Kiernan Shipka controls the screen as she chillingly embodies the physical turmoil of an adolescent girl confused and unsure of herself... The rest of this little cast are also good... with the exception of Emma Roberts showing us that she can also do more than American Horror Story or Scream Queens. While good, the film does fall in structure during it's second act and end as we never truly understand the intentions of our characters or simply where the movie is headed... while the tone stays the same... haunting and melancholy. The film can loose you if you are not truly invested during it's final two acts.

Overall, The Blackcoat's Daughter is a well crafted horror that cleverly cuts between three characters while still juggling the fact that it is indeed a slow-burn horror well worth your time and money.

Much Ado about nothing.....

[s3276169 · 4/10 · 13 June 2016]

February is a supposedly suspenseful horror, that's not long on suspense and well, um, that's about it.

There's lots of spooky, grating music, that's so overdone you quickly become numb to its effect. The consistently overly austere setting and what can only be described as "gray" characterizations only exacerbates and further fosters a sense of emotional dislocation on the part of the viewer.

Or put another, the tone and atmosphere established in this film is so overly creepy it actually stops being creepy and gradually becomes farcical. Any sense of suspense evaporates as the whole thing simply ceases to be all that believable. A fact that's not helped at all by an evil spirit that looks a lot like the shadow of a guy in a rabbit suit with big comical "rabbity" ears.

Worse still, this film never really goes anywhere terribly interesting or all that frightening. There's nothing clever on offer either, that might have redeemed this flick.

The acting is sound and at times, even quite good. The camera work and cinematography is refined too. Sadly there's little anyone can do, to lift a film that, in my opinion, has so little to say.

Four out of ten from me.

A Great Atmospheric Slow Burn that's not for everyone

[ReguIator · 9/10 · 29 November 2016]

DISCLAIMER: This film requires a patient viewer who likes slow burns and atmospheric dread rather than jump scares or thriller action. Many of the user reviews on here trash the movie for being too slow or too boring, but this movie was never meant to appeal to everyone. If you thought this was boring or too slow, everyone has different taste and that's fine.

First off, the biggest strength of this movie is the icy dread and unease that this movie produces from the opening scene right up to the tragic final shot. This tense atmosphere never relents, even during mundane scenes, and left that dread in the pit of my stomach for the entirety of the film. Everything feels like there's something not quite right with it.

The cinematography and lighting are dark and brooding, with every room dimly lit and every setting having a sinister feel. This dreary feel to all the scenes almost never lets up and keeps the dread at a maximum.

The sound design is quite good, using prolonged silence to make scenes feel uneasy and eerie sound effects and music to heighten tension and fear. This is one of the loudest quiet movies I've ever seen, and the subtle arctic winds blowing and faint whispers and static drone are masterfully used.

The setting and environment add another layer to the dread of the film. Set in remote upstate New York in the dead of winter, the deep snow is suffocating and chilling. You can really feel the isolation of the school where Kat and Rose are staying, and the school itself is creepy in its own right, with dark and foreboding hallways and a glum exterior.

The story is not spoon-fed to viewers and is a bit of a puzzle that reveals itself one brief detail at a time, and it can be confusing on the first viewing of it. It keeps you guessing as to what's happening, and has some twists that make you rethink what you saw. The plot is told in an odd fashion, with each main character having their own "arc" in a sense and lots of brief flashbacks by Joan and Kat. The ending is a good payoff for all the dread and tension built up, though a bit rushed. The final shot is beautiful and haunting, and has stuck with me ever since.

Kiernan Shipka is very creepy and unsettling as Kat, and gives the best performance in the film. Even those who did not like this movie gave Shipka props for a wonderful job done. Emma Roberts steps into a different role than she usually does, and does an excellent job as Joan. Her body language said more than the few lines she has. The rest of the cast also turns in solid performances, the acting in this is a great strength next to its atmosphere.

This is an excellent but polarizing slow burn non-traditional possession horror film, and is impressive for Osgood Perkins' directorial debut.

Bleak, chilly, and disturbing

[nightwishouge · 7/10 · 16 March 2021]

The Blackcoat's Daughter is a flawed movie. But it stuck with me in ways that technically better horror movies have not. It's a well-shot, well-acted movie about grief and loneliness. Ultimately, it offers very little hope. I didn't like the feeling it left me with. But I can't say that's a demerit.

