This “Truly Special Film” Is an Underrated Prime Video Gem!

Every year, the horror genre has its heavy hitters. This year, I think Zach Cregger’s Weapons, Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein are going to be the titles to beat. All three are presently part of the broader awards conversation, too, demonstrating just how much efficacy the genre has earned in recent years, especially with regard to industry recognition. I’m an underdog kind of guy, though, and I always love finding the hidden gems buried beneath the acclaimed hits. This year, my favorite among them might be The Woman in the Yard.

Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Woman in the Yard, now streaming on Prime Video, is a stylish, macabre descent into madness. What starts as an ostensible ghost story soon becomes anything but, unpacking layer upon layer of heavy, heady generational trauma, all while the eponymous and enigmatic woman taunts a rural family from just outside. Yes, it’s more “trauma horror,” though it earns its pathos more than most.

Collet-Serra, known for imbuing the highest concepts with heaps of style (see: The Shallows, House of Wax), plays with light and shadow to remarkable effect here. Danielle Deadwyler’s Ramona lives alone with her two children, still very conspicuously grieving the loss of her husband. The family dynamic is tense enough, with Ramona regularly snapping at the children long before anything supernatural even occurs. The strife is compounded when Okwui Okpokwasili’s Woman appears right outside their window. “Today’s the day…” For what, exactly? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out.

While it reeks of an early-year horror dump, it’s anything but. This is fine filmmaking anchored by strong performances, working within the familiar confines of a haunted, dusty farmhouse to deliver something altogether new. Film critic and writer Brandon Streussnig had as much to say when he called The Woman in the Yard, “A truly special film.”