You Should Have Left - A Movie Review

Wait, wasn’t I just in the kitchen. How did I get down in the basement?

You Should Have Left is a 2020 horror film about a family who decides to go away on a vacation to an isolated house in Welsh. Finding out that this house is not what it appears to be, strange occurrences happen. Theo has to get his family to safety before they are trapped.

You Should Have Left would have been a great horror movie if filmmakers got into the main action sooner rather than dragging the story out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this film. I thought it had a creative plotline along with a symbolic meaning behind it all. You Should Have Left is an effective film that advises people not to run away from their past.

Kevin Bacon accomplishes an impressive performance as a man who is grappling with his conscious. Theo has a dark past. Instead of coming to terms with it, he decides to cover the truth for the sake of his young daughter. Upon arriving at this mysterious house, Theo notices weird changes, and his nightmares increase.

Writers could have created a better motivation for Amanda Seyfried’s character. Not enough time is spent getting to know Susanna other than she is addicted to her phone. She disappears too soon into the film before all the chaos ensues. Then again, this is not her story.

For her first film, Avery Tiiu Essex was excellent. I liked the relationship Ella had with both of her parents. One message that the film distributed well was age-gap relationships. Love is love.

Ella has a fascination for death. Because of this morbid obsession, Theo avoids telling her information that could affect their relationship. There were some moments where she did not sound authentic, but Essex still did a good job racing through the mazes of halls in terror.

You Should Have Left has a minimal cast. The best character award goes to the shopkeeper (Colin Blumenau) who takes a slow time getting all the groceries one by one. He knows more information about the house then you think. His role could have been expanded more along with a random woman who has a strange message for Theo.

The concept for You Should Have Left is clever. The mysterious house that they are staying in has a dark past. The rooms change. One second you’re in the kitchen, and then another moment we’re down in a dark basement. Not to mention, endless staircases. Props go to Kevin Bacon who had to climb up several stairs.

Unfortunately, the film decides to get into the history of the house when there is only a half-hour left! Certain elements should have been explained better instead of spending most of the film watching the family drama unfold.

You Should Have Left kept me on the edge of my seat. I noticed some reviewers called this film boring. In no way is this film boring! Living in a house that is constantly changing rooms, adding hallways, or the house measuring larger on the inside than the exterior made for a suspenseful film. That is the horror.

David Koepp created a horror film that had a different concept. Aside from errors that were made in the plot, the symbolic message is what makes You Should Have Left significant. We cannot run away from our demons. If you do, those shadows lurk in the corners for the rest of your life.

It’s an exciting idea that could have gone through another edit. Don’t listen to the negative reviews and give You Should Have Left a watch.