As to the flaws, it's difficult to get into those without spoiling the plot. The biggest problem for me is a particular casting choice; ultimately it's a cheat, but given the film's structure, it has to cheat to work. I guess you could call it a necessary evil.

I'm discovering that, between this and Hereditary, I don't like movies about demons. They get under my skin. And I'm not even religious.

A movie about absolutely nothing with No.Horror to compensate for it being about nothing

[truthsog · 1/10 · 26 May 2019]

Not A HORRROR movie. And nor is the "plot" which is hard to tell if their even is a real plot to stay around so long for a movie about regular peoples lives. I'm seeing comments like " I like the tone " the tone the movie sets... lol? Doesnt every movie set a tone like that's one of the worst reasons for a movie to be "good".. don't feel your not intellectual enough to accept this movie's different style of "horror" nothing scary about nor is there any since of urgency.. orbtrue unease. It's a massive failure of a film.

Please remember that I am not a huge fan of horror and gore...

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 4 April 2016]

I saw "The Blackcoat's Daughter" at a film festival over the weekend and I have no idea when the movie is going into general release. It's a film with good points and bad...but one thing you should understand first is that I am not a huge fan of horror. Nor, am I much of a fan of gore. So read my review with this in mind.

The story is set at a residential Catholic school in New York State. Although there is a break coming up, two girls inexplicably seem to STILL be there at school once the other girls all left for home. Rose is a manipulator and says her parents are coming the wrong day and it's all a mix-up. However, she's really there to see her boyfriend and she sneaks out of the school that night to see him. The other girl, Kat, is a cipher. While she looks young and sweet, she is an entirely different person inside and what she's capable of doing it something you learn through the course of the film.

The film's biggest plus is that it indeed is scary...and unsettling. Horror fans need not worry...it will do the trick if you want to be scared. On the other hand, Kat's character is difficult to understand and the odd way the story is told in a non-linear fashion seemed unnecessary to me. A mixed bag overall, but still, it's worth seeing if you are a die-hard horror fan.

Slow boring nonsense

[orionhi · 1/10 · 27 March 2021]

If you like sitting in traffic this movie is for you. If you like dial-up internet you'll love this movie. If you like reading junk mail you'll find this entertaining. This movie is the equivalent of standing in line at the grocery store behind a person that picked all the items without a price tag and she's paying with a check and the checker doesn't speak English.

"Devil, Without You I'm Only a Poor God"

[mulbieh · 7/10 · 5 February 2024]

Directed by Oz Perkins, "The Blackcoat's Daughter" stands as a testament to atmospheric horror, deliberately avoiding the trappings of common tropes and clichés pervasive in the genre. Perkins crafts a deliberate pace and employs a restrained visual style to construct an eerie atmosphere that saturates every frame. The desolate, snow-covered setting further enhances the isolation, providing an unsettling backdrop for the unfolding events.

The film's title, "The Blackcoat's Daughter," takes on a symbolic weight as the narrative delves into profound themes of sin, guilt, and the sinister forces that clandestinely operate beneath the surface. Alternatively titled "February (source broken)," this moniker serves as a subtle clue, emphasizing that the film is a psychological puzzle inviting viewers to piece together cryptic elements. The reward lies in the satisfaction of those who appreciate ambiguity and open-ended conclusions.

The non-linear storytelling may prove disorienting for some, demanding patience and an appreciation for atmospheric horror. The deliberate ambiguity, while leaving certain questions unanswered, adds to the film's enigmatic allure.

What truly distinguishes "The Blackcoat's Daughter" is its audacious twist. Departing from the familiar narrative of victimhood, the film unveils a protagonist who willingly embraces the forces of darkness. Rejecting the conventional portrayal of the possessed as helpless victims, the narrative takes an unexpected turn as the central character's allegiance to the devil is revealed.

I fell asleep during it

[sar-weber · 1/10 · 21 July 2019]

I love horror and I'm easy to please. This just didn't do it for me. I watched it alone, in the dark, before bed and fell asleep. The twist is terrible. It's slow and predictable.

I really don't understand the hype.

