Taglines: She returns.
In February at a prestigious Catholic boarding school in upstate New York, students are preparing to be picked up by their parents for break. Kat (Kiernan Shipka), a freshman, has a dream where her father shows her the horribly smashed family car. She awakens from the dream, and marks off her calendar, looking forward to the day her parents will come. An older student, Rose (Lucy Boynton), worries she might be pregnant and intends to tell her boyfriend that night.
When both Kat and Rose’s parents fail to pick them up before break, Rose confesses she told them the wrong date but doesn’t disclose it’s because she wants to delay them until she can tell her boyfriend about the pregnancy. Mr. Gordon, the headmaster, jokes that their parents will eventually show up since they can’t live there forever.
Kat is visibly upset, and the two nuns who are acting as chaperones reassure her that everything’s fine and promise to keep calling her parents. They ask Rose to watch over Kat that night. That night Rose tells Kat that she’s going out. When Kat protests, Rose tries to unnerve her by telling her a story about the nuns at the school being devil-worshipers. She leaves Kat alone and gets in the car with her boyfriend. Kat hears a payphone ringing in the hall and picks up.
Meanwhile, a girl named Joan (Emma Roberts) gets off a bus in upstate New York and cleans herself up in the bus station bathroom. She has a flashback of a psych ward and tears a hospital bracelet off her wrist. She attempts to make a call on a payphone but the number she calls has been disconnected. As she waits outside for the next bus, she’s noticed by a man named Bill (James Remar) who offers her a ride, much to the chagrin of his wife, Linda (Lauren Holly). Joan notices a bouquet of flowers in the backseat.
Once dropped back to the school by her boyfriend, Rose goes to the bathroom and hears strange noises coming from the boiler room and goes to investigate. When she looks through a window in the door she sees Kat prostrating in front of the lit boiler. Joan awakens in a hotel room. She takes a shower and a bullet scar can be seen on her shoulder.
In a flashback, a police officer shoots a rifle. Bill knocks and tells Joan the reason he picked her up is because she reminds him of someone. He invites her to have dinner with him at the restaurant next door, where he shows Joan a picture of Rose, who is revealed to be his daughter. Joan excuses herself and goes to the bathroom where she giggles and has a memory of killing a woman and stealing her identification card. Joan sees Bill talking to a cop and steals a knife from a bus tray. Bill tells her they have to hit the road to beat an impending storm and Joan goes to the car where Linda is waiting. Linda tells Joan that Bill sees Rose in every young girl but that she doesn’t see Rose in Joan at all.
Rose tucks Kat in and tries to reassure her that her parents are on their way. Kat tells Rose she knows her parents are dead, which disturbs Rose. Rose goes back to her room and bars her door with a chair. Rose awakens and goes to breakfast with the two chaperones and Kat. Kat begins to act strangely and is unable to pray.
When one of the chaperones begins to scold her, Kat stands up and vomits. As they try to nurse her, she lashes out at them. Mr. Gordon rings to tell them he will be coming back to the school. It is implied that Kat’s parents have indeed died in a car crash. The women ask Rose to shovel the driveway for him. After shoveling, Rose tries to re-enter the chaperones’ house but the doors are locked, so she returns to her dorm room.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter (known in the UK by its original title February) is a 2015 American-Canadian supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by Oz Perkins. The film stars Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, Kiernan Shipka, James Remar and Lauren Holly. It premiered at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival. It was released on February 16, 2017 through DirecTV Cinema before being released on March 31, 2017 in a limited release and through video on demand by A24.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2017)
Directed by: Oz Perkins
Starring: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, James Remar, Lauren Holly, Greg Ellwand, Elana Krausz, Heather Tod Mitchell, Emma Holzer, Rose Gagnon, Rose Gagnon
Screenplay by: Oz Perkins
Production Design by: Shane Boucher, Lisa Soper
Cinematography by: Julie Kirkwood
Film Editing by: Brian Ufberg
Costume Design by: Jennifer Stroud
Set Decoration by: Garren Dunbar
Music by: Elvis Perkins
MPAA Rating: R for brutal bloody violence and brief strong language.
Distributed by: A24 Films
Release Date: March 31, 2017
