The Woman in the Yard (2025) - Film Review

      The Woman in the Yard, 2025.

      Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

      Featuring Danielle Deadwyler, Okwui Okpokwasili, Russell Hornsby, Peyton Jackson, and Estella Kahiha.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A mysterious woman continually shows up in a family's front yard, often delivering eerie warnings and disturbing messages, causing them to question her identity, intentions, and the possible threat she may represent.

      All films require some degree of suspension of disbelief. At times, this comes naturally, while other times it feels forced. This isn’t a conversation about where that boundary lies, but director Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Woman in the Yard, which is based on a screenplay by Sam Stefanak, relies on a collection of clumsy contrivances that render the film mindless before the not-so-frightening scares begin.

      Danielle Deadwyler portrays Ramona, a widowed mother grappling with the depression stemming from her husband David's (Russell Hornsby) death in a car accident where she was a passenger. She finds it challenging to get out of bed each morning—likely a common struggle after David's passing—and to care for her teenage son, Taylor (Peyton Jackson), and young daughter, Annie (Estella Kahiha), unable to keep the house stocked with basic necessities. With no dog food available, Taylor gives the dog an oversized portion of human food, which is enjoyed at the moment but promptly vomited when the family is having breakfast—a meal that Taylor creatively modified with some Doritos.

      “Taylor, why did you give the dog human food?”

      “You haven’t bought more,” he replies.

      Residing on a remote farm with a once-beautiful garden full of irises, Ramona is also facing a power outage. To Taylor's frustration, she cannot arrange for repairs today. Additionally, her movement is hindered by a leg brace, which she was advised to wear post-accident. Suddenly, a woman in all black, veiled as if attending a funeral (played by Okwui Okpokwasili, an unsettling and ominous presence), appears in the now-deserted yard, seemingly unwilling to leave.

      Taking all this into account, The Woman in the Yard is aggressively attempting to establish itself as one of Jaume Collet-Serra’s typical isolated setting films (drawing from his prior work in thrillers and horror), pushing the characters into an escape-proof predicament that, in execution, is absurdly implausible. The leg brace comes across less as a reminder of the car accident's devastation and more like a plot device to evoke tension and urgency. The eponymous Woman feels more like a metaphor than a danger; she rarely approaches the house and sometimes can be seen sitting in a chair. Much of the film's construction complicates the scenario unnecessarily, creating an illusion of terror.

      Why don't they just leave the house? The filmmakers justify it by cutting off the electricity and the only operable vehicle, giving the protagonist an injured leg, and striving to create a sense of fear. While it's creepy and prompts questions, it is nonsensically utilized as a catalyst for protracted family dysfunction, compelling Ramona to confront the reality of the accident, process her grief, navigate parenting challenges, and internally wrestle with something else that shouldn’t be spoiled. In short, the movie is as silly as its title, which practically begs for someone to clarify that it's a horror film after it is mentioned.

      Soon after the Woman's arrival, Ramona goes outside for a disconcerting conversation that leaves her shaken. Upon returning home, she tells her children it's an escapee from the psychiatric ward. From that point, the family sticks together in the same room, with the children increasingly getting on Ramona's nerves, whether it's because Taylor disbelieves her story and chooses to annoy her by bouncing a ball off the wall, or Annie continuously struggles with a handwriting exercise for the letter R.

      If The Woman in the Yard sounds dull, it truly is. The film largely lacks substance, making broad hints at malice (like teasing the family dog's death) before branching into tangents and asking a rather uninspired question of what is real and what isn't. At least the Woman is more active during this segment, though the downside is it includes the same old generic mainstream horror jump scares.

      Fortunately, accomplished cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski captures her strikingly while also showcasing the vast emptiness of the surroundings through some aerial shots. Additionally, acclaimed composer Lorne Balfe is involved, which makes the underwhelmingly familiar score even more disappointing. It's disheartening how much talent is on display both in front of and behind the camera for something that ultimately feels like a letdown.

      By the time the film reveals what transpired before and during the