What is up, Spooky Kids? I had some time to catch up on a few horror films released earlier this year, one of which was Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ The Woman in the Yard. I’d heard mixed reviews and comments concerning the movie, but I said I’d give any horror film a shot, and so I did. I am also a big fan of Jason Blum and his dedication to producing horror genre films. I know some are fantastic, and others are not so much. Since The Woman in the Yard seemed to divide the audience, I was ready to sit back and see what all the fuss was about.

The Woman in the Yard was released on March 28th, 2025. According to the film’s IMDb page, it was made for a modest $12 million and finished with a worldwide gross of $23.3 million. When you double the production budget, a studio can claim that as a win, so I wondered what the big deal was with the mixed bag of reviews.

The film is around an hour and a half, which is pretty standard for a horror movie. The pacing was fine, and it didn’t seem to drag, so I didn’t start scrolling through my phone. Director Jaume Collet-Serra does great work building a dark, brooding mood. The Woman in the Yard is creepy, and I didn’t have an issue with the first two acts. The third act had some story issues, but it still worked for me.

The plot revolves around Ramona and her two children, Taylor and Annie. Her husband has recently died, and she struggles with the lingering injuries from the car accident that took his life. The farmhouse they recently moved to is still under construction, and she has become detached from her kids while letting little things like buying food for their dog, Charlie, or paying the electric bill.

Everything changes when a mysterious woman appears in their front yard, silently sitting in a chair and staring at the house. She’s dressed in a long, flowing black dress, and a black veil covers her face. Her visage is creepy and well-played. The family now has to deal with the woman and figure out what she wants. Taylor is upset about the woman and tries to get her to leave the yard, but the woman drops some knowledge on him that makes him think twice about the story his mother told him about the night his father was killed.

The growing sense of dread surrounding the woman and Ramona is a nice slow burn that is gripping at times but heavy-handed at others. One trope used is mirrors, and the reflection scenes initially seem odd but pay off later. The mirror parts are okay, but are mostly there to inform viewers about how the film ends.

The acting is excellent, and the production designers create a foreboding environment. However, the final act does become very cumbersome as the reasons for the woman’s presence and how to escape her influence are revealed. The ‘twist’ was pretty visible a mile away, but things about it can stick with you if you’ve had certain feelings and situations in your life.

In the ending, I knew what I wanted to happen, but I wasn’t sure if the film would go that direction. I didn’t want the writers or director to cop out on the viewers, and I was happy with their route. The end ended up being emotional, and once you catch the last shot (which isn’t a shock if you paid attention), it is rewarding and devastating.

Overall, I felt like the film gets a bad rap. It isn’t an amazing movie, but it isn’t terrible either. For a Blumhouse film, that’s pretty common. I love me some Blumhouse, but he throws money at everything to see what sticks. I can’t complain, because when he’s right, he’s right and keeps the horror film train moving into multiplexes for us. My main complaint is that if someone needs help, the message is buried partway into the credits and not the first thing after the screen goes black.

In closing, I liked it well enough, but it probably doesn’t need another viewing. One is good, but not a repeat viewing flick. I will give it 2.5 Tombstones out of 5. It’s average, nothing more and nothing less.

Time to get out of here before the monsters creep out from under my desk. I felt one bite my ankle, and I need to find a body to feed them.

Take care my friends, and beware of what goes bump in the night,

Brent