Summary
You Should Have Left delves into marital issues and guilt, with a unique take on a haunted house ending.
Kevin Bacon’s character’s decision to stay behind symbolizes atonement for past sins in the film.
The house in the movie represents a purgatory for sinners haunted by their past actions.
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Blumhouse Productions’ lesser-known offering of supernatural horror, You Should Have Left, plays with the haunted house sub-genre and places a modern twist on an ending packed with hidden meaning about marital and domestic issues. Starring Kevin Bacon as Theo Conroy and Amanda Seyfried as his wife, Susanna, You Should Have Left is a slow-burn thriller with deeper meaning about the larger ramifications of sin, marital strife, and guilt. Written and directed by David Koepp, You Should Have Left was based on the 2017 novella of the same name by author Daniel Kehlmann.
The ending of You Should Have Left comes to a head in an unexpected way that serves as poignant social commentary on how something as simple as a house can represent one’s personal demons, rather than being a standard haunted locale. In many ways, the title itself is even indicative of the movie’s deeper meaning. Here’s a breakdown of the ending of You Should Have Left and what the house actually means.
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What Happened At The End Of You Should Have Left
At the end of You Should Have Left, Theo (Bacon) decides that he is going to stay behind in the house and allow Susanna (Seyfried) and their daughter, Ella (Avery Essex) to move on without him. However, despite Susanna’s infidelity, the reasoning Theo has for staying behind isn’t due to a desire to leave his family – because of his past sins, the greatest of which was allowing his previous wife to drown in the bath tub, he cannot leave the property.
Susanna is understandably confused; she seems to have little remorse for what she did, but also seems to think they could reconcile. Susanna takes Ella and leaves after Theo insists that he cannot. Theo’s decision to stay behind represents his decision to atone for his sins, to embrace what he has done instead of continually lying to himself and deluding himself that he is able to maintain a happy, healthy marriage as a husband and father.
Earlier in the movie, Susanna mentions Theo’s Catholic school education, and it’s clear that he harbors a lot of remorse for his actions. This has caused him to become angry and distant in his marriage, jealous, and even paranoid that his wife would cheat on him. While Susanna was unfaithful, it’s possible that some of Theo’s behaviors caused additional strife and hardship in their marriage because he could never fully atone for his sins, and could never escape the truth, which he kept from his wife – allowing her to believe he was innocent – until the end of the movie.
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You Should Have Left: What Does The House Represent?
The house in You Should Have Left represents purgatory for sinners who are destined for Hell. This becomes clearer when taking into account the movie’s focus on Theo’s own religious upbringing and beliefs.
Earlier in the movie, Theo has a conversation with his daughter about Heaven and who gets to go there. While he is clearly uncomfortable with speaking of death and Heaven, he seems even more nervous answering the question of who is deserving of Heaven. For Theo, this is because he knows the truth about his first wife’s death; he might not have directly killed her, but when he saw her drowning in the tub because she was under the influence of substances that made her pass out, he chose not to save her.
Theo’s reasoning for this was because he was in an unhappy marriage and, at the time, he saw it as a way out. It was selfish, and he could have chosen to divorce her and end their marriage without her having to die; now, he is haunted by his own actions, suffering for them, and allowing them to interfere in a marriage that he seems committed to, with a child he loves.
Theo finds the house through an online listing, and while it seems innocuous, both he and Susanna have a moment of confusion where they each think the other sent the link to their new rental. Even so, they are drawn to the place; this is because, as confirmed by the ending of You Should Have Left, the house finds people who are destined to go to Hell due to sins they’ve committed. It doesn’t specify the type or gravity of the sin, which could be why Susanna is able to leave even though she was unfaithful to her husband.
However, it’s also possible Theo has to remain trapped inside – along with many other victims who have been claimed by the house – because he truly believes he is meant to go to Hell, and has accepted his fate. Theo’s palpable guilt over how he allowed his first wife to die has left him to believe he is unworthy of redemption, and so the house claims his soul. Not long after he and his family arrive, Theo isn’t allowed to leave.
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The Real Meaning Of You Should Have Left
The title is a giveaway about the movie’s ending and Theo’s greater crime: if he had just chosen to walk away from his unhappy marriage instead of watching his wife drown in the tub, he would have been free. From there, maybe he would have met Susanna and continued along the same path, but as a happier version of himself instead of a tortured soul.
In many ways, the real meaning of You Should Have Left is about decision-making and how every action sets off a chain reaction that is often unknown until it’s too late. Something as simple as renting a quiet property in the Welsh countryside can turn dangerous if one has made the wrong choices, which Theo learns the hard way; it’s not possible to run from one’s past and from consequences forever.
Unlike other haunted house movies, You Should Have Left isn’t so much about the restless spirits who already occupy the house as much as it involves the living ones who have just arrived. The only curse in this house is the baggage people already carry, their own poor decisions, and the guilt and lies that cannot be escaped or ignored.
You Should Have Left
Director David Koepp
Release Date June 19, 2020
Writers David Koepp
Runtime 93 minutes