A24’s The Blackcoat’s Daughter Film Review

What’s the first movie that comes to mind when you think of movies about demonic possession? Perhaps it’s an abject horror film, like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” (Derrickson, 2005). Or maybe it’s more of an action flick with religious subtext, like “Constantine” (Lawrence, 2005). Even further, maybe it’s the mother of all possession films: “The Exorcist” (Freidken,1973). The one thing each of these films has in common—besides characters battling demonic possession, of course—is that possession is portrayed as a negative experience for the victim. If you’re interested in examining a movie that subverts this characteristic, then look no further than “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” (Perkins, 2017).  

Let me start with a quick introduction: “Blackcoat’s Daughter” follows two interwoven narratives. The first features the characters Katherine and Rose, who are stranded at their boarding school for several extra days into the beginning of winter break. Katherine’s parents are unreachable, and Rose convinced her parents to pick her up from school a few days later so that she could terminate an unwanted pregnancy without their knowledge. The dean charges Rose to look after Katherine (who is a freshman), and it isn’t long before Rose notices Katherine engaging in strange activities. In the second narrative, a traveling couple take pity on Joan, an escapee from a mental institution. As the plot progresses, the two stories intertwine, and we learn that Katherine—and later Joan—are victims of possession. What’s unique about Katherine, however, is that she knows she is possessed—and she likes it.  

Very few, if any, films depicting instances of demonic possession and exorcism ever portray it as being an enjoyable experience for the victim. For Katherine, the possession is addictive and seemingly cathartic. Katherine commits various atrocities in the name of whichever entity her body houses, and for her, it acts as an emotional release. Katherine communicates actively with the entity, and practically worships its return. Eventually, the entity is exorcised from her—and she’s disconsolate to see it go. The portrayal of possession in “Blackcoat’s Daughter” is not only distinctive from other films like it, but in theory, it makes sense for a demon looking to manipulate events in the world of the living to want to convince its host of the value of possession. How do you get the host to willingly and continuously commit heinous acts in your honor? Well, you make the experience addictive, mentally freeing, and adrenaline-ridden, to start. Even if the entity’s influence were minimal and Katherine desired the continued possession of her own free will, the provision of power available to her at the hands of some unknown demon is nearly guaranteed to unduly impact her ability to resist.  

“The Blackcoat’s Daughter” is definitely a slow-burn—the pacing isn’t for everyone. But the narrative content, in my opinion, is intriguing enough to combat that. This movie is hardly mentioned in recent film and pop culture discourse, probably because its crawling storyline and long takes throw people off. But I beg of you, give this one a road test, especially if you like horror and/or films about possession.