From Scream Queens to several seasons of American Horror Story, Emma Roberts has definitely shown fans that she can give a solid performance in a horror movie or TV show. But Roberts is also known for several lighter films, from Little Italy (2018) to Holidate (2020), and she also got her start with Nancy Drew and Aquamarine.
Roberts is incredible in Scream 4 as Jill, Sidney's relative, and the actress also starred in an underrated horror movie that should be talked about much more than it is. The Blackcoat's Daughter is an incredibly well done film with beautiful scenery, characters who are full of surprises, and a main plot that keeps people guessing.
The Blackcoat's Daughter was released in 2015 and Osgood Perkins, who wrote and directed, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, is also the writer/director here. Right away, the movie feels more special than many others because it tells three scary tales. Kat (Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Bonyton) are boarding school students getting ready for winter break, with Kat waiting for her mom and dad to pick her up and Rose concerned because she thinks that she's pregnant.
The movie also tells the story of Joan (Emma Roberts), who left a mental hospital and who accepts the kindness of strangers Bill (James Remar) and Linda (Lauren Holly) as they give her a ride. If these stories remained separate, the movie would still feel incredibly interesting. But it's the way that the tales connect that makes The Blackcoat's Daughter an underrated horror film that absolutely everyone who loves the genre needs to see.
The Blackcoat's Daughter stands out for two main reasons: its literary vibe and its major twist. The movie feels just as poetic and beautiful as a novel, as audiences follow Kat, Joan, and Rose's different stories. The movie could follow one straight timeline and use flashbacks, which would be just as good, but the decision to focus on these three characters in this way is a smart one.
Like a unique horror movie about a ghost, The Blackcoat's Daughter is a new take on a character being taken over by a demon. This happens often in the horror genre, but unlike in Jennifer's Body when Jennifer (Megan Fox) starts seducing and killing boys, Kat seems to target anyone who is nearby as she can't control her sudden desire for evil. Because the boarding school is a Catholic one and the nuns are teachers, the characters are dealing with matters of good, evil, and morality 24/7, and the idea of a girl turning into a demon makes total sense in this setting.
The Blackcoat's Daughter joins a legacy of horror movies with plot twists when it turns out that Joan and Kat are the same person. The film tells audiences that Kat murdered nuns and Rose when she was at school as she was possessed by a demon. It also turns out that Bill and Linda are Rose's parents and they have been grieving her tragic death ever since it happened nine years ago. This is a really fun reveal to watch as it's impossible to guess. It seems like Joan and Kat are just lonely young women who have nothing to do with each other, but of course, that ends up not being true.
While sometimes fans can rewatch a movie and see that there were small, subtle clues that help explain the twist, the same thing can't be said here. The film makes Kat and Joan seem like totally separate people and should be beloved for that reason alone as sometimes big reveals can fall flat in the horror and thriller genres. By the time that Joan/Kat kills Rose's parents, audiences know that this isn't a movie that does the familiar and expected.
Most of all, The Blackcoat's Daughter has an impressive setting: a boarding school in the dead of winter. A horror movie's setting can make all the difference and if the movie took place at a normal high school, or in the summertime, it definitely wouldn't have the same lasting impression. The movie just looks terrifying and cold, and while it's a big shock that Kat and Joan are the same person and they are evil, it does feel inevitable that something bad would happen at this boarding school. It looks like a place where everyone is lonely and trying to find some kind of connection while wanting to spend as little time there as possible.
If horror movie fans want characters who keep them guessing, plot twists and turns that should be celebrated, and a scary atmosphere, then The Blackcoat's Daughter is the perfect film to check out.