The Big Picture

• The Blackcoat's Daughter challenges horror genre conventions with eerie storytelling and stellar performances from Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, and Kiernan Shipka.
• Director Oz Perkins creates a twisty thriller that delves into isolation and trauma, leaving viewers in a constant state of unease.
• The ambiguous ending adds to the chilling atmosphere, questioning reality and showcasing Perkins' unique directorial style.

A24 has radically changed the cinematic marketplace for horror films through its promotion of offbeat, ambitious titles that challenge standard perceptions of the genre. In the production company’s short history, filmmakers like Ari Aster and Robert Eggers have flexed their horror muscles with inventive debut features that have led them to develop singular careers. A24 seemingly has a keen eye for directors who take a unique approach to time-old horror subgenres, and that’s certainly the case with Osgood Perkins’ horrifying debut feature The Blackcoat’s Daughter. While it’s sadly flown under the radar of many genre fans, The Blackcoat’s Daughter is an inventive possession thriller that examines the perils of isolation and stigmatization. Starring Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, and Lucy Boynton, The Blackcoat's Daughter is a must-see, especially if you are gearing up for Perkins' highly-anticipated Longlegs which hits theaters this July.

What Is ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ About?

Set at the all-female Catholic boarding school of Bramford Academy in upstate New York, The Blackcoat’s Daughter centers on three young girls who are forced to stay at school over their winter break. While Perkins wastes no time in introducing the film’s three leads, the film takes a decidedly non-linear approach to showing how the timelines intersect. This makes for a twisty thriller in which the viewer is constantly in a state of unease. The reclusive nature of the isolated school is terrifying in its own right, as seeing a sprawling university almost completely devoid of students and most faculty is more than a little eerie. Perkins uses the lack of authority within the school to his advantage; while a few nuns are present with the girls during their meals, it’s evident that they are not prepared for the malevolent forces that are lurking in the background.

Although there’s only the briefest of information drawn about each of the protagonists, Perkins draws a parallel between the characters based on their shared trauma. The senior Rose (The Greatest Hits' Lucy Boynton) fears that she is pregnant, and has lied to her parents about the dates for Bamford's vacation; she’s left alone to room with the plucky freshman Kat (Kiernan Shipka), who learns that both of her parents died in a car accident. While a warmer movie may have allowed these two characters to lean on each other in this period of hardship, Perkins creates an immediate division between them. Rose takes almost no notice of Kat until she starts making strange, cryptic proclamations that suggest a demonic presence. It only steadily becomes clear to both the viewer and Rose that Kat’s mind has been corrupted by some unwieldy force.

Perkins eventually goes back to explore the origins of Kat’s shocking behavioral changes, but a perfectly placed flash-forward sequence helps tie The Blackcoat’s Daughter’s mysteries together. Following what appears to be Rose’s appalling demise, the film skips to a year later when the young woman Joan (Emma Roberts) is escaping a mental health facility. Details about her experiences at Bramford are scarce. Still, based on her interactions with the friendly older couple Bill (James Remar) and Linda (Lauren Holly), it's evident that her identity is not all that it seems. While the scenes in the school were unsettling in how isolating they were, the notion of a young woman alone in a winter storm with no mentor is perhaps even more terrifying. In a masterful twist, Perkins shows that Joan really is Kat; the viewer shouldn’t be scared for her, but scared of her.

‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ Features Great Performances

Any horror film with such an isolated setting requires truly excellent performances from its ensemble, and Perkins found three future scream queens with Shipka, Boynton, and Roberts. What’s brilliant about the early interactions between Kat and Rose is they’re not too dissimilar from the casual conversations that two school-aged characters may have in a coming-of-age movie; Rose is too busy thinking about how she will confront her parents and doesn’t want to waste her time with an obnoxious younger roommate. However, Kat’s steady corruption is enough for Rose’s maternal instincts to kick in. Watching her take a protective stance and try to give Kat guidance makes Rose’s abrupt exit from the film even more heartbreaking.

While she proved her horror abilities with an underrated role in Scream 4, Roberts gives an uncharacteristically subdued and sinister performance in The Blackcoat’s Daughter. Even before it’s made clear that Joan is the future version of Kat, Roberts does a great job at making the character impenetrable; even in her sparse interactions with Bill and Linda, she sheds no insight on her past and appears to lack basic social skills. Roberts masterfully matches the same awkward quality that made Shipka’s performance so disturbing. However, Roberts also shows a maturation to her that suggests Kat/Joan has learned to live with the traumatizing circumstances surrounding her past.

The Ambiguous Ending Makes ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ Even Scarier

Although the final act contains some ghastly images of murder and exorcism, The Blackcoat’s Daughter never explicitly confirms the presence of a demon. Perhaps the halls of Bramford Academy are haunted by a malevolent force that the school’s authorities have ignored, or maybe the entire ordeal was simply a way for Kat to cope with the tragedies in her life. Perkins does a great job of limiting the audience’s understanding of Kat’s perspective. While it’s evident that she believes herself to be in contact with a horned shadow, it’s left ambiguous if her perception can be trusted.

Regardless of how much paranormal activity is intended to be legitimate, The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a thought-provoking analysis of female isolation. Perkins’ ability to retrofit genre archetypes through clever narrative conceits speaks highly to his abilities as a filmmaker. His subsequent feature Gretel & Hansel offered a very different slant on the dark fantasy genre, and his upcoming work on the serial killer thriller Longlegs is certainly among the year’s most anticipated horror films.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter is streaming on Max in the U.S.

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