The Woman in the Yard (2025)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A widowed mother must confront a mysterious, menacing figure appearing in her front yard while trying to protect her children.
The story
Ramona is a widowed mother who was injured in a car accident that also killed her husband David. She cares for their two children, Taylor and Annie, but she is strict and emotionally distant from them. The family's isolation is shattered when a mysterious woman draped in black appears in the front yard claiming, 'Today's the day.' While Ramona warns her children to stay away from the intruder, her son Taylor remains unconvinced. As the mysterious woman moves closer to the house and begins to exert a strange influence, Ramona must navigate the escalating tension and the growing threat posed by the stranger in the yard.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ramona, a widowed mother, lives with her two children, Taylor and Annie, following a tragic car accident that killed her husband, David. Their lives are disrupted when a mysterious woman in black appears in their yard. While Ramona tries to keep the children away, the Woman begins to exert a dark influence, even causing their dog, Charlie, to go missing. The tension peaks when it is revealed that the Woman is a physical manifestation of Ramona's psyche, appearing because of Ramona's internal struggle with depression and her secret desire to end her life. The Woman eventually convinces Ramona that the children are better off without her. In a final, tragic turn, the Woman assists Ramona in a suicide attempt in a barn. The children eventually find their dog and the Woman disappears, leaving Ramona to face her fate. The film ends with a painting showing Ramona and the Woman's faces together with Ramona's name spelled backward.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 87
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jaume Collet-Serra
- Writers
- Sam Stefanak · writer
- Cast and characters
- Danielle Deadwyler · Ramona; Okwui Okpokwasili · the Woman, a mysterious figure covered in black clothing; Russell Hornsby · David, Ramona's husband; Peyton Jackson · Taylor, Ramona's son; Estella Kahiha · Annie, Ramona's daughter
- Genres
- psychological horror
- Themes
- depression; suicide; maternal protection
- Tone and mood
- tense; eerie; disturbing
- Premise and plot tags
- supernatural; psychological
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Man in the Yard
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was noted for its strong central performance but criticized for its narrative structure in the final act.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The screenplay was originally titled 'The Man in the Yard' in 2020.; It was a 'Black List' most-liked unproduced screenplay in 2020.; It was the first major production shot at Athena Studios in Athens, Georgia.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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