I'm not sure if this feature film debut from Osgood Perkins, the son
of the famous film psycho Anthony Perkins, is a masterpiece or not,
but it's very good and that's for sure. A film whose release on DVD
and Blu-ray was delayed for over a year for unknown reasons.
I read about it on some horror sites i trust, and it was very high on
their Top Horror Films of the Year lists. But it took a long time before
it appeared VOD Netflix or whatever and on Blu-ray. Finally it arrived
from the US and A, and i liked it a lot. Surprisingly well made from
a new promising director, and ditto well acted by the girls, and add
a great ambient sounding soundtrack and crisp photography to that,
and what've we got? Answer: One of the best horror films of the latest
years ... and without the usual mainstream hype.
Kat
The place is The Bramford College for girls and most
of the students are going home for the weekend. But not all, not young
Katherine
(sensationally played by Kiernan Shipka) and when the parents visit
on Valentines day her parents don't show up. There's only one other
student staying at the school over the weekend with her, and that's
the older Rose (Lucy Boynton), and she's about to meet her boyfriend.
The College is situated somewhere well up in the north (shot in Canada)
and it's gloomy dark winter and alone in the school young Kat is
feeling the dark depressive atmosphere and worried about her premonition
about her parents her mental condition worsen ....
Rose
Joan
In a parallell story we follow Joan (Emma Roberts) that has been hospitalized
or something and now sits at a bus depot in the
freezing night. Who's she and what about her many flashbacks ? Will
the story lines connect ?
OK, beware of the ending i said, and i must confess that i didn't get
the ending at all. I had a bad WTF? moment and had to read
some review to get the ending. I still doesn't buy it though, the explanation
- a David Lynchian Lost Highway moment for me, but
the film was great anyway. Slow-burn disturbing and with a gloomy northern
wintry mood it makes an impressive feature debut.
The film is presented in widescreen 1.85:1 with an english
audio DTS-HD MA and english subtitles. This is a 2 disc edition with
a Blu-ray and a DVD plus a Digital Download possibility and the region
is REGION A.
Extras: an audio commentary by director and scriptwriter Osgood Perkins,
The Dead of Winter: a Making of The Blackcoat's
Daughter featurette (7 minutes) and trailers