The Woman in the Yard (#669)


I came out of the movie I saw yesterday not certain of what I had seen. THE WOMAN IN THE YARD is described as a horror, mystery, thriller. It was scary, there were some mysteries, but it was not thrilling in any way. The all African- American cast was more than competent in handling this film about a mother, on crutches as the result of an automobile accident that killed her husband, snd two children (teen-aged son and younger daughter) living in a comfortable house in a rural setting that her husband had been lovingly restoring. There are tensions which magnify when they discover a woman shrouded in clothes covering her head sitting in the yard. The mother, Ramona, goes out to confront the woman, who won't leave, and does not speak, and concludes that the woman is either lost or demented. They are unable to call for help because, for no reason, the electricity fails. Tensions increase, Ramona cannot go for help because their car won't start, snd the son confronts the yard woman with a rifle or shotgun as she moves closer to the house.  The yard lady reveals that everything is not as it seems and he demands that his mother tell what is really going on. She does, but it doesn't help matters. This is a genuine psychological drama and it scared me more than any other horror movie I've seen in a long time, but it didn't mean I liked or totally understood what was happening.  Fortunately, it was only 1 hour and 28 minutes to have to endure. Only 43% of critics and 45% of audiences rated Yard a thumbs up.  

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