The Woman in the Yard

Can creep out an audience but is less deft with freak-me-out horror.

Simplicity is power, and the lean initial premise here is as potent as it gets... The inexorable, creeping chill of this uncanny game of What's the time, Mr Wolf? dissipates almost entirely, though, during a convoluted third act.

Like a particularly concise, purposefully elliptical short story, The Woman in the Yard quickly milks this beguiling, WTF-is-going-on-here? scenario for all the dread it’s worth.

Soaking his film in an atypical amount of sunlight, Collet-Serra forces the generally strong work of cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski into boring monotony.

It's well performed, and Collet-Serra knows his way around a beautifully timed scare, but what's most haunting is the sense that the same idea has been done better before.

The Woman in the Yard succeeds (somewhat) due to Deadwyler’s sympathetic performance and Collet-Serra’s knack for sharp camera placement, evocative lighting and the occasional show-off camera move.

Better than recent Blumhouse releases and carrying a more prestigious feel, however, Deadwyler's performance cannot save a film thin of terror and high on problematic messages

A couple of jump scares and the Woman’s appearance aside, this is pure family drama that is both bleak and instantly forgettable.

Push through its un-understated symbolism and the prevailing sense that Deadwyler is too good for this material, and you may appreciate The Woman in the Yard for the concise, well-made supernatural thriller it is.

Jaume Collet-Serra turns a typical horror story into an allegory about evil and amoral suffering. [Full Review in Spanish]