Isolation can be a key fear factor in horror movies, especially when the story that unfolds is accompanied by characters that draw the audience in. That pull of intrigue, because of the characters involved, is exactly what drew me into The Woman in the Yard when the movie began. The beginning sets up the dour mood of the story right away: not long after losing her husband in a car crash, an injured mother of two, Ramona (Danielle ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler), is forced to grapple with the day-to-day of trying to take care of her children on her own.

However, after a power outage that leaves them without light or cell service, Ramona, her son, Taylor (Peyton Jackson), and her daughter, Annie (Estella Kahiha), are visited by a woman dressed in a black veil (Okwui Okpokwasili). She sits in their yard, claiming to Ramona that “today’s the day,” thoroughly unsettling her and her children. As the woman inches closer, the movie tries to promise intrigue about her motives. However, this 2025 horror movie doesn’t manage to drum up that many scares, the interesting setting soon getting bogged down in boredom.

The Woman In The Yard’s Interesting Ideas Are Marred By Bland Presentation

The Unsettling Premise Slowly Starts To Weigh The Movie Down

The initial premise of the psychological horror movie offers an interesting hook, while promising it will be expanded upon as the film progresses. The Woman in the Yard‘s тιтular woman is a menacing presence from the start, with Okpokwasili’s performance being a standout whenever she’s onscreen. However, it’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler who steals the show, expertly showcasing the spiral Ramona finds herself trapped in as the movie unfolds. It’s a convincing portrayal of grief and guilt, her acting abilities holding the foundation of the horror movie together.

This is because, despite the leads having strong onscreen presences, the movie’s other elements quickly fall to the wayside. The story starts off interesting because of the mysterious woman outside. The movie’s methodical and deliberate pace crafts an ominous, oppressive atmosphere that makes the setup evenmore unsettling. But, after the woman’s introduction, it doesn’t take long to lose what made it special. Drawn-out scenes of scary imagery with nothing happening and horror movie clichés abound in the perplexingly bland hour that follows.

While its initially interesting ideas remain a backdrop to the events that unfold, they’re always left in the periphery instead of coming to the forefront. This makes the mystery of the woman and her presence on Ramona’s property feel less engaging, despite being the major focus of the story. Even though later parts of the movie give Jackson and Kahiha time to shine as Taylor and Annie, watching The Woman in the Yard slowly started to become a draining experience as the psychological intrigue was replaced by poor attempts at generic scares.

Meaningful Ideas In The Woman In The Yard Feel Half-Baked Despite A Creative Structure

There’s So Much More The Movie Could Have Said

What makes this presentation more disappointing is the important ideas the movie tries tackling. This leads to some stellar scenes thanks to ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler’s acting, expertly showcasing Ramona’s layered characterization with her words and expressions alone. But these moments fall short because of the blasé presentation of the rest of the movie. These moments exist in their own little vacuums, as if the movie is at war with itself across its runtime. By the end of The Woman in the Yard, though, these ideas don’t feel like they’ve been presented adequately.

Instead, it often feels like the movie is lost within its own premise, unsure how to fill time until getting to what it wants to say by the end. This rocky journey ends up undermining the messages and themes it’s trying to convey, making the last act feel like an unearned destination. While the subjects it tackles are, on the surface, ones the premise lends itself to quite well, the way it’s showcased, coupled with a journey that oozes apathy, makes the movie much less interesting than it potentially could have been.

Despite having plenty of interesting ideas, The Woman in the Yard fails to satisfyingly deliver on them by the end. Although strong lead performances and thematically important ideas did crop up, the film wasn’t satisfying in how it presented them. While the beginning hook was eerie and set the stage for a riveting story to follow, the lack of thrilling elements and surplus of bland horror tropes bogged down a movie with so much more potential.

The Woman in the Yard is now available on VOD and Blu-ray.