I don’t think it’s any mystery that Jordan Peele’s influence has a grip on modern day Black-centered horror films and television. And for those that don’t know what I’m talking about or want to play dumb, just look at the last few years alone:
Lovecraft Country, Them, Ma, Queen & Slim, Run Sweetheart Run, Opus, The Front Room, Tyrell, Master, Alice, Tales From The Hood Part 2 and more. Whether you like it or not - all these movies have
Get Out’s DNA in them in one way or multiple ways.
And to be clear - it’s more than just “scary stories with Black people in them”. All of these movies are some variation of “watch out for the white boogeymen/boggeywomen”. Even
Sinners sort of falls in to that category/genre of film. I have a personal issue with this because it’s like Black films can’t exist without white people haunting us. I don’t need a history lesson on the relationship between Black and white people in this country either. I get it. Trust me. I’m a large young Black male. I’ve experienced plenty discrimination and racism. But these days so much of our identity is tied to being scared of white people. I just think that gets a little tiring. And in an abstract kind of way, it’s reverting back to the bugged sweaty Black caricature from old Hollywood who’s always scared of something…
(I’m a little conflicted using this image of Stepin Fetchit because he was a talented man that absolutely paved the way for Black actors of today and often doesn’t get his recognition because he played a part in stereotyping Black people on film)
I thought
The Woman In Yard was fine at best. More importantly, it served as a sign that perhaps we’re sort of moving in the right direction. It certainly has elements of Jordan Peele in the story but this time it isn’t some variation of
Get Out. It’s more in line with
US. Jordan Peele’s sophomore feature didn’t have the same impact as
Get Out but it’s still part of the modern day Black film canon. It’s been memefied, parodied and referenced in pop culture in more ways than one. The story of
The Woman In The Yard is pretty similar to
US. A frightened family stays inside of a house due to a boogeyman/woman making their presence known on the outside.
US is hardly the first movie with this basic premise. It’s the fact that
US and
The Woman In Yard are grief-heavy Black-centered horror stories where the mother is keeping a major secret from the rest of her family which is the reason they are being terrorized. I think it’s pretty hard to deny the similarities even on a surface level.
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| US / The Woman In The Yard |
There are major differences.
US is more fun and entertaining with jump scares and needle drops while
The Woman In The Yard really plays up the grief and depression angle. *Spoiler alert* the movie is a very heavy-handed story about a grim reaper type figure trying to convince the mother to commit suicide after she accidentally caused the death of her husband.
US/Jordan Peele comparisons aside, my biggest gripe with this movie is that it could have been a short film. The first 10 minutes and the final 30 minutes could have been condensed to a 20 minute short film about grief, depression and loss with some cool references to german expressionist films...
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| Nosferatu / The Woman In The Yard |
The film also sets up some interesting roadblocks/restrictions for the main character that don’t really go anywhere. The protagonist of the story is crippled and there’s no male presence to provide that stereotypical safety net of protection. Had this been a more straightforward horror film with those elements, it would have been more interesting to watch.
At the end of the day this a horror movie that isn’t some allegory about Black people being scared of white people so that’s a plus in my book. I need more of that.
