School is Hell: 'The Blackcoat's Daughter'

Following up my last post, I decided to tackle the other film by Osgood Perkins, a former actor, and son of movie star Anthony Perkins.

His most recent film, 2016's I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House shares many traits with his first feature, 2015's The Blackcoat's Daughter - the beautiful cinematography, brilliant use of silence, impeccable design and lighting, and a constant sense of dread. Pretty Thing has a calmer, ghostlier vibe, while Blackcoat's Daughter follows a blunt, cold feeling of possession.

Both films relish the idea of physical isolation and loneliness of environment; in Pretty Thing, it's an old haunted farmhouse, in this film, it's an abandoned boarding school.

Kieran Shipka (the wonderfully dry pre-teen Sally Draper on Mad Men) is Katherine, a boarding school student who is waiting to be picked up by her parents at the beginning of a winter break. Weird dreams wake up Katherine (or is it a waking dream) featuring a shadowy figure she calls "Daddy" (Her father? A demon?) that starts her on a path that involves Rose, a fellow student who also needs to stay an extra day or so at school waiting for her parents as well. Let's just say, she'll regret that decision.

I don't want to discuss plot points too much (even the trailer shows too much). There is a second storyline that involves Emma Roberts. After seeing the entire movie, I think that storyline may not have been needed. I won't spoil it, but I think when you reach the end of the film you could ask yourself the same question.

I wondered if more time spent at the beginning of the film exploring Katherine's odd transformation might have made a more successful story. Things happen very quickly at the beginning, and the idea of possession begins right away; it seems rushed.

But you can't deny the fantastic vibe and the mood that Perkins created in the two feature films he's completed to date. I hope he can stick with these smaller, indie films that pack punches. He might get spoiled if he gets a big budget, movie stars, and major studio distribution. Or he could assemble a modern-day The Exorcist and become a true horror master filmmaker.