The Blackcoat's Daughter

The Blackcoat's Daughter (2017) is Osgood Perkins' icy debut horror, available to watch online on iFILM. Two students, Rose and Kat, are left behind at a Catholic boarding school over winter break when their parents fail to show. The halls empty out, the cold sets in, and something in the building starts speaking to the younger girl.

Kiernan Shipka plays Kat, whose behavior drifts further from human by the day. A second thread runs alongside it: Joan, played by Emma Roberts, is fleeing something on a frozen highway when a married couple offers her a ride. Why she's running takes a long time to surface. Perkins is in no hurry, trading jump scares for a low, steady hum of dread.

This was the first feature from Perkins, son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins, and his fear isn't a monster but isolation and cold. The film withholds its answers and rewards close attention. One for viewers who prize atmosphere over easy frights. Stream The Blackcoat's Daughter (2017) online on iFILM.