After two girls are left behind at their boarding school wacky horror hijinks ensue… At least that’s what I thought. Let me ask you this, have you ever watched a movie for roughly an hour and ten minutes and wondered, “what the hell is going on?,” only to then have the final minutes of the movie wrap everything up perfectly and have you realize that the movie isn’t confusing but instead a painting that needs to be finished to be appreciated… yes, I realize my first spoopey review was a Stephen King Netflix film and The Blackcoat’s Daughter is what some might call an “art film,” but how was I supposed to know that? I just remembered the guys at RedLetterMedia talking about how much they enjoyed it so I thought I’d give it a watch.

Thankfully though, with the help of some great directing and writing by Oz Perkins and some rather haunting acting by Emma Roberts and Kiernan Shipka I was still left mesmerized by what was occurring on screen, despite the film jumping around in time and never allowing the audience to catch its breath. Even with this, I never fully felt like the movie lost control of what it was trying to accomplish. Yes, there were times where I was a bit puzzled by what was going on but anytime I started to feel too lost, the movie would throw out a bread crumb that helped me find my way. Oz Perkins’s directorial debut feels more like a masterclass into making a great horror film more than someone’s first outing and it’s quite impressive. He has another film titled I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and you better believe I will make sure that I include that in this discussion before the month is over.

Overall, The Blackcoat’s Daughter is haunting, shocking, and a great addition to the list of modern horror classics. If you’re reading this and you have no idea what this film is, then consider yourself lucky because waiting for you on Netflix is a film experience you won’t soon forget.