Review: The Blackcoat's Daughter

(Wikipedia.org)

Art and horror often go hand-in-hand. For movies attempting to break barriers and excel in critical acclaim, film's often make jumps towards style over scares. Sometimes the payoff of which, isn't worth it. This is the space where we find movies like last year's The Neon Demon and the current wide release of The Blackcoat's Daughter. The release of The Neon Demon while amazing to stare at, received backlash for a lack of plot and substance. The Blackcoat's Daughter works much better. First premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015, the movie does feel weighted by it's long overdue wide release, but the resulting film is still visually stunning and entertaining.

The Blackcoat's Daughter (originally titled February) tells the story of a pair of girls who end up stuck at their boarding school when their parents are no shows. Kiernan Shipka (When Marnie Was There) plays Kat, a fearful, yet equally creepy freshman who is left to the charge of Lucy Boynton's (Don't Knock Twice) character, a rebellious senior named Rose. Simultaneously, the film also features Emma Roberts (Scream Queens) as a young woman named Joan who hitches a ride with a couple toward the boarding school.

Each of the three leads are stunning. Shipka in particular plays her part well. As the fearful freshman with creepy tendencies, Shipka offers a subtle, yet powerful performance and her character Kate is by far the most engrossing part of The Blackcoat's Daughter. That being said, both Roberts and Boynton hold their own and excel. Roberts is great as a somewhat down trodden and unstable Joan; it's a role she is destined to continue playing until the end of time. Then Boynton, who was a brighter spot in last week's Don't Knock Twice, continues to add another strong case for her scream queen status.

As many reviews have noted, The Blackcoat's Daughter is visually appealing. Dreary and dark, The Blackcoat's Daughter uses very little to make a quiet and creeping atmosphere. It has a slow burn that would make you believe that the candle was never lit, and for fans of movies like The Witch. the horror of  The Blackcoat's Daughter will be worthwhile.

The one flaw of The Blackcoat's Daughter, is it's pretention. Less compelling than it pretends to be, The Blackcoat's Daughter offers outstandingly dreary cinematography but comes with a plotline that isn't only difficult to follow, but also not as twisted as they believe it to be. The Blackcoat's Daughter feels like a short film extended past it's intended length. Sure, some scenes are chilling and great, but twists and turns only work if they're viable and people can follow along. I may be in the minority and thinking too simplistically, but The Blackcoat's Daughter has too many inconsistencies to be entirely workable. Without giving away too much, I'll say this: the two actresses meant to resemble one another, look nothing alike. Aside from that, there are definitely additional timing and purpose issues throughout.

Overall, The Blackcoat's Daughter has enough going for it that it's heightened sense of self can be overlooked. It has moments of suspense and is certainly cool to look at. The Blackcoat's Daughter does suffer from some weaknesses, but it's attempts to tell a new and entertaining horror story are fun enough. I give it 8 plaid skirts out of 10.