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The Twist in The Woman in the Yard Is a New Low for Trauma Horror
Horror that’s really about trauma is now the norm, but there’s something particularly thoughtless about this film’s treatment of mental health.
The latest Blumhouse release centers on Ramona, played by Danielle Deadwyler, wading through grief over the death of her husband, David (Russell Hornsby), while recovering from the injuries sustained in the car crash that took his life. Deadwyler gives the kind of committed, lived-in performance we’ve come to expect from her, while director Jaume Collet-Serra manages some creative camerawork — all the more impressive given that the film largely takes place during the day, with the titular Woman sitting calmly on a chair. To say that the genre has contributed to stigmatization is something of an understatement — watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Psycho, or basically any movie by Ari Aster and you’ll find an association between being mentally ill and being dangerous and homicidal.
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