Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler, Till, I Saw the TV Glow) lays in bed, watching a video on her phone of her and her husband David (Russell Hornsby, The Hate U Give, “Lincoln Heights”). The couple is happy and talking about how their dream farmhouse is finally finished. But as we pan out, we can see that the walls are now cracking, and the irises that once filled the home are now dead. Ramona’s leg is still in a cast brace from the accident that recently took the life of her husband, and she needs a crutch to get around. Ramona has been left to raise teenager Taylor (Peyton Jackson, “Best Foot Forward”, Nobody’s Fool) and his younger sister Annie (Estella Kahiha, Fantasy Football, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) all on her own, however she doesn’t seem to be doing a good job of it, spending most of her time locked away in her room, grieving.

Taylor tries to make the family breakfast, but the power is out, the fridge is practically empty, and there aren’t even any matches to light the stove top. Ramona’s phone battery is also now dead, and so she can’t call the power company. Ramona seems distracted, just staring at the running sink as the all other sounds get drowned out. She finally snaps out of her trance when Taylor announces there is a strange woman on their front lawn. The mysterious woman (Okwui Okpokwasili, I Am Legend, Exorcist: The Believer) is just sitting on a bench in their yard, dressed all in a black with a veil, like she is going to a funeral. Ramona approaches the woman, hearing the sounds of flies buzzing, and muttering. As she gets closer, the the woman raises her bloody hands exclaiming “Today’s the Day”. This seems to hit a nerve with Ramona, who rushes to the garage to try to start the car, but has no luck. Without a phone to call for help or a car to get away, she rushes back inside. The woman appears to be slowly getting closer to the house, with her shadow extending across the lawn, reaching out for those inside. If Ramona knows what this entity is, she’s not sharing that info with her children, or the fact that she has been having visions of hurting them. The family is now trapped inside the house as this shadow tries to make its way towards them. But who is the true danger, Ramona or this entity? Can Ramona put her grieving aside and get her wits about her in order to prevent her children from falling into the grasp of this mysterious woman before it’s too late?!

The Woman in the Yard is the latest thriller from Blumhouse Productions, from director Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows, Carry On) and writer Sam Stefanak (“F Is for Family”, “The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia”). First the positives. The initial premise and set-up of the movie is excellent, with this family suddenly trapped in their home, terrorized by this shadow-like entity that is able to use the darkness to reach out towards them. Since the power is out, they can’t just simply turn on the lights to stop the shadow, and they have no way to drive or call for help. It’s a very minimal cast with just four actors and a single location, but this helps add to the terror, claustrophobia and spooky atmosphere. The performances are actually very good, especially Danielle Deadwyler, who has proven she knows how to play a grief-stricken woman in Till. The tone and look of the film is spot-on, making excellent use of an immersive audio track to put the viewer right in the middle of this unsettling situation.

However, where I found the film to be lacking was in the direction the story ultimately takes. The “twist” and reveal of what’s actually going on was quite predictable, and I found the payoff to be disappointing. The film is more of a physiological thriller, focusing on themes of guilt and sadness, rather than a true horror film. I think this movie could have been a lot better had the writers went down more of a supernatural horror route for the story, rather than a thinly veiled (no pun intended) allegory.

Universal has released The Woman in the Yard on Blu-ray and DVD, and it is also available in 4K on digital. We received the Blu-ray release for review, and it looks and sounds great. The picture is crisp and clean, with a solid level of detail. Even in the darker shots, the shadow effect looks great and creepy as it stretches towards its intended victims. Dialogue is clear throughout, and the stereo and surround channels are well-utilized to provide a creepy and immersive atmosphere—whether it is the sound of flies buzzing, the way the sound mutes when Ramona zones out, etc.

The Blu-ray release includes a single disc, which resides in standard HD keepcase, along with a glossy carboard slipcover, and an insert containing a code to redeem for an HD Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the film. The disc also contains about 13 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:27:53)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2026):

• HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

• Making The Woman in the Yard (8:03)
  The cast and crew discuss how they got involved, the themes of the movie, working with the director, the cast, the house and its design, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Jaume Collet-Serra, producer Jason Blum, producer Stephanie Allain, first assistant director/executive producer James Moran, production designer Marc Fisichella, set decorator Claire Sanchez, and stars executive producer Danielle Deadwyler (“Ramona”) & Peyton Jackson (“Taylor”).
• Beneath the Veil (5:02)
  The cast and crew discuss the character of the woman and what she represents, the physicality of the role, the look of the character, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Jaume Collet-Serra, hair department head Araci Lindsey, key makeup artist Janice Tunnell, makeup department head Denise Tunnell, and stars Okwui Okpokwasili (“Woman”) & Danielle Deadwyler.

Final Thoughts:

The Woman in the Yard had a lot of potential, setting up this very creepy atmosphere and entity. It also features a strong lead performance. In general, the execution is solid, but where it ultimately lets horror fans down is in the direction the script takes. That said, fans of the movie will be quite pleased by the disc’s presentation, and the inclusion of some short but interesting behind-the-scenes material.