A Simple Story saved by an Eerie Atmosphere

[MattBirk · 8/10 · 13 December 2016]

* TBD is an interesting film that is GUARANTEED to polarize horror lovers. It's a very simple narrative from a story standpoint, but what it lacks in narrative it's saved in spades by atmosphere and mystery. This is more of a psychological-thriller than a splatter-fest or hack-and-slash.

* So let's get the obvious out of the way, yes, it's a slow movie. It's a slow burn and I'd even say the climax is rather tame (not lame) in terms of gore/excitement/reward. Yes, it builds to a somewhat bloody climax but it's not balls to the wall crazy, so I'm afraid some will think the slow burn 70 minute build up isn't worth the wait.

* The movie is a classic case of style over substance. The gray color palette and dreary snow gives the movie its potent atmosphere. Throw in a great soundtrack/score (note: the music isn't like "It Follows" where you can listen to individual tracks). This movie's music perfect compliments specific scenes and builds some tension. It's a great addition even if it's not something I would go to Youtube and listen to compared to other horror soundtracks.

* This is a good slow burn horror movie, it's not perfect (mostly because the story is bare bones), but it's definitely watchable thanks to the three female leads. All of them are fantastic! So if you think you can handle a slow burn (with a more thought provoking climax opposed to a splatter fest) then this is something you should check out!

This was genuinely creepy....BUT.....

[wildsparrow16 · 7/10 · 29 March 2017]

In the first five minutes of the film when a spirit (or demon) shows her that her parents have been killed on their way to pick her up, I knew this would be chilling. It sets the stage for Kat's vulnerability, for as we know from horror films, the demon strikes when we are emotionally frail. Her schoolmate who is rather cruel to her in the beginning, sets the stage for conflict and pent-up anger and makes you sympathetic to Kat (as if losing her parents didn't already do that for you). She slowly begins to change, and while this is happening, Joan comes onto the scene after escaping an asylum (yup, we've seen this). Her character is very complex, and I don't want to divulge. I was never bored during this - it is spine-chilling. But there is nothing particularly clever about it and the gratuitous violence in the last half hour really turned me off - I felt it had changed gears and become a campy slasher film. I gave it a 7 because it was quite scary, however, I don't like how it changed gears from being a psychological horror film to a bloody severed head count. The demon-bunny looked ridiculous. But with that being said, it was a scary movie. Unlike other viewers, I failed to see echoes of The Shining. It did however, remind me of Scandi-Noir films, with it's bleak setting, quiet, but unsettling characters and ominous tone. If you like "Let Me In" and "Keeper of Lost Secrets", you will probably enjoy this one. It did edit my review to more stars because this movie stayed with me and got under my skin - despite the demon bunny.

Absolute mess of a movie.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 2/10 · 25 November 2018]

I am stunned to see so many positive reviews, and so many people being kind, let me be clear, this sucked! I absolutely hated it, an absolute mess of a movie in all ways, the plot was wafer thin, the story telling was woeful at best, and considering the type of movie it was, I found it needlessly gratuitous. It was agonisingly slow, the only time I can imagine anyone waking up was to see the overly violent scenes, which I must add were very badly done.

Emma Roberts was ok, but was clearly fighting a stinker of a script. The atmosphere started off well enough, eerie and dark, but soon the film turned into snooze mode.

One of the most boring films I've ever had the misfortune to watch. Every possible avenue was missed, widely.

February is a flawed film. It is also a fantastic film.

[horrorinpureform · 8/10 · 15 September 2015]

February is a flawed film. It is also a fantastic film.

It takes place in the middle of a cold, snowy Canadian winter at an all-girls boarding school. The winter break is approaching and all the girls are picked up by their parents to spend a week at home. The exception is Kat (Kiernan Shipka), a very young girl whose parents don't show up and she begins to fear them dead, and Rose (Lucy Boynton), an older girl who has lied to her parents because she wanted to spend the break alone at the school. As time goes on, Kat gets more and more worried about her parents and acting stranger and stranger. Meanwhile, a couple of towns over, another young lady, Joan (Emma Roberts), escapes from a mental institution. She seems to be on the move toward the boarding school where the other two girls are. I would advise against seeing trailers or looking up anything further about the plot, this movie is best experienced with no preconceptions of the sub-genre or where it is going, because it leaves you most open to what it tries to do.

