Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Written by: Sam Stefanak
Starring: Danielle Deadwyler, Okwui Okpokwasili, Peyton Jackson, Russell Hornsby
Rating: [1.5/5]
Grief and shame have various ways in which they can manifest themselves for an individual. The great thing about a visual medium is that it can appear in a literal and metaphorical manner for the characters to process. We get this in The Woman in the Yard, where it rattles with some intriguing ideas, but the presentation contains so little energy to it that it derails the entire project and the goal it seeks to achieve.
Injured from a recent car accident, Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) must now alone take care of her two kids, with whom she seems a bit distant. Suddenly, a mysterious woman draped in black sits out in front of their house. Unsure of how to get rid of her, Ramona becomes increasingly irate, which becomes noticeable to her children, who still remain unclear on what caused the accident that injured their mother.
There’s something distinctly terrifying about some strange person just sitting outside of your home. A place literally and figuratively representing safety and a haven is now unsettled by the presence of an individual right outside of it. Something so simply disturbing only made worse by the fact this stranger sits there completely covered with the characters and the audience unable to see their face. This adds an extra layer of fright in the mystery of this person’s identity. Seeing someone’s face causes a slight disarmament of them that a covering does not assist with. A simple start that on paper has some good ideas, but unfortunately, The Woman in the Yard suffers from not really capitalizing on the potential horror at hand to create a worthwhile viewing experience.
Having this woman just sit there in the front yard, as mentioned before, has its own horror, but a different dynamic exists on the inside of the house as Romona struggles to maintain a hold of her children through this difficult period. Mix that with the general heat around them, and it allows this tension to bubble up, only made worse by that woman sitting outside. However, all of this plays out in such a slow and uninteresting manner that it continually zaps away any excitement for the horror at hand. The pacing of this film leaves much to be desired; by the time the film really gets going and seeks to deliver on its build-up, I cannot muster any remaining interest in where it’s yet to go. Thinking back on this film, no singular scene really stands out as something that delivers fear, which, for a modern horror film, is nothing but a failure on the part of the filmmaker. It’s a shame considering Jaume Collet-Serra just came off of one of his better films in Carry-On but decidedly takes a step back with this project.
An unfortunate situation, especially because we have Danielle Deadwyler putting in some strong work as the lead character, Ramona. A character placed under a load of stress and dealing with a level of shame and grief that continually expands throughout this film. Deadwyler handles every bit of the internal anguish of this character in a style that continues to demonstrate her talent as a lead actor. She steps up to the plate whenever necessary, and she does so again; it’s just a shame the rest of the film around her does not deliver in the same way she does. If so, we could have had a stronger horror film before us.
An outright disappointment in the way it fails to accomplish its stated goals in delivering a strong message through a horror film, The Woman in the Yard mightily fails to impress with the potential at hand. Having a story where the physical manifestation of grief and shame appears on your doorstep waiting for you to accomplish the very thing you asked for contains so much potential that proved wasted. A different approach to this story could do wonders, but at least I can appreciate that this film gave it a flawed but honest try in addition to giving Danielle Deadwyler a decent leading role to allow her to continue to thrive as a thespian. A decent idea that could have made for something special that completely whiffed on the all-important execution.
Films with Josh 
