Don't listen to the negative reviews

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This director must've watched Pulp Fiction and the main thing that he took away from the experience was: "Non-linear storytelling is the bees knees guys!" Basically, the director focused so much on making this movie interesting to look at that he forgot he was supposed to be telling a story. It's really hard to feel a sense of dread or foreboding or to put yourself in a characters' shoes if you are spending the whole moving trying to figure out what order events take place in.I give it three stars because I think there was an interesting (if extremely simple) story somewhere in this over-edited mess. It has a lot of positives honestly, but it completely fails at storytelling and that's a dealbreaker.

The Black Coat's daughter or February as it's titled on UK Netflix, exceeded my expectations and had a lingering after affect. In my opinion, any movie (particularly a horror) that is capable of leaving the viewer feeling moved, disturbed or reflective is one that has done it's job to an extent.Although the build-up is slow, it's engaging from the beginning and has you wondering what's unfolding and searching for explanations for what's happening and why. There are subtleties present throughout that thread into the plot that make this more clever than a lot of the standard horrors that rely on cheap jump-scares, gore or shock factor. A vacant all girls boarding school is the perfect setting and creates the entire creepy atmosphere that is present throughout. There's a real sense that the two girls are completely isolated and the vastness of the building combined with it's creaky doors and floors and dingy decor creates a very realistic sense of dread that we've all experienced at some point in our lives. The acting was strong, but Kiernan Shipka stole the spotlight. She's such an incredibly talented actress, who although young, is very multi-faceted and complex in her portrayal of the characters she plays. Her character, Katherine (Kat), was sweet and innocent but also incredibly mysterious and sinister, which Kiernan managed to portray wonderfully. Although this was the first performance I'd seen of Lucy Boynton, she was also a strong leading role and it was very easy to step into her shoes and live the story through her.Now for the areas that could've been improved and the reason why the rating I've given is 5 stars instead of 10. The first issue with this movie is the casting of Emma Roberts as Joan a.k.a adult Kat. Following on from Kiernan, Emma just didn't seem the right fit for Katherine since the aura and personality she brought to the character felt so different. Stemming from this issue is the slightly fragmented characterisation of the main characters, but mainly Katherine. Although Kiernan brought her A-game and gave everything she could to the role, she could've gone even further if she'd been given better material to work with. Katherine's progression from a sweet, innocent child to devil worshipper happened much too suddenly and with very little explanation or clarity. By delving even further into the psyche of Katherine's character I think the story would've been greatly improved and been much more impactful. Secondly, the addition of a paranormal force a.k.a The Devil felt unnecessary and cheapened the plot. For starters The Devil was an ambiguous black shadow that looked like someone dressed in a floppy-eared bunny costume, which for obvious reasons detracted from the fear factor. But also, the connection between the Devil and Kat was unclear and I found myself actually having to do a Google search after the movie ended to clarify the ending. Thirdly, the addition of Joan into the story is executed poorly and it becomes obvious early on who she is, even if her plans are unclear for a while. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that removing Joan (Emma Roberts) entirely and expanding on Kat and Rose's arc would've improved the movie vastly. Precious time was wasted building up the mystery around Joan and the kind couple that had taken her in, when that time could've been used more wisely to further build the tension and apprehension at the school and dig deeper into Kat's transition to the dark side. The strange connection between Kat and the Devil and her motivators for her actions are definitely the weakest points of this movie. As a viewer I think it's important to fully understand the motivators for the main character's actions and this movie completely fails to deliver on this. Why does Kat turn to the Devil in the first place? Why is she so willing to murder Rose just because some distorted voice at the end of the phone tells her to? Why is she so desperate for the Devil to return to her that she kills Rose's parents, who are actually really nice people? There's little to no logic in why Kat does what she does and that just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.Overall, this movie is worth watching as it definitely has something to offer, but a few tweaks here and there could've transformed it into a true masterpiece.

A young girl's isolation at a Catholic boarding school in Upstate New York leads to increasingly disturbing behavior, while a psych-ward escapee drifts closer, in the nail-biting supernatural thriller, The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015). Originally titled February, writer/director Oz Perkins intended this film to be a meditation on loneliness. He crafted a creepy and disturbing tale that has all the elements of a good horror movie.The film is essentially divided into two stories that progressively come together in a surprise ending. In the first, a freshman girl named Kat (Kiernan Shipka) is staying at her Catholic boarding school over winter break because her parents have failed to pick her up. Rose (Lucy Boynton), a senior, told her parents the wrong date to buy time so she could find out whether she was pregnant. They are watched by two nuns. Rose receives several phone calls from a mysterious voice she calls "Dad," and her behavior becomes more disturbing with each phone call.In the second story, a man named Bill (James Remar) picks up a young hitchhiker named Joan (Emma Roberts) over the objections of his wife, Linda (Lauren Holly). It's implied Joan escaped from a hospital, but Bill believes she reminds him of his daughter, Rose, who was brutally murdered several years earlier. Bill and Linda are traveling to their daughter's former school to lay flowers. Bill tries to emotionally connect with Joan, believing God brought them together. Joan replies that she doesn't believe in God.**Spoilers** At the school, Kat brutally murders Rose and the nuns, decapitates them, and offers them up to Satan in a macabre ritual in the boiler room. A police officer confronts her and fires a shot. Later, in the hospital, a priest exorcises the demon from Kat, and she sees a shadowy figure disappear. In the present, Joan (now revealed to be a grown-up Kat) kills both Bill and Holly, steals their car, and completes her journey back to the boiler room, only to find it unlit and silent.Like No Country for Old Men (2007), The Blackcoat's Daughter uses stark realism and little dialogue to set the tone. Not much is spoken during the 93 minute run time, and even in the climax, Kat remains eerily silent. As the police office points a gun at her and repeatedly yells to drop the knife, she quietly replies, "Hail Satan." Unlike No Country for Old Men, music plays a prominent role in The Blackcoat's Daughter. The score itself scratches at your reptilian brain like something from the underworld.Kiernan Shipka, mostly known for playing Don Draper's daughter, Sally, in Mad Men (2007-2015), adds a subtle charm to her role. Her character in The Blackcoat's Daughter doesn't display much emotion, and has few lines, so poise and control is where her talent shines through, especially when called upon to flash a mischievous smile. Unfortunately, she hasn't appeared in much else recently, although she's set to play the titular role in a reboot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.The Blackcoat's Daughter suffers from the 'Christianity is Catholic' trope. At least since The Exorcist (1973), horror films have associated the Catholic Church with mystery, superstition, and demonology. Even though many Protestant denominations believe in Satan and demonic possession, if the Devil appears in a movie, you know the Catholic Church will be involved. It's not terribly distracting in this film because the director uses it so subtly, but it's my one complaint.As a horror film, The Blackcoat's Daughter does everything right. A good horror movie goes beyond simplistic scares, and The Blackcoat's Daughter uses a typical horror theme to explore the larger themes of loneliness and emotional isolation. It concludes like a dark symphony. At the end, you feel the loss Kat has for her deceased parents, the life she could have had, and the horrible crimes she committed. Now she has to deal with the consequences of her actions alone, and she finally breaks down and cries.

a good slow burner .do not read synopsis or preview before watching this suspense.The less you know the better.Im not sure if I agree with the way the movie develop but the actors and dark tone made me watch till the end.