Yard Goods

Ms. Spenser got a little free time, so we put on a horror movie: The Woman in the Yard (2025). We went in knowing nothing, except that it was "psychological horror" (not slasher) and Blumhouse, which was pretty much enough for us. 

It starts with mom Danielle Deadwyler sleeping late whule watching a video of her husband telling her about a dream -- a dream that the house they had bought is complete. Her teen son, Peyton Jackson, despairs of her getting up and starts the morning chores: collecting the eggs and making breakfast for himself, his mom and his little sister, Estelle Kahiha. He is dutiful, but plainly tired of living in rundown house where nothing works. You could tell, just from the video Deadwyler was watching, that his father died before getting the place under control. Also, the power is out, and the bill can't be paid until Monday.

At breakfast (scrambled eggs and Doritos - the kids like it), Kahiha notices that there is a woman in the yard. She is shrouded in black, just sitting at the edge of the property. Since this is a small farm, that is pretty far away. They can't call the police, because no one's phone has a charge. When mom finally agrees to check her out, she gets nothing but vage threats and insinuations. 

Then they notice that she's coming closer. 

Most of this first two-thirds of the movie is like this - a shadowy threat, the single mom overwhelmed with grief and a hard life, the son trying to step up and be a man when he's far too young. The family is being torn apart, nothing works and everything is too hard - although there is still a lot of love in the family. The Woman (a very spooky Okwui Okpokwasili) deepens the divisions, and in the last third, her meaning and mission becomes clear - or clearish, the ending is a little confusing.

One interesting thing about the movie, is that this family is black, but it makes almost no difference to the story. This sort of race neutrality is impressive.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra has made a number of thrillers that we haven't seen, and Jungle Cruise and Black Adam which we did. But we liked both of those movies, critics (and audiences) be damned. I don't know if Woman is a more personal movie for him, or just a simpler, lower budget movie. Anyway, Mrs Spenser thought it was a little intense - more traumatic than scary, and I thought it was a little obvious, and the ending a little muddy, But a decent horror without much gore or jump scares.