Chauncey K. Robinson

The trailer is giving simple terror and ghost/monster thrills. The latest trailer for the upcoming Blumhouse film The Woman in the Yard keeps the mystery while promising some big horror scares. It’s nice to see a trailer for a horror film that does not give it all away in two minutes when it comes to the plot and the inevitable twists and turns. Also, it’s nice to see an upcoming horror film that relies more on mystery and anticipation rather than head-on gore and bloody kills. That may be my bias, as gothic horror is my favorite subgenre. This horror genre usually attempts to tell a deeper story and build a greater atmosphere as it doesn’t have the overt surprise of violence that is relied upon with other horror sub-genres.

Synopisis: Seriously injured, Ramona now must care for their 14-year-old son (Peyton Jackson; Respect, American Refugee) and 6-year-old-daughter (Estella Kahiha; Will Trent, BMF), alone in her rural farmhouse. Then one day the woman takes form in their yard.

Ramona assumes the woman (Okwui Okpokwasili; The Exorcist: Believer, Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) is lost or demented, but as the woman creeps nearer and nearer to the house, it becomes clear she is no ordinary figure and her intentions are anything but peaceful. Now Ramona must rally to protect herself and her children from the grasp of the woman who simply won’t leave them alone. The Woman in the Yard is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Black Adam, Jungle Cruise), who recently directed Deadwyler in the upcoming action thriller Carry On. The film is written by first-time feature screenwriter Sam Stefanak.

The plot feels like an often-used trope of a character experiencing grief as they become vulnerable to sinister supernatural forces. That’s not a knock on the synopsis but an observation with the hope that they bring something new to this angle.

Check out the trailer below and let me know your thoughts: