The Woman in the Yard

A slow-burning psychological horror that lingers in the mind long after it ends. I've been a fan of Jaume Collet-Serra's horror movies (Orphan and House of Wax) for a while, mostly for the their over-the-top scares. Here he crafts a quiet, creeping dread as Ramona (the fantastic Danielle Deadwyler), grieving her husband's death and immobilized by a broken leg, watches an ominous woman inch closer to her isolated farmhouse. Subtle visual storytelling replaces exposition, with deep-focus shots and eerie sound design immersing us in Ramona's unraveling psyche. The film methodically builds tension through whispered horror before plunging into full-blown terror in its final act, recontextualizing everything with a surreal climax. Not every theme fully locks into place, but its haunting atmosphere and layered symbolism make it a compelling, rewatchable experience I didn't expect from this studio.

6.5/10.

A very straight forward title to a film that is a little too convoluted story wise. What starts as an interesting story about a broken family falls into a mundane plot that is saved by its third act. There are true elements of horror here, Okwui Okpokwasili plays the mysterious woman to an expert degree, and she truly carries the movie. The middle act of the film becomes a "trapped in a house" survival horror and this is where the plot really grinds to a halt.

The movie is saved by its resolution that has an interesting take on mental health, and an ending that is "open-ended" enough to keep you guessing on what exactly happened.

This movie will scare you. That's for sure. But there isn't much to talk about with this movie. Because the plot is so bad that a 10 year old would have wrote better. Pretty much all you will get out of this movie is being scared. But the ending, as well as pretty much everything else besides being scared, falls short. This movie would have been better if it was 1 hour. It was 30 minutes too long. If you're ready to be bored for 30 minutes and then feel scared and bored for an hour, then come see this movie. The only reason I didn't rate this a 3 is because it's actually scary. And that's all it is, scary.

I had pretty high expectations for this movie, especially since it was developed by Blumhouse Productions. The trailer made it look promising, with a strong setting and setup, so I was eager to see it.

While there were some good moments, the movie overall felt slow. The story was lacking, with most of the film taking place on a single property. The only real change in setting came from a brief flashback. There was very little blood-far less than I expected from a horror film-so if you're squeamish, it's not overwhelming. However, for those hoping for a more intense experience, it might feel underwhelming.

There was no nudity, sexual content, or real violence, aside from a single gun appearing throughout the film. Surprisingly, it wasn't scary at all. I kept hoping for a moment that would really hit, but the movie just meandered and felt unfocused. While there were a few semi-creepy scenes, nothing truly frightening stood out. The execution felt a bit cheesy, and despite being a Blumhouse film, it seemed like a low-budget production.

Overall, this is just my opinion, but I'd recommend waiting until it's out of theaters to watch it at a lower cost. But hey, if you're curious, check it out and decide for yourself!

These are the reasons I rated it 3 stars.

Blumhouse CAN be good or decent, but this is yet another one that makes me feel like they put meticulous research into finding out what are the most critically panned and disliked ingredients of their catalogue & then make new films out of them.

Sure, it's a competent enough film with one or two potentially compelling albeit overused themes, but it's also tiring, uninspired, tedious, flat, predictable, lukewarm & ultimately pointless and empty feeling.

It's rare for a movie that's under 90 minutes long to feel this very stretched out, and it's a damn shame that such weak scripts get greenlit with casts & crews that are too good for it.

The worst Jaume Collet-Serra flick, can only compete with "Black Adam" maybe.