By John Corrado
A recently widowed mother stuck in a farmhouse with her two kids notices a mysterious woman sitting in her yard. At first the woman, who is covered by a black veil, is at a distance, but her chair keeps moving closer to the house. Who is she? Where did she come from? And, more importantly, what does she want?
This is the central mystery of The Woman in the Yard, a sometimes intriguing but underdeveloped horror movie from Blumhouse, that ends up feeling more like a cool idea for a short film that has been stretched to feature length.
The mother is Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler), whose husband (Russell Hornsby, seen in flashbacks) was recently killed in a car accident that left her with an injured leg. The kids are her young daughter Annie (Estella Kahiha) and adolescent son Taylor (Peyton Jackson), who is at that age where he is starting to push back, and realize the extent of his mother’s struggles.
The three of them live together in an old farmhouse that her late husband purchased as a fixer-upper. The film sets up the stakes early on. The power has gone out, and all their phones are dead, so when they notice this mysterious woman (Okwui Okpokwasili) suddenly appear in their yard through the window, they have no ability to call for help.
The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who is no stranger to the horror and thriller genre with films like Orphan and The Shallows, and previously had a Netflix hit with the tightly crafted action movie Carry-On. But The Woman in the Yard has few of those fingerprints. Whether this was a case of studio interference, or ideas just not quite translating from the page, the finished product is somewhat of an interesting misfire that has flashes of potential, but never quite works.
Collet-Serra is working from a script by Sam Stefanak that appeared on the Black List, and it’s easy to see why the material sparked some initial interest. Even if these themes have arguably been overdone in modern horror, the film does have some interesting ideas in its approach to exploring grief, trauma, and mental illness. But the execution is rough. Even at just 87 minutes, The Woman in the Yard still struggles to maintain itself, and the pacing feels off. The film is also plagued by narrative choices that feel both overly simplistic and needlessly confusing, with several gaps in the plot (one has to wonder if there’s a longer version that got chopped down).
To her credit, Deadwyler does commit to the role and delivers a good performance as a grieving mother, and we get fine work from the two kids. There is also some interesting cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski, who is best known for his work with Ari Aster on Hereditary, Midsommar and Beau is Afraid. Pogorzelski is working within the confines of a narrative that requires natural light and a heavy use of shadows, and he does stage a few creative shots.
This is all to say that the elements were here for The Woman in the Yard to be something. But the film just doesn’t come together in a satisfying way, and the material isn’t presented in a manner that is as unsettling or impactful as it could (or should) have been. It ends up feeling like a missed opportunity.
Film Rating: ★★ (out of 4)
Bonus Features (Blu-ray):
The Blu-ray disc includes a pair of bonus features. The package ships with a standard slipcover.
• Making The Woman in the Yard (8 minutes, 3 seconds): An overview of the production, from Collet-Serra’s involvement as director and Deadwyler’s performance, to the set decoration and production design of the farmhouse, and the story’s themes.
• Beneath the Veil (5 minutes, 2 seconds): A brief look at Okpokwasili’s performance as the titular woman in the yard, including the costume and hairstyling choices behind her appearance.
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