The Woman in the Yard

Jaume Collet-Serra directs The Woman in the Yard, a hauntingly dark look into the world of grief, guilt, depression, and suicide.

Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) lies in bed watching a video on repeat of her deceased husband, David (Russell Hornsby). Her teenage son Taylor (Peyton Jackson) interrupts her solemn solitude to inform her that there’s no electricity, which, to a 21st-century teen, spells doom.

Reluctantly, Ramona drags herself out of bed and is forced to confront a harsh reality: piles of unopened letters, little to no food, and a young daughter, Annie (Estella Kahiha), craving attention. Isolated in a farmhouse, with dead phones and a car that won’t start, things only get more unsettling when Ramona encounters the woman in the yard, a black-veiled entity (Okwui Okpokwasili) who cryptically tells her, “Today is the day.” Confused and frightened, Ramona watches as this mysterious figure begins inching closer and closer to the house, while tensions inside continue to boil. What follows is a harrowing fight for the lives of her children, her sanity, and her survival.

The Woman in the Yard delves into grief and the darkest recesses of the mind with unsettling precision. It explores depression and the yearning for an end to suffering when hope feels lost. Beneath the surface of horror lies a deeper story. This is a film about the horror that lives inside us. The veiled woman is a physical manifestation of despair, creeping ever closer, feeding on pain, and extinguishing light.

Danielle Deadwyler is brilliant as Ramona. You feel the weight of her grief radiating off the screen, her dreams gone, her guilt consuming her, her frustration overflowing. She’s blind to the fact that her children are grieving too. Peyton Jackson delivers a strong, emotionally resonant performance as Taylor, a teen forced into the role of caretaker for his younger sister while their mother slips further away.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, The Shallows, House of Wax) does a phenomenal job bringing the essence of depression to life on screen. And Okwui Okpokwasili, as the mysterious woman, is the very definition of eerie.

Final Verdict

The Woman in the Yard carves its own path in the horror genre. It’s an exploration of the mental darkness we often try to ignore; raw, thought-provoking, and chilling. If you love horror with emotional depth, this one is a must-watch.

• Director
  • Jaume Collet-Serra
• Writer
  • Sam Stefanak
• Stars
  • Danielle Deadwyler
  • Okwui Okpokwasili
  • Peyton Jackson