By: Vidal D’Costa (Four Beers) –
The only reason I watched this movie was because Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried ‘baconed’, ahem… beckoned from its poster. The plot is simple enough- A guy (played by Kevin Bacon) who’s got a dark past & who’s trying to get PAST that (See what I did there? Clever joke) by means of journalling, moves into a house in the middle of nowhere with his family, comprising of his slightly younger wife (adding the ‘slightly younger’ bit there so you do not confuse her with his daughter like I did & only come to know about it once they start going at it in the back seat of the car) played by Amanda Seyfried & his daughter (Avery Essex) and then a bunch of spooky things happen. Some of which might be tied in with his past.
A Toast
Like most horror movies (good or bad) on the market right now, You Should Have Left toys around with its camerawork and also toys around with certain elements, namely- the mist, mirrors, cold stone walls, shadows, and dreams- to create a scary, surreal atmosphere and also dusts off the lesser known horror trope ‘The glaring flaw in architectural design’. Ooh… Spooky!
All jokes aside, it also benefits from an obviously believable (albeit, a tad hammy at times) performance from the master at playing a variety of disturbed characters- Kevin Bacon. Although this is far from his finest disturbed character performance (that honour goes to the disturbed yuppie he played in the underrated psychological horror Flatliners), he fits the bill as the disturbed dad. Giving him ample support is promising young Avery Essex as his daughter. The lack of supporting characters in this movie (apart from the creepy Welsh grocer & one other creepy lady) allows the viewers to focus on the main characters and their dilemma, so that works in its favour as well.
There are a few stand-out scenes and one of them for me would be the scene in the second half where both father & daughter try to make it out of the haunted house and it’s rather surreal and a total ‘wtf moment’. And if you’re a fan of the movie 1408, it also gives off a lot of 1408 vibes too. I also liked the use of some light & witty humour in the right amounts, especially during heightened or tense moments.
Beer Two
The movie, based on a novella by the same name, sticks too close to the ‘done to death’ horror tropes mostly in the first half & drags a lot. I wish it had been more consistent because it feels like I’ve watched two different movies strung together, except the first one was dreary and made me want to pause and just not watch more, but the second one was well-paced and engaging, if not entirely terrifying. The movie is often predictable & circles back to being generic just like the lead character who meanders and tries to get away from the aforementioned haunted house only to find himself back at it again in one scene that stands out in the later half of the movie.
Beer Three
Amanda Seyfried sleepwalks through a role that doesn’t fit the plot, nor adds much to the proceedings and also disappears in the second half, so you don’t even miss her much. And when she does return, you don’t care much for her, which is sad because I really do like Amanda Seyfried as an actress & she usually performs well in horror flicks (one of the reasons I watched this in the first place).
Beer Four
Some supporting characters could’ve been done away with since they only serve the purpose of repeating the title time and again to the lead character in a creepy manner (saying/writing ‘You should have left’ to Kevin Bacon once is more than enough. No need to be repetitive about it. We get it, creepy old lady outside grocery shop).
Verdict
Although I didn’t love You Should Have Left entirely because it’s equal parts intriguing, equal parts listless, aimless, and boring and there are parts of it which could use tweaking, I don’t hate it entirely either because it picks up rather well in an engaging, slightly terrifying second half. Also, it’s criminally hard to hate on a Kevin Bacon movie anyway, so why bother? Good enough for a one time watch even during the daytime and the ending is a decent enough pay-off.
‘You Should Have Left’…. But not before this drinking game:
Down a Shot: for every time Kevin Bacon breaks down cuz the house is ‘getting to him’
Down a Shot: for every ‘done & dusted’ horror movie trope you can spot.
