Should you watch this if it’s free? No.
Should you watch this at all? No.
Score: 1.0/5
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 93 minutes (~1.5 hours)
“February” is an American-Canadian horror film that’s in English. It is also known as “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”
It follows a homeless girl as she makes her way to a convent school. Meanwhile, two girls are left behind during the holidays at the convent school, where something sinister lurks.
“February” is directed and written by Oz Perkins. It stars Emma Roberts (Joan), Lucy Boynton (Rose), Kiernan Shipka (Kat), James Remar (Bill), Lauren Holly (Linda). It is rated NC-16.
“February” is a shining example of what happens when a horror film goes completely wrong. It’s not that it has bad production values — on the contrary, it’s got a lot going for it. The problem is the assembly of all the film elements. It’s difficult to think of a more disharmonious way that this film could be put together and still see light in cinemas.
Highlights
Interesting, if overused setting
The convent school setting is intriguing. After all, in such a cloistered, religious environment, the threat of a horrific presence doesn’t just scare. It feels like a violation of privacy and serves to create a sense of insecurity. Unfortunately, “February” squanders whatever potential its setting might have had. Which is just as well, since it is a rather overused setting.
Letdowns
Characters that you don’t empathise with
It’s cute that the three leads in the film all have one syllable names (Joan, Rose, Kat). But when their bland characterisation already makes them indistinguishable from each other, this just increases their homogeneity. Since you can’t tell them apart, you can’t feel for them. And why would you? They’re either clearly homicidal or thoroughly spoilt. If you could empathise with those characteristics, that would be very worrying, since they’re also silhouetted half the time. Oooh, scary.
A fragmented plot
The director’s ambition in telling two separate stories that are not in chronological order and incorporating flashbacks just falls flat on its face. Two disparate stories are hard enough to weave together, and telling the narrative using scenes that are out of order already makes it hard to keep a handle on everything. Using flashbacks just makes everything worse. The story would have made more sense if the scenes were shown to you at random. At least then you won’t be mislead into thinking that everything is a straightforward, chronological narrative.
Relies too heavily on musical cues for scares
Do you know when you should be scared? If not, the movie will tell you with its screeching violin score. In a film where everything is ambiguous, this is the only part that is direct and overdone. There’s no harm in using a soundtrack to enhance the effect of the scares, but when the soundtrack is the only indicator that you should be scared, then it becomes an issue.
A bore
Despite being a relative short film, you soon get bored of what’s happening in “February”. It dangles little hints and mysteries all over the film without ever explaining what it’s all about. In fact, the film itself ends in an inconclusive manner. You lose interest of being jerked around like a little puppy by the end of Act One, and the storytelling ensures that it stays that way for the rest of the film.
“February” is an absolute mess of a film.
“February” opens in cinemas:
– 9 March, 2017 (Singapore)
This review was written for and first published on Yahoo Singapore.
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter, having written for Police & Thief, Incredible Tales, Crimewatch, and Point of Entry. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find him on social media as Optimarcus and on his site.
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