You Should Have Left: Worth Streaming for $19.99?

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There are three haunted house movies I’ve been anticipating this summer. You Should Have Left was one of them and the first to release. Last Friday when it hit Amazon’s Prime Video Cinema, I paid the $19.99 to stream it. Was it worth it?

If you haven’t seen it yet and are wondering if you should stream it this weekend, here are some thoughts.

Thoughts on You Should Have Left

The Good

The acting was superb. But really, it is Kevin Bacon we’re talking about here. He can play any role, and no matter which he chooses, he delivers.

Amanda Seyfried didn’t have as many emotionally taxing scenes as Bacon did, so she didn’t have to flex her acting muscle in quite the same way. But her performance was also solid.

The one who blew me away, though, was Avery Tiiu Essex, who plays Bacon and Seyfried’s daughter. She’s got the same kind of child star acting chops that Drew Barrymore and Dakota Fanning had at her age. She’s an adorable scene and heart-stealer.

The cinematography and the setting also deserve an honorable mention for creating the atmosphere.

The Okay

There are a few chilling scenes, but none that are truly scary. A little disturbing and odd, but nope. Not scary.

The Bad

The storyline left me wanting. It was predictable, contrived, and, as is too often the case, not nearly as interesting as the trailer had promised.

It also didn’t make sense. I’d like to have known more about the house and how it changes, who else lived there. The house’s history would’ve made a more interesting movie than the characters who ended up renting it for a couple of weeks.

The Trailer

What Others Are Saying

Here are my 5 favorite top reviews from Amazon:

1. 1 star from Goldie Lox

I love Kevin Bacon

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2020
Verified Purchase

I love Kevin Bacon let’s start with that. But It’s bad really bad. Like I had to lie to my husband and say I didn’t spend twenty dollar to rent this. All the actors do a great job but the story sucks. If you don’t believe me, rent it.

31 people found this helpful

2. 3 stars from MostDeviousKing

The Devil’s in the Details

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2020
Verified Purchase

More of a commentary on guilt, shame, and insecurity than a classic horror film. You Should Have Left is a well-crafted movie, with a strong cast that enjoy excellent chemistry. The cinematography complements the themes of the story and makes you the viewer feel disoriented, unstuck from time, frustrated, and downright confused.

It is not the type of story that will spoon feed the viewer with excessive exposition and an easily digestible narrative. Instead it cleverly sprinkles in revealing details along the way, disguised as spooky phenomena.That said, you may find yourself with some unanswered questions and a feeling of general dissatisfaction due to some underdeveloped plot points, and the filmmaker’s insistence on inviting viewer interpretation and character study.

If you find yourself looking for a straight-forward, frightening tale with a simplistic plot, abundant jump scares, and a grand finale ending — you should probably look elsewhere. If, however, you are the type of person that loves Penrose stairs, artwork by M. C. Escher, explorations of human emotions that are often inescapable, self-destructive, and devastating to loved ones — well you’ve come to the right place.

Enjoy your stay!

17 people found this helpful

3. 5 stars from Jeannie

So good!

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020
Verified Purchase

Kevin Bacon doesn’t make bad movies so my husband and I were excited when I saw in a news article that this movie was available for streaming just in time for yet another Friday quarantine movie date night on the couch.

It was excellent. I don’t even care that a rental was twenty bucks. You pay more than that to see a movie at the theater and you don’t own it there either and I prefer the comfort of my own home rather than a theater even when there isn’t a global pandemic going on.

THANK YOU for releasing a movie of this quality on Amazon even though the theaters are starting to open back up.

As for the movie itself? Just watch it. Unless you just hate movies and love to complain, you’re going to enjoy this movie as much as my husband and I did.

Great actors and a great story that kept us glued to the screen the entire time. It’s the kind of movie you’ll buy when it becomes available so you can watch it again.

5 people found this helpful

4. 2 stars from Ayla

Not quite “meh”

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

They had a good story line *started*; but the buildup just didn’t go anywhere meaningful. The acting was subpar for who it was, and I found myself being more emotionally connected to the kid than to either of the adult characters. All in all, it wasn’t the worst horror movie I’ve seen; but it also just didn’t even reach “meh” levels of entertainment.

6 people found this helpful

5. 1 star from Sam Niznik

You Should Have Passed (on this)

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020
Verified Purchase

Despite the trailer giving off House of Leaves vibes from some of it’s premise, we tried this one out and oh boy. This is a slow nothingburger movie. Nothing seems impactful both in how the frames are shot and the writing. The house was beautiful at least.

6 people found this helpful

Overall

Basically, most viewers –myself included– agree that You Should Have Left is not worth the $20.

Unless you’re a huge Kevin Bacon fan, or have binged everything else in your queue, I’d advise waiting until this shows up for free in one of your streaming services.

It’s a two skulls out of five for me.

Check-In

What’s your favorite Kevin Bacon movie? If you don’t have one, how many degrees away from one of your favorite movies is he?

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.

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1 Comment

I saw this one! I was confused but then I enjoyed the atmosphere (especially if you watch it in the dark), so I didn’t care. Dear Husband and I just kind of made up a story-line for the parts we didn’t “get.”:-)

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Priscilla Bettis

June 28, 2020