The Woman in the Yard (2025)

The best part of The Woman in the Yard is when nothing happens. A stranger draped head to toe in black sits out on the lawn, tells Ramona that today is the day, then just waits, a little closer every time the family checks the window. Jaume Collet-Serra milks that image for real dread, and some of the shadow tricks are slick. Then the third act ties itself in knots, the big metaphor gets spelled out like a note on the fridge, and the scares stop showing up. Danielle Deadwyler is the reason to watch. She plays Ramona, a widowed mom still healing from the crash that took her husband, as someone barely holding it together for her kids, and she’s terrific. Critics landed at 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, and regular audiences were even colder. A 3.9 because one great performance and a creepy hook can’t save a story that loses its nerve. $181 says you check the front yard twice before bed tonight and pretend you’re checking the weather.

What works: Danielle Deadwyler gives a fierce, committed performance, and the opening stretch with a silent stranger on the lawn is genuinely unnerving.

What doesn’t: The third act gets convoluted, the metaphor is spelled out far too plainly, and the scares fade just when the story should tighten.

Who it’s for: Danielle Deadwyler fans and people who like slow, symbolic horror more than jump scares.