David Koepp might be best known as a screenwriter on such smash hits as Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, and Spider-Man. However, to horror fans he is treasured for co-writing the cult-classic comedy Death Becomes Her and writing and directing the deeply creepy Stir of Echoes, which starred Kevin Bacon as a man stalked by a mysterious spirit. Now, these two reteam for You Should Have Left, a heart-stopping haunted house tale with a unique angle.
Koepp writes and directs this adaptation of Daniel Kehlmann’s novel of the same name. You Should Have Left stars Bacon as Theo Conroy, a middle-aged banker with a dark past, a young daughter (Avery Essex), and an actress wife who is about half his age (Amanda Seyfried). Plagued by insecurities about their age difference, Theo is fearful that his lusty wife, Susanna, will tire of him. Her gently calling him “old man” cuts as deep as having to hear her loudly fake orgasms for a sex scene on a film set from which he’s barred. Then, there’s the other thing, the unspoken reason why he gets side-eye in public and why they don’t use his name to book a getaway weekend in a “picturesque” country home in Wales. Theo hopes some quiet time with his family will soothe his anxieties, with the help of guided meditation and journaling. However, he’s also plagued by nightmares that turn each sunset into a prison sentence.
Shaken by his mental strain and lack of sleep, Theo can’t be sure what’s real and what’s a horrible dream. He discovers strange elements to the house, like a hidden hallway, doors that open on their own, and lights that refuse to stay off. In his nightmares, the house becomes a maze of secret rooms, dark passages, and abject horror that threatens to consume him and his little girl, Ella. But by the time he begins to understand why, it might already be too late.
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As with Stir of Echoes, Koepp and Bacon make an excellent team for stirring terror. Koepp teases tension with an opening scene where the darling daughter is terrorized by a mysterious stranger, who chastises her in a soft yet threatening whisper. Things turn vicious, then Theo bolts upright in bed. It was a dream, a horrible dream. This opening not only offers an enticing and mood-setting scare, but also welcomes us into this haunted house tale through Theo’s nightmares. We will watch through his perspective, and as such are warned from the start: all is not what it seems.
Koepp brews suspense with an unnerving set design. High atop a rural hill sits a house like a dark mark on the sky. Painted black with a boxy design, it feels cold, even before its minimal interiors and sharp hallways are revealed. Then come the sinister shadows, the strange sounds, and the dark figures who stalk at night, twisting this vacation house into a labyrinth of horror. Koepp expertly punctuates this stomach-turning tension with the occasional jump scare. You might jolt or scream and feel a momentary exhilaration of relief. Yet the threat is not gone. So, Koepp neatly stitches us back into a crouched cowering. We are the puppets and playthings to his tale of terror.
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Bacon is once more his riveting leading man. The American film star has been beloved for so long, it’s easy to root for Theo even though we’re warned there’s reason not to. We wince with him as his wife unsaddles unsatisfied from a sexual romp. We share his fear as he steps down hallways that taunt him with uncertainty, bursting into rooms that mock his efforts to be a protective father and husband. When Bacon’s neck goes rigid with tension, so might ours, bracing for a threat we can’t yet pin down.
Seyfried is a solid supporting player, bursting with verve whether she’s seducing or sulking. She swiftly sets up the dramatic difference and fraught dynamic between husband and wife with her energy alone. However, Bacon’s more dominant scene partner becomes young Essex, who gives a superb performance as a little girl in an inexplicable situation.
Ella is on the cusp of understanding who her “Baba” is outside of the role of her dad. She’s heard whisperings. She knows something keeps him sad. On this fateful weekend, as he struggles to hold it together, she just wants to hold him. Koepp writes the character carefully. She is not one of the wise-before-her-time child sages of sentimental screenwriting. She doesn’t speak like she’s 5 going on 40, but neither does she fall into that clunky dullard brand of movie-kid. Ella feels real, because in some scenes she’s a frolicking, screaming little maniac, gleeful and carefree. Sometimes, she’s a reckless daredevil, proudly oblivious of the threats of the world. But when it comes to her dad, she is focused and loving, wanting him only to relax and smile, then to save her. Her fear melts Ella’s playfulness into a panicked plea for protection. Anyone who’s seen a kid truly scared knows the helpless horror of that moment. Koepp uses it to hammer home the threat of this house in the midst of a finale that is satisfyingly mind-bending.
The only real shortcoming I found in You Should Have Left is that while it is capable, it offers nothing iconic. Koepp employs shadows, cryptic creepers, and jump scares that are well worn in horror. He does so shrewdly, but doesn’t break new ground in visuals. This blocky house won’t haunt your memory like the Overlook Hotel. Therein lies no monster as instantly chilling as The Babadook. And while the performances here are terrific, they’re not of the breakout caliber that gets fans and critics crying for Oscar to take notice, like Toni Colette in Hereditary or Lupita Nyong’o in Us. There’s nothing here that breaks the mold. However, a third act reveal does bring some unexpected zing to this supernatural subgenre.
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Source: IGN.com You Should Have Left Review