Movie Reviews

‘The Woman in the Yard’ is Not What You Think it Is – Review

Published

9 months ago

April 6, 2025

‘The Woman in the Yard’ is Not What You Think it Is – Review

Finally made it to theaters to see The Woman in the Yard, though I ended up leaving the theater with more questions than answers.

For as long as I’ve been going to see movies (and that is a long time), I’ve never quite known how to feel about movies that leave me feeling confused. It’s easy to talk about a film when it’s excellent, even easier when the film is horrible and you can rip it apart at will. But then there’s the middle ground, where you don’t like a movie, nor do you hate it. Instead, there’s just…confusion.

Such is the dilemma I have with The Woman in the Yard.

On the surface, the story seemed straightforward enough. The story ostensibly follows a mother and her two kids as they find themselves terrorized by a mysterious woman sitting in the yard who will only tell the mother “Today is the day.” It was clear from the trailers that the mother knew more than she was letting on, but the question was, what?

I feel like the people in charge of promoting The Woman in the Yard made some big mistakes. The way the trailers are put together, one goes in expecting a horror story filled with scares and tension around what this mysterious entity wants. And while there is tension around that question, that’s not what the bulk of the story revolves around. Due to spoilers, I can’t say what that something is, except to say it isn’t even remotely hinted at in any of the advertising for this film. One might almost accuse the film of a bait and switch except I believe the director was coming from a place of good intentions, except the execution didn’t quite hit the mark.

Make no mistake, there is a good idea at the core of The Woman in the Yard. The director is trying to use horror as a means to shed light on some extremely dark and sensitive topics. This would all be well and good except by the time these revelations come to light, the film is almost over and the ground hasn’t really been prepared, in a manner of speaking, for the audience to even come close to accepting this as a proper explanation of what’s been going on. It all felt very anti-climactic.

That being said, the standout in this film by a mile is Okwui Okpokwasili as the titular woman. From the moment she first appears, there’s an air of something “other” about her character. Part of this is due to the veil that obscures her face for most of the film, the other part is how she holds herself. It’s the type of performance where you can tell the character is something very not human pretending to be human.

The performance I struggled with the most, in contrast, is that of Danielle Deadwyler as Ramona. I’m reasonably certain we’re supposed to sympathize with Ramona, at least that’s what the trailers led me to believe. But in the film itself, honestly I couldn’t sympathize with Ramona at all. If anything, I was waiting for the Woman to “get” her before I realized it ultimately wasn’t that kind of film.

In the end, I have to say The Woman in the Yard had a number of elements that, if used properly, could have made it a good film. However, as I hinted before, a number of story elements aren’t executed properly, leading to a story that is clearly trying to be told, but doesn’t communicate what needs to all that well. Watch at your own risk, your mileage will definitely vary with this one.

Movie Reviews

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Review: USA Premiere Report

Published

6 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Review: USA Premiere Report

U.S. Premiere Report:

#MSG Review: Free Flowing Chiru Fun

It’s an easy, fun festive watch with a better first half that presents Chiru in a free-flowing, at-ease with subtle humor. On the flip side, much-anticipated Chiru-Venky track is okay, which could have elevated the second half.

#AnilRavipudi gets the credit for presenting Chiru in his best, most likable form, something that was missing from his comeback.

With a simple story, fun moments and songs, this has enough to become a commercial success this #Sankranthi

Rating: 2.5/5

First Half Report:

#MSG Decent Fun 1st Half!

Chiru’s restrained body language and acting working well, paired with consistent subtle humor along with the songs and the father’s emotion which works to an extent, though the kids’ track feels a bit melodramatic – all come together to make the first half a decent fun, easy watch.

– Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu show starts with Anil Ravipudi-style comedy, with his signature backdrop, a gang, and silly gags, followed by a Megastar fight and a song. Stay tuned for the report.

U.S. Premiere begins at 10.30 AM EST (9 PM IST). Stay tuned Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu review, report.

Cast: Megastar Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh Daggubati, Nayanthara, Catherine Tresa

Writer & Director – Anil Ravipudi
Producers – Sahu Garapati and Sushmita Konidela
Presents – Smt.Archana
Banners – Shine Screens and Gold Box Entertainments
Music Director – Bheems Ceciroleo
Cinematographer – Sameer Reddy
Production Designer – A S Prakash
Editor – Tammiraju
Co-Writers – S Krishna, G AdiNarayana
Line Producer – Naveen Garapati
U.S. Distributor: Sarigama Cinemas

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Movie Review by M9

Movie Reviews

Primate

Published

18 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Every horror fan deserves the occasional (decent) fix, andin the midst of one of the bleakest movie months of the year, Primatedelivers. There’s nothing terribly original about Johannes Roberts’ rabidchimpanzee tale, but that’s kind of the …

Movie Reviews

1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

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1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

by Sean P. Aune | January 10, 2026

Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.

We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.

Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.

The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.

This time around, it’s Jan. 10, 1986, and we’re off to see Black Moon Rising.

Black Moon Rising

What was the obsession in the 1980s with super vehicles?

Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired to steal a computer tape with evidence against a company on it. While being pursued, he tucks it in the parachute of a prototype vehicle called the Black Moon. While trying to retrieve it, the car is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton), a car thief working for a car theft ring. Both of them want out of their lives, and it looks like the Black Moon could be their ticket out.

Blue Thunder in the movies, Airwolf and Knight Rider on TV, the 1980s loved an impractical ‘super’ vehicle. In this case, the car plays a very minor role up until the final action set piece, and the story is far more about the characters and their motivations.

The movie is silly as you would expect it to be, but it is never a bad watch. It’s just not anything particularly memorable.

1986 Movie Reviews will continue on Jan. 17, 2026, with The Adventures of the American Rabbit, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Iron Eagle, The Longshot, and Troll.