The Woman in the Yard: A Frustrating Supernatural Horror Outing That Squanders Its Potential (Blu-ray)

The Film:

When it comes to the sub-genre of supernatural horror films, it seems like we've had much more in the way of misses than hits in the last few years, with the intriguing part being that vampires appear to have had the most success, given how well-received both Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" and Robert Eggers' "Nosferatu" were. Now director Jaume Collet-Serra, the man behind recent films like "Jungle Cruise" and "Black Adam," looks to try his hand at it with "The Woman in the Yard," arming himself with a script from theatrical newcomer Sam Stefanak and bringing it the marvelous BAFTA/SAG Award nominee Danielle Deadwyler as the lead. Will this team be able to succeed where so many others have failed, or is it yet another supernatural outing that's doomed to end up on the heap of forgotten attempts?

The film focuses on Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler), whose husband was recently killed in a car crash that left her injured, and her two kids, Taylor (Peyton Jackson) and Annie (Estella Kahiha), all of whom live on a farm that they were fixing up. When a mysterious woman (Okwui Okpokwasili) draped entirely in black appears on their lawn, proclaiming that "Today's the day" and showing blood on her hands, Ramona quickly goes about trying to protect her children by locking the doors and keeping them inside. We soon discover that the woman is not at all what she appears to be, and that Ramona & her kids are indeed in extreme danger, but who is this mysterious woman and what does she want?

"The Woman in the Yard" sets itself up with a mildly-engaging mystery on top of what could be an emotionally-engaging tale of a family trying to get on with their lives after a terrible tragedy leaves them in a difficult situation. With this foundation, it certainly seems like it had the right ingredients to deliver a thrilling, moving character piece that not only tackles mental health, but also gives horror fans something to sink their teeth into, but sadly what we get instead is a rather frustrating film that doesn't do much of anything with its intriguing mystery or the potential of its emotional story.

Perhaps even more frustrating is that, well-before these brief 80-ish minutes are up, the viewer is well-aware that there are only two ways that this story can end, neither of which would be a satisfying conclusion. In his efforts to tell a story about depression & personal tragedy, screenwriter Sam Stefanak very quickly wrote himself into a corner where there simply wasn't a good way out, meaning he was left with a choice between a sappy ending or one that delivers a cheap shock. Unfortunately he went with the latter, which not only felt desperate, but is just an outright terrible ending to the tale he's trying to tell.

That said, no fault can be placed on Danielle Deadwyler, who seems fully-committed to her performance as a mother trying to raise her two kids alone. Her talent is certainly not in dispute, but even she can't come close to saving Stefanak's weak, messy screenplay, and it's extremely doubtful that anyone could. In the end, there's an interesting seed of an idea in "The Woman in the Yard," but the writer simply didn't know what to do with it, resulting in a remarkably disappointing supernatural horror outing that squanders its potential.

Video/Audio:

"The Woman in the Yard" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. The picture is perfectly sharp & clear throughout the entire 80-minute duration, even during the darkest of scenes. Likewise, the 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Universal has done a wonderful job in both areas for the film's physical release.

Special Features:

Making The Woman in the Yard (8 Minutes): A featurette that takes you behind the scenes of the film, featuring interviews with the cast & crew.

Beneath the Veil (5 Minutes): A featurette that explores the character of "The Woman."

Conclusion:

Jaume Collet-Serra's "The Woman in the Yard" has the start of an interesting idea with its emotional tale about a family trying to move on after a personal tragedy and its intriguing mystery that has them stalked by a strange woman, but thanks to Sam Stefanak's weak, messy screenplay, the potential of the idea is never taken advantage of, ultimately resulting in a frustrating supernatural horror outing that's doomed to be instantly forgotten.

Score: 2/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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