2025 has been an extremely fickle year for horror thus far since it has vacillated between smash hits and lukewarm box office performances. On the successful side, there have been films like Sinners, which surpᴀssed even generous estimates by making $364 million worldwide. Another stunner was the sequel movie Final Destination: Bloodlines.

On the other hand, there have been some big misses from major horror producers. A24 had a tough March, as Death of a Unicorn and Opus struggled with reception and at the box office. They made up for it with better critical reviews for Bring Her Back, but still underperformed.

Blumhouse is also having a disappointing year so far. The studio has typically been fairly reliable within its horror niche. Last year, they made an impact with their English-language remake of Speak No Evil. They have historically produced other hits, including Get Out, Ma, and The Black Phone.

However, Blumhouse is not immune to the kind of inconsistency that has occurred this year in horror. They began the year with an underwhelming remake of Wolf Man. Then, the studio went on to produce another movie that proved divisive.

The Woman In The Yard Is One Of 2025’s Most Controversial Horror Movies

It Split Critics And Audiences

On March 28, during horror’s most inconsistent month of 2025 so far, Blumhouse released The Woman in the Yard. This film became incredibly divisive among those who watched it.

On the critics’ side, the film got a 40% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. While this represents a score classified in the “rotten” category on the aggregate site, it also reveals that many people had disparate opinions on the movie.

The Woman in the Yard got a mixed review from ScreenRant‘s Nick Bythrow, who awarded the movie 5 out of 10 stars. While he thought that the film presented “interesting ideas” and featured a great performance by Danielle ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler, he felt that the ideas were not expressed in an interesting way.

Sometimes, films are apt to create division between the critics and audiences. In this case, audiences were split too. The Popcornmeter expressed a similarly disparate opinion, standing at 47%. Those who liked the film were drawn in by the performances and use of symbolism, but its detractors complained about the script and unsatisfying ending.

The Woman In The Yard Is Now Streaming On Max – What It’s About

A Veiled Woman Haunts An Unsuspecting Family

The Woman in the Yard is now available to stream on Max. This will give the film a second chance to gain an audience after the film’s lackluster theatrical run, where it made just $23.3 million.

Plot-wise, The Woman in the Yard tells the story of a mysterious veiled woman who repeatedly shows up in a family’s front yard. As the woman begins leaving chilling and terrifying messages, the family starts to question why she is there and whether she might pose a real threat.

The film later attempts to divulge some of the origin story behind this woman. This was one of the more controversial elements in the film’s reviews.

Should You Watch The Woman In The Yard?

One Element Makes It Worth It

The Woman in the Yard is far from Blumhouse’s best work. As the reviews indicate, it has a good premise, but its execution is fairly bland and tame horror. The trailers for The Woman in the Yard looked fairly atmospheric and promising, but the film itself left me, like many, underwhelmed.

That said, the movie is still worth watching for one reason: ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler’s performance. Having previously been snubbed for an Academy Award nomination for Till and again last year for The Piano Lesson, ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler is one of the most underrated actors working today.

The Woman in the Yard further proves the actor’s strength, giving her a type of role that she has not taken on before. She adapts well to the horror medium, giving a compelling performance even when the writing quality behind her character is lacking.