About
You Should Have Left is a 2020 American psychological horror film directed by David Koepp and based on the 2017 book of the same name by Daniel Kelman. Starring Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried.
Originally intended for theatrical release, the film was released digitally via video on demand on June 18, 2020 by Universal Pictures.
Plot
Theo Conroy is married to an actress named Suzanne and has a daughter named Ella. One day, Theo tries to visit Suzanne on set, but one of the assistants refuses him access. Theo is also unhappy that one of the scenes Susanna just filmed was very sexy. It is also implied that people don't like Theo for some reason.
The Conroys decide to take a holiday in Wales. In the evenings, when Ella plays shadow play, she sees something like a human shadow appear on the wall.
Theo keeps a diary to cope with psychological trauma. Suzanne and Ella go for a walk in the woods when Ella asks her mom why people seem to hate her father. Suzanne explains that Theo's first wife drowned in the bath and people suspect that Theo killed her, though Suzanne does her best to protect Theo. Later, Theo finds out that Susanna told Ella and chides her for it, as he was waiting for the right moment to talk to her about it. This leads to an argument, but Theo apologizes to her.
Theo goes to town for groceries. The shopkeeper asks Theo if he lives in this house and refers to Stetler and all the houses that used to be on this hill. As Theo leaves, another woman asks him about Stetler.
Later that night, Theo wanders around the house and finds what appears to be a hidden staircase behind the bookshelves. He descends the stairs and stumbles upon what appears to be Ella's body. He knows it's a dream and tries to wake up by slitting his wrists and then his throat. Theo wakes up unharmed.
The next day, the family prepares to leave as they are not having a very good time. Theo watches Suzanne and Ella play outside. He tries to text her something, but when she looks at her phone, he finds the same phone on the kitchen table. Then he looks into his diary and finds something he never wrote. He then goes outside to give Suzanne another phone, which leads to a confrontation during which she confesses that she cheated on Theo with an actor named Max. This ends with Theo asking Suzanne to spend the night elsewhere. Daughter stays with him
Theo and Ella begin to notice strange things about the house, such as when he pours water, it splits into two nearly symmetrical halves, and how the inside of one room is larger than the outside. Later, they both seem to experience visions in the dream world, but Theo manages to get back to Ella. He tries to call a taxi and gets a response from the shop owner, telling him that there are no taxis in the area and something about the devil collecting souls from this house.
Theo and Ella prepare to leave by leaving home. Theo sees a figure standing by the window watching them. Eventually they somehow make it back to the house. Theo convinces Ella to stay there for the night, but while they sleep, Theo re-enters the dream world and sees his past and Susanna's when they first came to the house and admired him. He then discovers that Ella is trapped and he cannot find her. He confronts Stetler, who assumes Theo's form to taunt him. He says he will bring Ella back on the condition that Theo does what he has to do. Ella comes back to him and he hugs her.
Susanna returns and Theo puts Ella in the car. He eventually confesses to Susanna what happened to his first wife. He didn't kill her directly, but he saw her pass out and simply didn't want to save her, allowing her to die in front of him. Susanna is horrified. We then see that Theo's soul is now locked in the house.
The shopkeeper's voice says that some people don't leave the house. The announcement of the sale of the house becomes available on the website.
