[Editor's Note: This movie was previously titled February, but after being acquired by A24, the film is now referred to as The Blackcoat’s Daughter.]
An all girls boarding school creaks and moans while it sits in the middle of the whipping winds of a vicious blizzard. Catholicism is taught here in the form of diligent prayer and respect for elders, but these practices are not all that Bramford houses. While many of the pupils are devout followers and good students, some girls, like little lonely Kat, have felt too much despair at too early an age to find solace in the grace of God. Kat sees the devil in every sin she endures -- in the destruction of her past, in the harassment emitted by a fellow classmate, and in the emptiness of her solitude, Kat sniffs out traces of the devil's lure, and in her disappointment with the world, can't help but find comfort in the embrace of Satan’s seductive, comforting claws.
In the film, students Kat and Joan are stuck sharing quarters over the course of winter break when their guardians are caught coming back through the storm. Although Joan promises the headmaster that she will help the two remaining nuns look after Kat, as soon as he turns his head, she sneaks out and takes off with her boyfriend, leaving Kat prey to the evil spirit that suffocates the empty halls of Bramford boarding school. Upon Joan's return, she'll find that the soul of the sweet, socially awkward girl she once knew has vanished, and only a malevolent entity remains locked within her innocent-looking vessel.
Meanwhile, in another town, a worn-down girl named Joan steps off of a local bus looking fragile and paranoid. Bearing only a hospital bracelet and foggy memories, Joan checks out a map at the station and randomly chooses Bramford to run away to. While shivering at the stop waiting for her incredibly slow ride to arrive, a kind stranger offers her a lift. He and his wife are headed to Albany, and though he points to a tinted window, claims his wife is inside, and appears seemingly out of nowhere, Joan accepts his offer, if for no other reason than she has little in the way of choices. The journey that follows will not only test the faith of everyone involved, but also pave the way for her and Kat's paths to cross, painting the path to their unification in hot splashes of innocent blood.
The first feature film from writer/director Osgood Perkins, February pulsates with potential. The ambience of Bramford drips with loneliness and malice, as the school acts as a character in and of itself, offering up Kat the only friend she's ever known. The moody, beautifully shot atmosphere of the film and the cold, distant nature of the characters almost double as metaphors for the terrors of growing up as a teenage girl. The actions of the only kind characters in the film are perceived as suspicious and untrustworthy, in a world where these girls have grown so accustomed to the only offerings of help going hand in hand with a bout of backstabbing and treachery attached. Although it's clear that the majority of the plot revolves around the well-being of Kat, each girl within the film experiences her own trials and tribulations in the form of daily encounters, whether they be as common as unexpected pregnancy, or as drastic as running away from home.
February is at its best when it displays the girl in her possessed state; dark brooding beast at her side, but the voyage shared by both Kat and Joan through quiet, snow-fallen, desolate locations into the barren corners of their hearts is filled with ratcheting intensity. As both the characters and the vacant spaces grow colder, the warmth of the devil's rosy fire only grows more and more welcoming. The idea of Satan acting as an aid to soothe one's loneliness is an interesting notion that hasn't been handled much yet in the horror world. Typically, the fallen angel is seen as nothing but an evil entity that needs to be vanquished, but displaying such a prominent demon in the form of a friend provides an innovative, sympathetic look at a massive religious figure, and suggests subtly what might lead a person to commit such heinous acts.
With talented actresses, a unique script, and a promising new director, longtime actor-turned-director Osgood Perkins' directorial debut is a huge success on nearly all fronts. The only real issue with February is the ending. There's a twist during the big finale, and although the story is great, what exactly unfolds isn't entirely clear. After learning what Perkins' intentions were with the story, it makes more sense, and actually turns out to be a terrific final punch, but the fact that the audience has trouble understanding what happens is troublesome. Perkins is clearly a talented filmmaker and a worthy addition to the horror world, so with a little fine tuning of his storytelling, there's nothing stopping him from becoming one of the most powerful new voices in the genre. It will be exciting to see what he brings to the table next.
Movie Score: 4/5
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