The Woman in the Yard

Movie Name: The Woman in the Yard
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Danielle Deadwyler, Peyton Jackson, Estella Kahiha, Russell Hornsby, Okwui Okpokwasili
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review

The prolific Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra is back, after the huge hit he had with "Carry-On" which he directed for Netflix (and that has become one of the most watched films ever on that platform). This time he goes back to the supernatural and horror genre, where he started, namely with the remake of "House of Wax" and "Orphan". "The Woman in the Yard" follows the story of a family reeling from a devastating car accident which caused the death of the father/husband in the family. Ramona, the mother, is disabled following the car crash, and is now the sole provider for the family, which includes her two kids, teenager Taylor and the child, Annie. Ramona still dreams of all the plans she and her husband had for their life, including finishing the renovation of the farm house where they live. As they go through their regular lives one day they realize there's a woman draped in back that appears in their front yard. She claims that "Today's the day", and she then just stays there. As the woman moves closer to the house, their dog disappears. Shortly after their electric power goes out. The tension in the house also escalates, with Ramona snapping at Taylor, until she eventually decides to confront the Woman, only to realize there's more to her than it seems. 

The script for "The Woman in the Yard" was on the Black List at some point (the list for the best un-produced scripts), and while the film starts with some momentum, Jaume Collet-Serra has some challenges in bringing these characters to life, particularly illustrating what made the connection between these individuals so meaningful (particularly the relationship between Ramona and her husband). The story wants to illustrate how someone's grief and depression can manifest itself in rather sinister outputs, but this film isn't like Andrzej Zulawski's "Possession", where Isabelle Adjani's character also manifests a creature she interacts with. "The Woman in the Yard" is less visceral and less believable, since the characters are rather bland, and Ramona in particular, never feels like a fully realized person, but someone who seems rather miffed by the turn her life has taken, as opposed to someone who is coming to terms with the direction she needs to embark on. This is a film that could have been that much more sinister and darker, since a real threat to a family unit would be at the core of what was happening.  However the central relationships between these characters, particularly the one between Ramona and her husband, is illustrated by vignettes that are elliptical in their scope and ultimately rather shallow in terms of their dynamics. It's a film that has some ambition, but that eventually goes nowhere, even if it weaves a rather ambiguous ending. Neither the cast nor the production team particularly elevate what is happening here. It's a forgettable endeavor.