VOD Review: The Blackcoat's Daughter (2017)

"Maybe the best Genre movie that we've seen all year."

(aka February.)
Release Date: TBA.
Country: USA.
Rating: R.
Written by: Oz Perkins.
Directed by: Oz Perkins.
Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, James Remar, and Lauren Holly.

Every year, there's one or two Horror movies that everyone hails as being "transcendent" or "genre changing," or something to that effect. Whatever the tag-line that gets attached to them, movies like It Follows, The Babadook, Cabin in the Woods, You're Next, and We Are Still Here end up being critical darlings, and find themselves on everyone's Must See list.

So far this year, the critical darlings seem to be The Witch, Green Room, and The Invitation. All three are great flicks in their own right, and they each deliver their own brand of chills, but I'm going to throw The Blackcoat's Daughter into that mix and say that it's every bit as good as those other movies. In fact, it very well could be better.

*We originally posted this review of The Blackcoat's Daughter (February) back in the Summer of 2016, and since then, it's been delayed a few times. Now that it's finally available for the world at larget to expereince for themselves, here it is again.

It's hard to talk about The Blackcoat's Daughter (formerly titled February), without ruining it for the uninitiated, so we're going to have to be as vague as possible here.

This is a movie about three girls, two of whom are stranded at their prep school over winter break, and one who is desperately trying to get to the school herself. One of the stranded girls, Kat, fears her parents dead, and withdraws inward to cope; while the other, Rose, is terrified that she might be pregnant, and is even more terrified of how creepy Kat is. As for the girl who is making her way toward Bramford Prep, Joan, well she's obviously been through something traumatic, and yet she stays focused on her goal.

It's also about Satan, who appears as a shadowy, bunny-like figure, intent on possessing one (or more) of the girl's souls.

I know that basically tells you nothing, but that's good. You need to see this one as uninformed as possible. In fact, don't even watch the trailer if you can help it. 

WHO WAS PHONE?

The Blackcoat's Daughter is a slow-burn Supernatural Thriller that took us to places that we didn't expect. I know that sounds generic as hell, and the term slow-burn is used far too often these days to describe slow and boring movies, but this one really had it's own quiet, eerie thing going on, and it left one hell of an impression on us.

The Blackcoat's Daughter is as much about loss as it is anything else, and the way that it handles the subject is superb. The movie twists and turns around its three main characters (who are all related in some obscure way) in quiet fashion, and brings them all together in the end in pretty shocking, and dare we say fresh, way. I'd really love to talk about that ending, and what it meant for the movie as a whole, but it would kill the entire thing, and it would be a shame for you to not experience that build-up and resolution for yourselves.

I guess it's safe to say that loss is the key word here; some of it creepy, all of it tragic.

"NO I HAVEN'T CHECKED THE CHILDREN. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?"

It was interesting how they handled Satan in this movie too (it could have been a plain old Demon, but we got the strong sense that it was Old Scratch himself.) His presence and appearance was all very shadowy and ambiguous, as if he were more of a feeling or ideal than an actual physical being. Oh, he was there at times, but it's as if his presence was a shadow that was always draped across everything and everyone, whether you could see him or not.

This is director Oz Perkins' debut feature behind the camera, and it's about as impressive as a first movie can be. Horror is obviously in his blood (he's the son of Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins), and If this is the type of thing that we can expect from him as his career moves forward, which it most certainly will, then we're in for some good times.

I'm not sure who truly stole the show in this one; Kiernan Shipka or Emma Roberts. Both ladies played their tortured parts equally well, and their performances took an already great movie to the next level. Lucy Boynton was on top of her game too, even if her character wasn't quite as prevalent. Even Lauren Holly and James Remar seemed to dig deep for this one, although with James Remar being one of the best character actors ever, that's really no surprise.

THIS IS NO TIME TO BE PLAYING BLOODY MARY!

