Being “in the dark” is a savory place to be for a film like this. Keenly and decisively, “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” carries a nearly strict reliance on suggestion and atmosphere over exploitation. For that, Perkins and company get it and do not need a “throwback” label to prove it. They know that our mental guessing is always more frightening than showing every little thing.
Read MoreIt is entirely fair to grant that, out of the many animal breeders in the world, operations exist that are completely on the up-and-up with proper care and humane treatment of animals. No argument there. Not every dog breeder is a cruel and incensed perpetrator of animal slavery any more than not every Muslim is an ISIS terrorist or not every German was a Nazi. Advocating for such a truth is fine and dandy when the message is composed in a fair and balanced way. A film like the “The Dog Lover” is not the way to correct that message.
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