The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)

A rewatch I’ve been looking forward to for a while at this point, I was inspired to write this film up after my viewing of Black Christmas last December, another horror film it sort of shares a premise with. All I remembered about The Blackcoat's Daughter was that it had an interesting twist, lots of disturbing violence, and a surprising amount of humanity and maturity for a film that is - in essence - a classic possession film, complete with a short exorcism scene and everything! With this in mind, I had my expectations high and was eager to dive in, which is probably the worst possible place for a piece of entertainment to have you; you’re practically guaranteeing yourself disappointment, and even if it doesn’t let you down, the actual merits of whatever it is you’re dealing with can become easily distorted by mental gymnastics and identity politics in the wake of. Sure, I’d seen this particular film once before, but that doesn’t mean much. Sometimes the mood of the room or even life circumstances can make things burn brighter and seem greater in retrospect than they actually were.

None of this is an issue with The Blackcoat’s Daughter, however; for those seeking experiences that truly capture the experience of a nightmare, where atmosphere and immersion are emphasized thanks to careful pacing and an impeccable presentation: you’re in luck. 

Too much to dream last night

Fittingly, the film begins with a nightmare, and an effective one at that, which immediately sets the tone for the whole film. The dream belongs to a young, socially-awkward girl named Kat who attends an all-girls catholic boarding school, and it depicts something truly devastating: Kat’s parents being killed in a horrific car accident, leaving her completely alone in the world. The next morning, there is no news from the staff that corroborates anything she saw the night before, yet somehow Kat has a sinking feeling that the dream wasn’t a dream at all, but some kind of prophetic vision. When she calls her parents, she gets no response.

No matter, as school lets out for the winter in just a couple of days anyway. Surely, they’ll show up and claim her then, and there will be some innocuous explanation of why she couldn’t get in touch with them! Only, when school does indeed let out, Kat’s parents never show.

As a result, she’s left with a skeleton crew of staff to sleep in the dormitory until her parents show up. This brings Kat into orbit with an older girl named Rose who couldn’t be more unlike her: she hits it off with others easily, and she’s going to be staying over with Kat and the sisters only because she lied to her parents about the date vacation began. Why did she lie? Well, because she believes herself to be possibly pregnant, and she doesn’t want to leave until she is sure one way or the other. This somewhat familiar if extremely creepy "alone over the break" setup will soon spiral out of control and leave just about everyone involved either dead or traumatized.

Who's your daddy?

What isn't very familiar is the structure of the story; The Blackcoat's Daughter sports as prickly and enigmatic a layout as it does a fascinating premise. Just as things are beginning to come together and we feel as though we know what to expect from the film going forward, it abruptly cuts to some new third character: Joan, a homeless young woman who is doing her own thing in a completely different and seemingly unrelated location. Hell, even the timeline of the multiple plotlines is completely mysterious: is Joan's story a prelude to events, or a distant product of what happens at the conclusion of Kat’s story? As the film continues cutting back and forth between the two stories, we eventually learn the answers to all these questions, and without resorting to exposition of any kind to boot. The story revolves around a simple question of motivation for its most diabolical character, and it isn’t until the final five minutes or so that we have this answered for us. However, once we're there, it's hard not to see what makes this such a unique spin on an old formula. I'm sure some will find this restraint frustrating, but I feel it's just another indicator of the film's quality: it’s not easy to take such a strange and mixed-up story, exploit it for every bit of shock, suspense, and mystery that you can, and then tie it all up effortlessly just before the film ends.

Still, there is no end of ambiguities to meditate on: why does the whole staff seem so immediately put on edge when they learn that Kat will have to stay over while she waits for her parents? Has something happened previously that we’re just not privy to? Precisely why is Kat so angry that the dean won’t be there to see her performance? What was the purpose of setting into motion the events of the plot, considering there does end up being a chess master behind it all? Could it be as simple as wanting to see the Catholic boarding school shut down, simply wanting to do evil for the sake of a laugh, or seeing an opportunity to cause chaos when the antagonistic force of the film stumbles upon Kat? And speaking of Kat, is it possible that she’s simply imagining the events of the plot? It’s kind of a stretch, and a later revelation (though a well-hidden one) sort of undermines it a bit, but it is technically possible for those who hate horror films that are explicitly supernatural. 

The thing is, though: The Blackcoat’s Daughter is partly so special because of the way it balances these contradictory approaches to horror, that of the supernatural and psychological, and its humane treatment of its most wretched characters. Few other horror films would have the balls to end such a gruesome and nihilistic story with a scene of utter pathos the way this one does. It almost reminds me of Titane. At first, the horror focuses exclusively on the horrible things this character does, but it wraps up by evoking only the utter horror of their now-empty existence. It’s chilling stuff, and very unconventional.

*start of spoilers*

The only nitpick I have with the film seems like kind of a necessity in hindsight, but no less cheap despite this. In order to keep the audience in the dark for as long as possible when it comes to Joan’s story, they recast a specific character with a totally different actor, armed only with the excuse that some time has passed since the last time we saw that character, though probably not quite as much time as would need to have passed to explain the difference in appearance. It feels like what it is, an act of blatant misdirection to keep us off the trail, but given how well things come together in the end, I find it a worthwhile one nonetheless.

*end of spoilers*

"You smell pretty."

But enough of the brilliant narrative, as that’s only half of the reason this film is such a rare treat for horror buffs. Director Oz Perkins (yeah, yeah, son of actor Anthony Perkins) and his cohorts take an already impressive script and spin it into cinematic gold. The pacing is slow and deliberate, allowing us to really immerse ourselves in the dread the film saturates itself with, and the film’s striking visuals only enhance this oppressive atmosphere. Perkin’s touch can be felt in every frame; his is a heavy-handed approach that isn’t always effective (across his entire filmography, I mean) and which tends to carry a stigma amongst casual filmgoers, but a striking one nonetheless. Yet, even moreso than the incredible direction and cinematography, I have to give it up for The Blackcoat’s Daughter’s wonderful score, composed by none other than Elvis… Perkins, Oz Perkins’s brother. Despite the fact that the man had apparently never dabbled in scoring films or otherwise creating music meant to do its work totally in the background, he really knocks it out of the park here. His spooky vocals bookend the film well, and I particularly love the little melody that’s played on a dusty old keyboard that almost has a 'lounge' quality to it, as it sounds so genuinely lovely and evocative that it makes your hairs stand on end, especially given its placement in such a twisted film.

So in case it has not become clear by this point, those out there who despise anything perceived as ‘arty’ or who derisively call films like this “elevated horror” probably wouldn’t enjoy this very much. It’s not a film meant to be watched in occasional glances over a cellphone, and it will only give back whatever you’re willing to give in return. It’s not here to make you love it; it’s here because it has something that it would like to say and a story it feels compelled to share, and if you would like to take part, you’re going to have to make some kind of effort to engage with it, period. It throws psychology, religion, humanity, grisly violence, and classic possession tropes into a massive pot and lets it all stew together until juuust before the whole thing threatens to boil over. It announces Oz Perkins as a horror auteur to be reckoned with, and continues A24's seemingly never-ending hot streak.