You Should Have Left (2020)
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A family's vacation in Wales takes a terrifying turn when they discover their rental home possesses unsettling properties and a distorted sense of time.
The story
Theodore Conroy, a retired banker, takes his wife Susanna and their daughter Ella on a vacation to a house in Wales. However, the family quickly realizes the property is unsettling: time passes at an irregular pace, and everyone experiences haunting nightmares. The tension escalates when the couple discovers that neither of them actually booked the house, leading to a growing sense of unease. As they navigate the strange environment, they begin to encounter anomalies and mysterious warnings, forcing them to confront the unsettling reality of their situation in a house that seems to hold secrets of its own.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Theodore Conroy, a retired banker, and his wife Susanna, a young actress, take their daughter Ella to a house in Wales. The house is plagued by strange occurrences: time moves unnaturally fast, and the family suffers from nightmares. They discover neither of them booked the house, and Theo finds a warning in his journal. After a confrontation regarding Susanna's affair, she leaves for the night. Theo finds a second warning: 'You should have left. Now it's too late.' He and Ella discover the kitchen is larger inside than out. When they try to flee, they find themselves looping back to the house. In the dream world, Theo meets Stetler and learns he is the one keeping Ella there. Susanna returns, and Theo confesses that he watched his first wife die and did nothing. He accepts his fate in the house, allowing Susanna and Ella to leave. It is revealed that Theo's spirit was the one who had been watching them and leaving the warnings in the journal.
- First release year
- 2020
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Koepp
- Writers
- David Koepp · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Bacon · Theo Conroy/Stetler; Amanda Seyfried · Susanna; Avery Essex · Ella; Colin Blumenau · Shopkeeper; Lowri Ann Richards · Welsh Woman
- Genres
- psychological horror; horror thriller; psychological thriller
- Themes
- guilt; isolation
- Tone and mood
- creepy; haunting
- Premise and plot tags
- haunted house; time distortion; supernatural
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2017 book by Daniel Kehlmann
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 27
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended for a theatrical release.; David Koepp and Kevin Bacon previously collaborated on the 1999 film Stir of Echoes.; The film's title is based on a novel of the same name by Daniel Kehlmann.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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