So was the school used for Satanic Rituals, or was that just a rumor started by the kids? Were the nuns Satan's Whores? Was it all in someone's head? Who was phone?!?

SHE'S COME A LONG WAY SINCE MAD MEN.

What the hell is a Blackcoat, and who in the hell was his daughter?

WAS IT HER?

It might not show up until the end, but when it gets there, the gore is solid.

IT'S ONLY A HAND WOUND. RUN!

No nudity in this one, but Emma Roberts does appear in a towel, if that's your kick.

CREEPY, NOT SEXY.

A teenager in love is a fierce creature. So is Satan.

OH, SHE KNOWS. SHE KNOWS.

The Blackcoat's Daughter isn't a perfect movie, and it's probably not going to garner as big of an audience as The Witch did earlier this year, but it's an excellent film and one of the best possession flicks that we've ever seen. Very few movies these days stay with us as long (and as powerfully) as did this one, and we can't wait to watch it again to further dissect it. 

This was a near-perfect movie-watching experience for us, and you should absoloutly check it out now that it's finally seen a proper release.

A

The Blackcoat's Daughter is available now on VOD.

Emma Roberts is fast becoming one of our favorite Scream Queens, pun intended.

VOD Review: The Devil's Candy (2017)

"Unsettling, headbanging greatness."

(aka The Haunted Guitar.)
Release Date: March 17th.
Rating: R
Country: USA
Written and Directed by: Sean Byrne.
Starring: Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Kiara Glasco.

Way back in 2009, writer/director Sean Byrne gave us his first film, and one that we consider to be a modern-day classic, The Loved Ones (review HERE.) Why it took him 7 years to follow that up with The Devil's Candy, I have no idea, but after seeing his sophomore effort, I have no problem with him taking another 7 years to make his third movie, because he apparently knows what he's doing.

*There might be very mild spoilers below, but I'll keep the plot details to a minimum so as not to spoil.

To escape the Satanic whispers that echo throughout his head, urging him to do bad things, a creepy guy plays the same note (or maybe it was 2?) on a Gibson Flying V guitar over and over again, at maximum volume. Pissed off in that he's dong this in the dead of night, his sister threatens to tell their Dad on him, and he beats her to death.

ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS ROCK (FOR SATAN.)

Enter a family of there who are looking to buy the house where the heinous act took place. Ethan Embry is the long-haired, tatted, heavy metal-loving Dad, Jesse, who is also a brilliant painter; Kiara Glasco is his headbanger-in-training daughter, Zooey, who you can tell thinks he's the coolest thing ever; and Shiri Appleby is the Mom, Astrid, who loves them both, but doesn't quite share their love of Metallica and Napalm Death. They get the house on the cheap, which has a big barn for Dad to work in... and also an evil presence which causes him to black out and paint some gruesome images of screaming children and upside down crosses.

CREEPY OR NOT, ART IS ART.

When the creepy guy from the beginning shows up at the house, telling them that he needs to come home so that he can play his music loud for Satan, it's apparent that things are about to go from creepy to dangerous, and that somehow, the Devil will get his due. He always does.

UNDER SATAN'S SPELL?

From the beginning, this movie does two different things: it sets a dark and brutal tone with its opening scene, which carries on throughout the entire movie; and it makes us really love the family of innocents that are about to be pulled into a nightmarish scenario. In some ways, this movie had the same vibe about it that last year's The Blackcoat's Daughter (review HERE) did, in that a quiet, eerie, dread-filled fog hung over many of its scenes, creating a unique and uneasy atmosphere.

That family dynamic at work here is what makes the movie work so well though. There's no forced family drama between any of them, which is a massive plus for us, seeing as how the kids in these kinds of movies always tend to be moody and edgy to the point of us hating them. No, this family, while not perfect, loves each other, and they make us like them... which makes watching what they go through especially harrowing.

