Horror Movie Review: The Woman in the Yard

Rule of thumb when writing a script: don't toy with your audience. Apparently, writer Sam Stefanak did not get this memo, and the result was dissatisfied viewers. Film is subjective though, and you can still find some good in the bad. Sometimes a closer look is warranted.

The Woman in the Yard follows Ramona and her two children, Taylor and Annie, as they encounter a mysterious figure cloaked in black on their family farm. The visitor says very little and does not reveal her identity but warns Ramona of forthcoming danger. Back inside the house Ramona begins to hallucinate and becomes irritable with her kids. Painful visions of her late husband flood her mind.

The mysterious figure draws nearer, eventually entering the home. Backed into the upstairs attic, the family makes a last stand. Through a series of events the woman in black converges with Ramona's body as she holds a gun to her chin. Nothing happens. The gun does not go off. Ramona exits the home unharmed and happily greets her children outside who'd escaped.

Critical to the story is the relationship between Ramona and her late husband, David. The two had a rocky marriage, with Ramona often indicating dissatisfaction with the life they'd built. She demanded they moved out of the city for a fresh start, but even then, found herself unhappy. Through her hallucinations in the film, we learn David's death was from a car accident, which Ramona partially caused by distracting him.

It's evident Ramona is not in the best head space. She's seeing things in the film, and everything from the framing to the lines of dialogue lead us to believe she is struggling with depression. The woman in the yard? Just a projection in her mind, at least so it seems. And the woman's claims of danger could signify Ramona's thoughts of suicide, and the constant urge to do it. The spectral figure could be seen as a mirror of our own worst self. Our fears, worries, anxieties. All the stuff we hate.

So, the ending here clearly depicts Ramona overcoming thoughts of suicide, but there's a final line from an earlier dream in which David says to Ramona, "I had the most amazing dream". In that dream he talks about the house finally being finished, the decorating done, and the barn full. This choice from the writer intentionally blurs the line in the story's ending. Was it all psychological? Was the woman in the yard actually there? Were we seeing what Ramona's dream was after committing suicide? It's ultimately up to us to decide, and both sides have merit.

There's beauty in creating some ambiguity in a story, but when the decision is so blatant and without explanation or reason it leaves viewers more upset than intrigued. This wasn't the only cause for negative reception. The cast itself lacked good chemistry. Child actors can be such a hit or miss in horror, and here they were a big miss. The overuse of disorienting framing, flashbacks, and hallucinations made the experience rather tiresome. Now, I didn't totally hate this film. It's a fine watch, but certainly not a must watch, like many movies these days.

What'd you think of The Woman in the Yard?

2/5