The Woman in the Yard – The Universal 2K Blu-ray Edition

With The Woman in the Yard (2025), Jaume Collet-Serra has returned to the genre cinema where he distinguished himself with works like Orphan and The Shallows. After disappointing mainstream forays with Jungle Cruise and Black Adam, the Catalan director chose a more contained project, produced by Blumhouse and inspired by a Sam Stefanak script, featured on the 2020 “Black List”.

The story revolves around Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler), a mother scarred by her husband's death who lives with her two children on an isolated farm. The appearance of a mysterious woman in the yard (Okwui Okpokwasili) triggers a crescendo of tensions, where the supernatural intertwines with unresolved traumas and family secrets. The film plays on a dual track: the external threat of the spectral figure and the internal one of a mother consumed by guilt and repressed hatred towards her children.

Tension and Spectacle, Even in 2K

Collet-Serra confirms his directorial skill in building dark and claustrophobic atmospheres, supported by elegant cinematography and solid performances. While decent, the film's limitation lies in a less-than-brilliant screenplay, which reworks familiar clichés – grief, car accident, broken family – without transforming them into something original or truly disturbing.

Master of unspecified resolution, image format 2.39:1 (1920 x 1080/23.97p), AVC/MPEG-4 encoding on a BD-50 dual-layer disc. Images are well above average, with excellent rendering and detail even in the background elements, colors predominantly brownish due to clear artistic choices, and deep blacks. Certainly, 4K would have further perfected the result, especially in less luminous situations.

Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 Italian (754 kbps) favors dialogue and a rather rich and engaging dynamic if listening through a Home Theater system, especially if beyond the typical soundbar + subwoofer. The original Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (24 bit) is superior, with a scenic presence that increases the tension and drama of the moment, as in the “shadows'” assault in the second part.

As extras (without Italian subtitles), there's a making-of (8') with the director, producer Jason Blum, and some of the actors, exploring the production. “Under the Veil” (5') features cast and crew sharing their thoughts on the role, nature, and symbolism of the woman in black.