Ethan Embry. What do I say about this guy? With movies like Dutch, Empire Records, and Can't Hardly Wait, he established himself as the likable, funny kid, but somewhere in the mid 00's, he started showing up in movies like Vacancy, Cheap Thrills, and The Guest (not to mention playing Declan in the excellent, Brotherhood), and we really got to see his range. His performance in The Devil's Candy is so natural and good that it felt like, at least from our perspective, this was the role that he was born to play. Like Jesse is who Ethan Embry is in real life; a cool dude to hang with. He just rocked this one.

And let us not forget the awesome Pruitt Taylor Vince, who has made a career out of playing quirky and creepy characters, because he was about flawless here too. Play a terrifying character who kills kids for Satan, and still make us feel some sympathy for him? That's talent. And for someone so young, Kiara Glasco seems like someone who is in control of her craft. Add Shiri Appleby to the mix, and this is a cast that took some already great material, and elevated it with their performances.

HEAVY METAL BRINGS FAMILIES TOGETHER.

What was the deal with Tony Amendola's character? Was he another of the Devil's emissaries, sent to tempt Jesse with "fame and fortune" at exactly the right time? We need answers!

ANTI-JESUS JUICE?

Pruitt Taylor Vince has always given me nightmares. For real.

OH, THERE WILL BE NIGHTMARES.

There's more violent and disturbing actions in this movie than there is overt bloodshed, but the blood and gore that is present feels like it was more than enough.

IT'S JUST A FINGER. RELAX.

Ethan Embry spends a lot of time shirtless in this one. 

THE JUXTAPOSITION OF THOSE CROSSES...

Any move that opens with Metallica's Am I Evil, and closes with For Whom the Bell Tolls is 100% our kind of flick. Heavy metal lovers will dig the hell out of this movie.

YOU DON'T JUST SMASH A GIBSON FLYING V LIKE THAT!

The Devil's Candy is a creepy and intense movie that is anchored by a top-notch performance or two, and given a solid layer of substance by focusing on its characters, which is something that you don't see very often in genre flicks like this, or at least not this well done.

This is absolutely a contender for movie of the year already, and while I have no doubt that plenty of other great ones will come along and dazzle us in different ways, The Devil's Candy is not one that we'll forget.

A

The Devil's Candy is in limited theaters, and is available on VOD now.

Shiri Appleby is still as lovely as ever, and Kiara Glasgow is bound to be a Hollywood beauty for years to come.

VOD Review: The Blackcoat's Daughter (2016)

"Maybe the best Genre movie that we've seen all year."

(aka February.)
Release Date: TBA.
Country: USA.
Rating: R.
Written by: Oz Perkins.
Directed by: Oz Perkins.
Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, James Remar, and Lauren Holly.

Every year, there's one or two Horror movies that everyone hails as being "transcendent" or "genre changing," or something to that effect. Whatever the tag-line that gets attached to them, movies like It Follows, The Babadook, Cabin in the Woods, You're Next, and We Are Still Here end up being critical darlings, and find themselves on everyone's Must See list.

So far this year, the critical darlings seem to be The Witch, Green Room, and The Invitation. All three are great flicks in their own right, and they each deliver their own brand of chills, but I'm going to throw The Blackcoat's Daughter into that mix and say that it's every bit as good as those other movies. In fact, it very well could be better.

*The Blackcoat's Daughter (February) was supposed to be released today as an exclusive on DirecTV. It's not on DirectTV, and there has been absolutely no promotion or mention of the release by A24 (its distribution company), DirecTV, or on the film's Twitter or Facebook pages, so at this point we have to assume that its release date has been moved. IMDB has it listed as coming out on Sept. 30th in the U.S., so maybe we'll see it some time this fall. We've been sitting on the review since two of us caught a screening at the CCFF back in late May (because I wanted it to coincide with it's DirecTV release), but there's no point in waiting until September to post it.

It's hard to talk about The Blackcoat's Daughter (formerly titled February), without ruining it for the uninitiated, so we're going to have to be as vague as possible here.

