Rating: 4/5 stars

“The Woman in the Yard” is a horror movie following Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler), a mother, an artist, a survivor and a grieving widow. She lost her husband in a car accident, leaving her with a broken leg and as the sole provider for their two children, Taylor and Annie. 

In dealing with her grief and declining mental health, Ramona begins to see a mysterious woman in all black sitting in a chair across the street. Over time, the woman gets closer and closer to the house, leading to Ramona forcing her children to be isolated inside the house. Naturally, this creates tension between the family that builds as Ramona’s anger, fear and grief persist.

Eventually, the woman makes it into the house, which is a given, as it would be a pretty boring movie if she stayed in the yard the entire time. Once she gets into the house there are a series of things that occur that will put you on the edge of your seat, confuse and anger you. One thing for sure is that you would not be able to predict the ending. I mean who is the woman in the yard? How did she get there? Why is she there? 

Is she the manifestation of Ramona’s inner demons? Is the woman the dark thoughts lurking in the back of her mind, telling her that death is the answer when life becomes filled with too much? Too many struggles. Too many responsibilities. Too much conflict. Too much pain. She is a newly widowed mother, struggling to keep the lights on and food in the fridge for her two children, while dealing with the physical pain in her leg. It all seems a bit much for her to handle. The woman reveals her purpose in the movie by explaining that she has heard Ramona’s pleas in the morning asking her to give her strength, but the strength to do what? To keep on going or to end her life? 

As the film nears the end, the tension is at an all-time high. Ramona is now holding on by a thread and is considering suicide. She says goodbye to her kids, telling them to run to get help. In the final few scenes, the tension builds as we have the woman helping Ramona bring a shotgun to her mouth. Tears streaming down her face show a mixture of fear and acceptance. As she holds the shotgun in her mouth she looks at the toy her daughter gave her and then……. it cuts to her running outside to the kids who have gotten help. More scenes play and it becomes harder to know what is true because at the end we heard her husband David’s voice again. Did Ramona pull the trigger or is she alive? The movie does not make it easy for you to determine the truth. 

If you want to know for yourself then you should check it out, but please be mindful of the heavy themes in the movie.

Image via Screen Bites via YouTube