You Should Have Left

You Should Have Left is a 2020 American psychological horror film written and directed by David Koepp, based on the 2017 book of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann. It stars Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried. Jason Blum served as a producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner.

You Should Have Left
Official release poster
Directed byDavid Koepp
Produced by
Screenplay byDavid Koepp
Based onYou Should Have Left
by Daniel Kehlmann
Starring
Music byGeoff Zanelli
CinematographyAngus Hudson
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures[1]
Release date
  • June 18, 2020 (2020-06-18) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget~$4 million[3]

Originally intended to be theatrically released, the film was released digitally via video on demand on June 18, 2020, by Universal Pictures.

Plot

Theo Conroy is an older man who is married to Susanna, a young actress, with whom he has a little daughter named Ella. He suffers from nightmares. One day, when Theo tries to visit Susanna on set, he is annoyed when he is denied access. There is mention of Theo being recognized and unliked.

The Conroys book a vacation home in Wales. However, there is something unusual about the house. Time passes unusually fast and the couple have nightmares. They also discover that neither one of them booked the house, each thinking the other chose it. One night, Ella sees the shadow of a man on the wall. The next morning, she asks her mother why people hate Theo. Susanna reluctantly explains that Theo’s first wife drowned in the bathtub, and people suspected that he killed her, though he was found not guilty. Theo goes into town and the shopkeeper asks if he’s met Stetler, the supposed owner. He gives Theo a ruler and tells him to measure the right angles, which leaves Theo confused. When Theo leaves, a local woman also asks if he’s met Stetler.

That night, Theo suffers another nightmare. The next day, as he watches Susanna and Ella playing outside, he texts her. As he watches Susanna look at her phone, he finds an identical phone on the counter with his messages on the screen, realizing she has two phones and has, in fact, been cheating on him. He looks at his journal, which says "You should leave. Go now." He confronts Susanna and she admits to an affair with another actor. Theo asks her to leave for the night.

He returns to his journal to see that someone has written “You should have left. Now it’s too late.” He and Ella start to notice strange things about the house. They measure using the ruler he was given, and discover the kitchen is larger inside than outside, confusing them. Ella and Theo get separated; the two of them appear to be experiencing separate visions in the dream world. Once reunited, Theo tries calling for a cab but the shopkeeper answers, telling him that no taxis are in that area and the devil is collecting souls from that house.

Theo and Ella decide to go to town by foot. They see a figure observing them from inside the house as they walk away from it. After some time, they find they have circled back to the house. Seeing no other option, they stay there for the night, but Theo enters the dream world again and sees his and Susanna’s past selves as they first arrived at the house. He meets Stetler, who takes Theo’s form to taunt him. Stetler says he will return Ella on the condition that Theo does "what he must." Ella is returned, relieving Theo.

Susanna returns and Theo gives her Ella. He finally comes clean about what happened with his first wife. He didn’t directly kill her, but didn't help when she was drowning; he simply watched her die because he had been miserable with her for so long. He accepts that he belongs in the house. Theo’s soul is then seen trapped inside the house, having tried to warn his future self by writing the messages in his journal.

The shopkeeper’s voice says that some people don’t leave the house, and "the place finds them."

Cast

Production

In March 2018, it was announced Kevin Bacon would star in the film, with David Koepp directing and writing the film, based upon the novel of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann; Koepp and Bacon had previously collaborated on the 1999 film Stir of Echoes. Jason Blum will serve as a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner.[4] In June 2018, Amanda Seyfried joined the cast of the film.[5]

Filming took place at various locations in Wales, including at the Life House in Llanbister, Radnorshire.[6]

Music

The film's score was composed by Geoff Zanelli.[7] Back Lot Music released the soundtrack on June 18, 2020, coinciding with the film's streaming release.[8]

Release

Originally scheduled for a theatrical release, Universal Pictures decided to release the film digitally in the United States and Canada through Premium VOD on June 18, 2020 due to the movie theater closures since mid March because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[9][10]

Reception

VOD sales

In its first weekend, the film was the second-most rented on FandangoNow and the iTunes Store.[11] In its second weekend, it fell to number three and number six, respectively.[12] In its third weekend the film placed sixth on FandangoNow, but ranked second on Spectrum's weekly chart,[13] then the following weekend placed fifth on both services.[14] Over the weekend of July 31, Universal lowered the price of the film from $19.99 to $5.99, and You Should Have Left finished second on FandangoNow and fifth at Apple TV.[15]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 108 reviews, with an average rating of 4.89/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "You Should Have Left hints at a genuinely creepy experience, but never quite manages to distill its intriguing ingredients into a consistently satisfying whole."[16] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "B–" and said that "when You Should Have Left is at its best, it's unconcerned with mapping out such easy clarifications and leans into the raw madness of corrosive guilt and a house made to punish people who dare come inside its walls."[18] Critic Terry Mesnard wrote that the larger-than-it-seems house in the film felt "ripped" from the 2000 novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski [19]; Danielewski himself later accused the film of plagiarism.

gollark: It appears that I have made a mistake at some point, as it imploded.
gollark: The search engine thing still.
gollark: This was previously thought impossible.
gollark: Oh hypermemetic beeoids of τ-class, my code has BUGS in it.
gollark: Maybe it would be better to deploy "beeoids".

References
  1. "You Should Have Left". Film Ratings. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  2. "You Should Have Left". BBFC. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  3. Richard Newby (June 18, 2020). "'You Should Have Left' and Why Horror Works at Home". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 26, 2018). "Kevin Bacon, David Koepp Making 'You Should Have Left' For Blumhouse". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  5. Kit, Borys (June 7, 2018). "Amanda Seyfried Joins Kevin Bacon in Blumhouse Thriller 'You Should Have Left'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  6. "Hollywood star Kevin Bacon stays in Llandrindod Wells hotel". The Brecon & Radnor Express. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  7. "Geoff Zanelli to Reteam with David Koepp on 'You Should Have Left'". FilmMusicReporter. May 22, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  8. "'You Should Have Left' Soundtrack Album Announced - Film Music Reporter". Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  9. Brueggemann, Tom (June 8, 2020). "Universal Continues VOD Reign with 'The King of Staten Island'". IndieWire. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  10. Newby, Richard (June 18, 2020). "'You Should Have Left' and Why Horror Works at Home". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  11. Roweles, Dustin (June 21, 2020). "Box Office: A Polish Erotic Drama Is Among The Most Watched Movies Of The Weekend". Uproxx. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  12. Roweles, Dustin (June 28, 2020). "Weekend Box Office: Jon Stewart, Will Ferrell, And The Most-Watched Movies At Home Over The Weekend". Uproxx. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  13. Brueggemann, Tom (July 7, 2020). "'Hamilton' Rules Disney+ Over July 4, but the VOD Success Story Is Rod Lurie's 'The Outpost'". IndieWire. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  14. Brueggemann, Tom (July 13, 2020). "'The Old Guard' Opens to Number One on Netflix as 'The Outpost' Flies High Again on VOD". IndieWire. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  15. Brueggemann, Tom (August 3, 2020). "'The Secret: Dare to Dream' Soars on PVOD as 'The Rental' and 'The Outpost' Hold Strong". IndieWire. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  16. "You Should Have Left (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  17. "You Should Have Left Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  18. Erbland, Kate (June 18, 2020). "'You Should Have Left' Review: Kevin Bacon Is Terrorized in Creepy Haunted House Horror Story with a Twist". IndieWire. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  19. Mesnard, Terry. "[Review] You Should Have Left Overlooks a House of Leaves". Gay is Dreadful. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
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