The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
Oz Perkins
"Don't go."
I've been meaning to get around to seeing The Blackcoat's Daughter for a while now. It's everything I love: moody atmospheric horror, an A24 production, bad public reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and Kiernan Shipka. It sort of slipped by me when it was initially released, and I'm not sure it was ever in theaters near me when A24 snuck it out last year.
But that's fine. This is exactly why Amazon Prime exists, so I can pay $12 a month all year long and see exactly eight scary movies during the month of October.
Emily was a little skeptical last night when I brought it up. Technically this would be the first film of actual Spooktober, which means that it should be a doozy. Emily saw the abysmal Amazon Prime score (2.5 stars) and became concerned. I shared in her initial apprehension, but the beautiful thing about Spooktober is revisiting old classics while staying on the desperate chase for new gems.
But as soon as that beautiful A24 logo came up on the screen, we were both mollified like the effete latte sipping indie scumbags that we are.
And wouldn't you know it, we unearthed a new gem (for us, anyway).
What's it about: Two girls (Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton) are students at a Catholic girl's boarding school right before winter break. One, Rose (played by Boynton) thinks she may be pregnant and wants to meet up with her townie boyfriend rather than go home to her parents, and the other, Kat, is seemingly forgotten at school by her parents who have not arrived to pick her up, are not answering their phone, and have not contacted the school in any way. So the headmaster does the only sensible thing, and keeps them both at the school to be minded by two creepy spinster sisters who act as the school's nurses. Satanic hilarity ensues.
What was interesting: I am 100% sure that the reason the audience scores for this film are so low on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes is because people equate horror films with jump scares and screaming monsters and would consider this "the most boringest movie ever."
Blackcoat's Daughter is all about mood, and developing tension, and keeping you unnerved and confused until the end. At one point, as I paused the movie to go to the bathroom, Emily said she loves when movies are just a little weird. Sometimes if they're too weird, they become enervating or confusing (Emily would argue Tree of Life falls into this category), and if they're too straight up and down they're flat and uninteresting (literally every movie released in theaters). This film definitely finds a nice balance, and it really works.
For example, there are curious scenes where Kat, who is characterized as a bit of a weirdo loner, will answer a benign question like "Can I get you anything else before bed," with, "No. You already had your chance." Sometimes creepy can be ghouls and ghosts, and sometimes creepy can be 'trapped alone in a Catholic school with a crazy girl.'
Since this a movie all about mood and tension, it needs to rely on its cinematography (which is stark, simple, and yet thoughtful) and the performances (which rule). Shipka, by the end of Mad Men, became the best actor on the show, and is outstanding here. She rides the line between doe-eyed innocent and crazy weirdo perfectly.
And Boynton, who I don't remember from anything else besides the AWFUL 2017 version of Murder on the Orient Express, is more or less the lead in the film, and does a great job. There's nothing worse than getting knocked up by a loser townie, especially if you're smarter than everyone else around you, and she plays it so well. A hint of bitchiness, but more of a genuinely nice and good person than anyone else at this stodgy, regressive institution.
The story gets wilder and more gruesome as time goes on, and I will say the ending was weirdly beautiful and sad like any good indie horror movie ending should be, but I don't want to spoil a darn thing, so I'll shut up here.
Other films I thought of: It's kind of a more on-the-nose and modern day The VVitch, I guess. It also reminded us of 2017's Ghost Story in terms of the quiet tension and A24 indie trappings. Maybe a sniff of The Exorcist.
Miscellany: At one point a character calls an older authority figure a cunt, which made me burst out with laughter. I love when kids get mouthy and disrespect their elders.
Recommendation: If you're a fan of atmospheric indie horror, absolutely. If you're a fan of screaming clown monsters jumping at the screen, absolutely not. However, I'm not going to pretend it's a revelation and everyone will or should love it. But if you're reading this, and what I've said about it has piqued your interest, you should definitely check it out.
Unremarkably Good (but right on the cusp)
I've been meaning to get around to seeing The Blackcoat's Daughter for a while now. It's everything I love: moody atmospheric horror, an A24 production, bad public reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and Kiernan Shipka. It sort of slipped by me when it was initially released, and I'm not sure it was ever in theaters near me when A24 snuck it out last year.
But that's fine. This is exactly why Amazon Prime exists, so I can pay $12 a month all year long and see exactly eight scary movies during the month of October.
Emily was a little skeptical last night when I brought it up. Technically this would be the first film of actual Spooktober, which means that it should be a doozy. Emily saw the abysmal Amazon Prime score (2.5 stars) and became concerned. I shared in her initial apprehension, but the beautiful thing about Spooktober is revisiting old classics while staying on the desperate chase for new gems.
But as soon as that beautiful A24 logo came up on the screen, we were both mollified like the effete latte sipping indie scumbags that we are.
And wouldn't you know it, we unearthed a new gem (for us, anyway).
What's it about: Two girls (Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton) are students at a Catholic girl's boarding school right before winter break. One, Rose (played by Boynton) thinks she may be pregnant and wants to meet up with her townie boyfriend rather than go home to her parents, and the other, Kat, is seemingly forgotten at school by her parents who have not arrived to pick her up, are not answering their phone, and have not contacted the school in any way. So the headmaster does the only sensible thing, and keeps them both at the school to be minded by two creepy spinster sisters who act as the school's nurses. Satanic hilarity ensues.
What was interesting: I am 100% sure that the reason the audience scores for this film are so low on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes is because people equate horror films with jump scares and screaming monsters and would consider this "the most boringest movie ever."
For example, there are curious scenes where Kat, who is characterized as a bit of a weirdo loner, will answer a benign question like "Can I get you anything else before bed," with, "No. You already had your chance." Sometimes creepy can be ghouls and ghosts, and sometimes creepy can be 'trapped alone in a Catholic school with a crazy girl.'
Since this a movie all about mood and tension, it needs to rely on its cinematography (which is stark, simple, and yet thoughtful) and the performances (which rule). Shipka, by the end of Mad Men, became the best actor on the show, and is outstanding here. She rides the line between doe-eyed innocent and crazy weirdo perfectly.
And Boynton, who I don't remember from anything else besides the AWFUL 2017 version of Murder on the Orient Express, is more or less the lead in the film, and does a great job. There's nothing worse than getting knocked up by a loser townie, especially if you're smarter than everyone else around you, and she plays it so well. A hint of bitchiness, but more of a genuinely nice and good person than anyone else at this stodgy, regressive institution.
The story gets wilder and more gruesome as time goes on, and I will say the ending was weirdly beautiful and sad like any good indie horror movie ending should be, but I don't want to spoil a darn thing, so I'll shut up here.
Other films I thought of: It's kind of a more on-the-nose and modern day The VVitch, I guess. It also reminded us of 2017's Ghost Story in terms of the quiet tension and A24 indie trappings. Maybe a sniff of The Exorcist.
Miscellany: At one point a character calls an older authority figure a cunt, which made me burst out with laughter. I love when kids get mouthy and disrespect their elders.
Recommendation: If you're a fan of atmospheric indie horror, absolutely. If you're a fan of screaming clown monsters jumping at the screen, absolutely not. However, I'm not going to pretend it's a revelation and everyone will or should love it. But if you're reading this, and what I've said about it has piqued your interest, you should definitely check it out.
Unremarkably Good (but right on the cusp)
No comments:
Post a Comment