Metaphors have long been the lifeblood of the horror genre (and, as you know, horror requires a lot of blood). From Frankenstein’s implicit warning about scientific hubris and the use of Godzilla as an explicit metaphor for the devastations of the atomic bomb to The Babadook’s titular monster personifying grief and trauma, it isn’t new to tackle heavy emotional topics through terrifying genre lenses. The Woman in the Yard, the latest Blumhouse Productions project from Jaume Collet-Serra, is no different, The film tells the story of a recently widowed mother whose family is besieged by a mysterious woman who won’t get off her lawn. It’s gorgeously shot and features an excellent performance from Danielle Deadwyler, but that can’t make up for a movie that gets so lost in its own narrative.
What is ‘The Woman in the Yard’ About?

The Woman in the Yard sees Deadwyler take on the role of Ramona, a grieving widow whose husband David (Russell Hornsby) recently died following a devastating car crash. The crash has left Ramona injured, traumatized, grieving, and isolated, as she and David moved the family from the city to an isolated farmhouse so David could have a blank canvas of sorts for his perfect redesign. Now raising her son Taylor (Peyton Jackson) and daughter Annie (Estella Kahiha) alone while recovering both physically and mentally, things are hard enough on Ramona before the day an odd woman shows up outside. The woman (played with measured flair by Okwui Okpokwasili) sits ominously outside Ramona’s home, covered in a pitch-black funeral shroud (save for her bloody hands). What’s worse, it’s unclear what the otherworldly woman wants, as the only thing she says is “Today’s the day.”
‘The Woman in the Yard’ Has A Strong Central Performance, But The Finale Needs Honing

Image via Universal Pictures

Anyone who saw Danielle Deadwyler in Till is keenly aware of her performative caliber, and she gives considerable emotional weight to Ramona. Heavily traumatized, plagued by guilt, and burdened by a now-unfinishable home and children she has to raise alone, Ramona is ill-equipped to face the family’s challenges even before the ominous woman’s malevolent shadow plagues their home. Deadwyler captures this all with devastating power. As much as the situation fuels a strong performance from Deadwyler, it also allows for memorable, realistic belligerence from Peyton Jackson as Taylor, a son just grown enough to challenge his mother’s inability to cope with their father’s loss. The pair’s contention for the household head provides a tension-ridden situation, adding layers of drama to the film. It’s also worth noting that Okwui Okpoksasili gives a regal and menacing air behind the titular yard ma’am, despite having little dialogue for much of the film.
The Woman in the Yard has several conceptually simple effects, but they work and are executed quite well. There’s little that’s never been seen before, but it is shot with considerable flair by cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski, who successfully finds ways to give everything a spacious and innovative look despite largely taking place within the confines of a singular unfinished home. Pogorzelski is known for both his collaborations with Ari Aster and for films like Nobody and Fresh, both movies that find interesting ways to shoot confined spaces (an attribute shared with Hereditary). That serves The Woman in the Yard well: it’s brilliantly shot, hands down. That combines well with Jaume Collet-Serra’s talent for finding interesting horror scenes (as with Orphan and the surprisingly excellent The Shallows) for a film that’s a visual treat.

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The film’s biggest issues stem from its overall conception, and it’s hard to fully explain why without spoilers (but I’ll do my best). We discover what the Woman means for Ramona: she has a tragic and extraordinarily specific connection to the traumatized mom’s life. Given the specificity of which aspect of Ramona the Woman connects to, it’s as conceptually rough as it is bleak. That’s not to say horror films shouldn’t mine the darkest aspects of humanity, but the tonal shift to the reveal doesn’t work as well as intended. When we finally learn what’s going on, the emotional weight is muddled by the execution: a series of meta-interludes and surreal experiences cloud our understanding of what’s actually occurring, and what’s real in this world when clarity is most needed. Ambiguity is one thing, but when the suggested explanation is so heavy and the import is so opaque, understanding is hard to come by without exhaustive effort. Many serious questions will surely linger, left without satisfying answers.
‘The Woman in the Yard’ is Too Conceptually Muddled To Truly Land

Image via Blumhouse

By the end, The Woman in the Yard is extremely bleak once the revelations are sufficiently revealed. That’s not an issue on its own, given that bleak movies can be masterpieces, but it’s combined here with a too-clever series of tricks that obscure audience understanding of what’s happening and what it means for the film’s events. Again, it’s tough to fully examine without spoilers, but questions abound over the entity’s nature, how her shadow control works, why the children see her first, and the specific ways she gets into Ramona’s head (and what that means for our understanding of the film’s conclusion). It’s an enjoyable experience thanks to Deadwyler’s considerable talent and the film’s gorgeous images, but it works less well the longer it’s analyzed… and the ending requires a lot of analysis. There’s an excellent film somewhere in The Woman in the Yard, but it would take another draft to uncover it from beneath that jet-black burial shroud. Suffice it to say, it’s a horror outing that works rather well until it falls apart at the end.

The Woman In The Yard

Danielle Deadwyler is fantastic in the gorgeous ‘The Woman in the Yard,’ but the film’s pieces still don’t connect to make a coherent whole.

Release Date

March 28, 2025

Director

Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers

Sam Stefanak

Producers

James Moran, Jason Blum, Stephanie Allain, Danielle Deadwyler

Cast

Okwui Okpokwasili

Uncredited

Pros & Cons

Danielle Deadwyler is devastating as the traumatized and injured Ramona, in a wonderful central performance.
The film is well shot by Pawel Pogorzelski, whose command of light, shadow, and composition really serve the story.
There are a few particular scenes that are very well conceived and memorably executed.

The details in what’s ultimately happening don’t fully add up, creating a finale that’s as confusing as its implications are bleak.
The film’s more surreal moments may sound good on paper but they muddle its emotional impact.