After enjoying Longlegs I definitely wanted to check out some of Perkins’ other work, and pulled up The Blackcoat’s Daughter to watch. And once again, I rather enjoyed his work, his storytelling and the performances he got from his actors.

Set in a February winter break in an all-girls private school, Bramford (a nod to the nature of what is going on if you know you’re horror films), two students are waiting for the arrival of their parents. Rose (Lucy Boynton) is a senior, looking for a way to deal with a personal problem, she may be pregnant. Kat (Kiernan Shipka) is a freshman who has had a disturbing dream about the death of her parents, but the administration is sure they will arrive tomorrow.

Kat begins behaving oddly after she receives a phonecall, and Rose is worried that the rumors of something dark in the school may be true.

The film’s layout is broken into three narratives, and the third character we get introduced to is Joan (Emma Roberts). Joan has secrets, and is picked up by Bill (James Remar) and Linda (Kauren Holly) who are headed to Bramford .

The narratives weave back and forth through one another, leading to a horrifying climax and a terrifying revelation.

While Longlegs makes great use of negative space, Blackcoat also illustrates Perkins’ framing style and use of shallow lenses. This time around, liminal spaces play a huge part of the story, empty schools, hotel rooms, deserted roads, restaurants. All familiar, all made eerie in service to the narrative.

Like in Longlegs the film never shows the story’s true evil , it’s always in shadows, but it’s also always there. I like how the film plays out, how the narratives connect the characters via shared memories.

The leading cast of Shipka, Boynton and Roberts are completely on-point, and the transformation Chipka’s Kat goes through is well-executed, starting subtly, and then becoming horrifying.

There is blood and violence, but it doesn’t go for the gore. It’s more a character-driven film with moments of violent horror.

I totally dug how this one played out. Once again, Perkins makes an anxiety-inducing film through framing, characters, and the way the film’s narrative plays out. I’ll be interested to see what else he does. I’ve had a look at his IMDB page, and some of the reviews haven’t been so kind to some of his other films.

So maybe I’ll wait to see what he does next. Or maybe I’ll take a chance. We’ll see.