The magic of this movie is mostly in its extremely distinct mood, an almost undefinable aura or quality to it. All of the aspects of film making mirror the cold, snowy winter - music, the pace, the character interactions. The characters speak lazily, morbidly to each other, everything has a hint of cold tension underneath it. I've never seen a horror movie with this particular type of mood, and I always welcome unique experiences.

The script is also expertly crafted. I like how subtly the mystery is revealed to the viewer - it is not spoon-fed at any point, and it is quite well-concealed for at least the first half of the movie. We only get pieces that almost seem impossible to fit together, yet they come together in a perfectly obvious and coherent conclusion. On top of that, the story radiates an overwhelming sadness which elicited a very strong emotional response from me personally. Mostly due to Shipka's amazing acting, which stole every scene (the other two girls are great too, just overshadowed by the youngest cast member). She really captures the desolate emptiness required of her role.

The flaws are really mostly superficial, and a product of the fact that the movie was made by a relatively young cast. The director clearly has a good eye for morbid beauty, and he has made a movie that is much more artistic than the average horror, but I still found that some of his stylistic choices were cheesier and more generic than he seems to think they were. He's still a very talented guy, he just needs to find a more humble and grounded balance between innovation and reference. Still can't wait until he makes another horror though, I will definitely be following him!

Twisting this and that

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 26 November 2016]

I can see that this is not "Horror" enough for some. But to go as far as to say "watch paint dry" instead of this, goes a bit far, not to say a lot far. So this is slow burning and that's not everyone's taste. As aren't the story progressions (or regressions?) you are about to watch. That doesn't mean that people who either get it and love it or people who absolutely hate it are wrong. It's a taste thing.

So is this your thing or isn't it? That's something only you can answer. Relatively objectively (there is no absolute objectivity, we're humans and therefor prone to subjectivity) speaking, this has style and a story to back that up. Still there are some flaws and the drama could've been told a bit differently without alienating some viewers. But overall it was a more than a decent effort

Terrible movie with no plot

[matthew-allan-jones · 1/10 · 5 July 2019]

Seriously, this story could be told in ten minutes. Mundane, boring crap. 5.9 average review is a gift

The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)

[rockman182 · 7/10 · 1 April 2017]

Here's one that's been around since 2015 but for some reason A24 pushed back its release till 2017 on video on demand. I'm a fan of Emma Roberts so I thought watching her in a horror film would be worth checking out (since I enjoyed her in Scream 4). Release date flub aside, I think this was a solid film. Its a slow build but I think the film is quite atmospheric and is mysterious enough to keep you engaged and inquisitive all the way through.

It'll be hard to actually describe the plot of this film without actually spoiling key aspects of the film. The film revolves around three young girls in a setting of a Catholic school and grizzly murders that take place. Let's also say that demonic possession is in the play in the film. While that may sound generic, the film manages to stay refreshing throughout. Its a slow burn but the build is impressive. You start to wonder where the puzzles fit into place and once you finish the film you can't help but feel impressed with what was witnessed.

Kiernan Shipka is definitely a talent. She was honestly one of the best parts of Mad Men playing a feisty and rather complex Sally Draper. I then saw her hold her own in the remake of Flowers in the Attic. I think she'll be in much more. A combo of Roberts and Shipka (who aren't really ever on the screen together) were able to bring forth an independent horror/thriller effort that gives the viewers a fun experience. Its not exactly scary, but I think is impressive in its own right for how its able to suck in viewers with minimum effort.

7/10

Tries too hard to be Artsy

[CC38 · 3/10 · 24 February 2018]

This director must've watched Pulp Fiction and the main thing that he took away from the experience was: "Non-linear storytelling is the bees knees guys!"

Basically, the director focused so much on making this movie interesting to look at that he forgot he was supposed to be telling a story. It's really hard to feel a sense of dread or foreboding or to put yourself in a characters' shoes if you are spending the whole moving trying to figure out what order events take place in.

I give it three stars because I think there was an interesting (if extremely simple) story somewhere in this over-edited mess. It has a lot of positives honestly, but it completely fails at storytelling and that's a dealbreaker.