By Mo Moshaty

Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Woman in the Yard is a tight, emotionally charged grief horror that digs deep into loss and the complexity of family relationships. What it does well is focusing on a small tight knit cast, in a simple, almost claustrophobic setting. The film creates an intimate atmosphere that grips emotional stakes, but while it’s effective in its portrayal of grief and everything that comes after, the story gets bogged down in metaphor and nuance, keeping it from hitting as hard as it should.

Danielle Deadwyler is absolutely captivating as Ramona, a woman who’s struggling to hold everything together after the sudden death of her husband David (Russell Hornsby). Miller’s performance is raw, showing how grief can slowly consume someone and how Ramona’s desperation to keep her family intact clashes desperately with her inner turmoil. Her eldest son, Taylor, (Peyton Jackson) steps up and assumes the role of man of the house, carrying for his much younger sibling, Annie (Estella Kahiha), much to Ramona’s frustration. It’s an interesting dynamic, and Jackson plays the role of a young man forced into maturity with subtlety. Ramona’s bitterness towards Taylor’s sudden responsibility is a thread that runs through the film, adding tension and highlighting the strained grief puts on family roles.

It’s clear that they’re all processing grief in different ways. But it’s Taylor who, perhaps unfairly, takes on a heavy emotional burden that Ramona seems unable or unwilling to carry herself.

Enter The Woman in the Yard (Okwui Okpokwasili). Living in a remote farm setting, knowing you have no one around and quite familiar with just how far the next neighbor is, having something or someone violate that space is not only chilling and unnerving, but deeply disturbing. The family must contend with what she means, what she is there for, and how to get away from her.

Screenwriter Sam Stefanak’s minimalism in the cast and setting works for the most part, keeping the film focused on the emotional struggle rather than the complicated plot mechanics. That’s also where they lose us. The story’s reliance on metaphor and subtext, or worse, sometimes hitting you over the head with it (you’ll know it when you see it), makes it feel more like a meandering slow burn than a gripping horror. Grief and family trauma are explored thoughtfully, but the horror elements, while effective when we get there, aren’t as sharp or immediate as they could be. The film often feels like it’s trying to say more than it shows, leaving some emotional beats muted.

My personal frustration lies in the fact that there is a lot of additional information that could’ve been heaped into this film from a Black perspective that’s missing which can really only mean a few things. Overall, The Woman in the Yard is a fine exploration of loss, responsibility and family dynamic, and we can always do with more grief horror. Deadwyler’s performance alone makes it worth watching and while the films reliance on nuance can leave some audience wanting (a lot) more of a direct emotional payoff, it is compelling.