The Woman in the Yard

by Mike McGranaghan

The Woman in the Yard is almost impossible to review. Advertising for this latest Blumhouse production intentionally avoids revealing the story’s true subject matter, because to do so would be an automatic spoiler. That, in turn, means that I can’t reveal it either. (Well, technically, I could, but I wouldn’t want to deny anyone the same impact that the film had on me.) A lot of people are going to walk out frustrated, partially because of the subject matter and partially because, like January’s Wolf Man, it’s an example of “sad horror.” All things considered, the fact that a major studio like Universal is releasing the movie is hard to believe.

Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) is a depressed widow living in an old farmhouse with her two grieving children, Taylor (Payton Jackson) and Annie (Estella Kahiha). She maintains a serious leg injury from the car accident that killed her husband. The kids wake up to discover the power is out and Ramona’s cell phone battery is dead. That’s distressing enough. Then Taylor notices a strange woman (Okwui Okpokwasili) draped in black sitting on an ornate chair in the yard. None of them knows who she is or how she got there, but her presence seems to suggest menace.

Right here is where I must stop. The Woman in the Yard follows Ramona as she interacts with the woman, attempts to protect the children from her, and eventually discovers why she has materialized. What can safely be said about the film? Well, it’s really more of a family drama with a horror overlay than an outright horror flick. There are several very creepy scenes, although the bigger horror comes from Ramona’s grief and how the mystery woman’s presence forces her to deal with it.

We need to talk about the ending without talking about the ending. The implications of the last scene are harrowing (unless you completely misread the film, in which case you might find it optimistic). Sam Stefanak’s screenplay doesn’t cop out. Disturbing as it may be, the finale is essential to fulfilling the story’s theme. An effort is being made to explore a serious topic, and if it had gone in a more comfortable direction, that topic would have been far less potent.

You might be wondering why you should consider subjecting yourself to what is essentially a downer. The first reason is to savor the acting. As she did in Till and The Piano Lesson, Deadwyler gives a powerhouse performance. Her portrait of a woman coming apart at the seams is masterful. Jackson, throwing off young Michael B. Jordan vibes, is also remarkable, suggesting the resentment Taylor feels over having to step into the “man of the house” role with his father gone and his mother functionally incapacitated. The second reason is that director Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) knows how to bring tight pacing and visual style to a movie. He creates an ambiance that feels appropriately uneasy.

Ramona’s backstory, which figures in via flashbacks, needs a bit of additional development; it still manages to get the job done, though. The Woman in the Yard is bold and ambitious – an atypical horror film that will be off-putting to some viewers, haunting to others.

---