This is a movie about three girls, two of whom are stranded at their prep school over winter break, and one who is desperately trying to get to the school herself. One of the stranded girls, Kat, fears her parents dead, and withdraws inward to cope; while the other, Rose, is terrified that she might be pregnant, and is even more terrified oh how creepy Kat is. As for the girl who is making her way toward Bramford Prep, Joan, well she's obviously been through something traumatic, and yet she stays focused on her goal.

It's also about Satan, who appears as a shadowy bunny-like figure, intent on possessing one (or more) of the girl's souls.

I know that basically tells you nothing, but that's good. You need to see this one as uninformed as possible. In fact, don't even watch the trailer if you can help it. 

WHO WAS PHONE?

The Blackcoat's Daughter is a slow-burn Supernatural Thriller that took us to places that we didn't expect. I know that sounds generic as hell, and the term slow-burn is used far too often these days to describe slow and boring movies, but this one really had it's own quiet, eerie thing going on, and it left one hell of an impression on us.

The Blackcoat's Daughter is as much about loss as it is anything else, and the way that it handles the subject is superb. The movie twists and turns around its three main characters (who are all related in some obscure way) in quiet fashion, and brings them all together in the end in pretty shocking, and dare we say fresh, way. I'd really love to talk about that ending, and what it meant for the movie as a whole, but it would kill the entire thing, and it would be a shame for you to not experience that build-up and resolution for yourselves.

I guess it's safe to say that loss is the key word here; some of it creepy, all of it tragic.

"NO I HAVEN'T CHECKED THE CHILDREN. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?"

It was interesting how they handled Satan in this movie too (it could have been a plain old Demon, but we got the strong sense that it was Old Scratch himself.) His presence and appearance was all very shadowy and ambiguous, as if he were more of a feeling or ideal than an actual physical being. Oh, he was there at times, but it's as if his presence was a shadow that was always draped across everything and everyone, whether you could see him or not.

This is director Oz Perkins' debut feature behind the camera, and it's about as impressive as a first movie can be. Horror is obviously in his blood (he's the son of Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins), and If this is the type of thing that we can expect from him as his career moves forward, which it most certainly will, then we're in for some good times.

I'm not sure who truly stole the show in this one; Kiernan Shipka or Emma Roberts. Both ladies played their tortured parts equally well, and their performances took an already great movie to the next level. Lucy Boynton was on top of her game too, even if her character wasn't quite as prevalent. Even Lauren Holly and James Remar seemed to dig deep for this one, although with James Remar being one of the best character actors ever, that's really no surprise.

THIS IS NO TIME TO BE PLAYING BLOODY MARY!

So was the school used for Satanic Rituals, or was that just a rumor started by the kids? Were the nuns Satan's Whores? Was it all in someone's head? Who was phone?!?

SHE'S COME A LONG WAY SINCE MAD MEN.

What the hell is a Blackcoat, and who in the hell was his daughter?

WAS IT HER?

It might not show up until the end, but when it gets there, the gore is solid.

IT'S ONLY A HAND WOUND. RUN!

No nudity in this one, but Emma Roberts does appear in a towel, if that's your kick.

CREEPY, NOT SEXY.

A teenager in love is a fierce creature. So is Satan.

OH, SHE KNOWS. SHE KNOWS.

The Blackcoat's Daughter isn't a perfect movie, and it's probably not going to garner as big of an audience as The Witch did earlier this year, but it's an excellent film and one of the best possession flicks that we've ever seen. Very few movies these days stay with us as long (and as powerfully) as did this one, and we can't wait to watch it again to further dissect it. 

This was a near-perfect movie-watching experience for us, and you should absoloutly check it out when you get the chance.

A

The Blackcoat's Daughter was originally scheduled to be in limited theaters and on DirecTV now, but it looks as if its release has been delayed. We'll keep you posted.

Emma Roberts is fast becoming one of our favorite Scream Queens, pun intended.