You Should Have Left

Kevin Bacon is incredible in his role. He is a very likeable character, despite what we know about him. I adored his interactions with his six-year-old daughter; he's a loving, protective father. I didn't like Susanna (Amanda Seyfried) at all. She's selfish, detached, almost indifferent to her husband. I don't know if that was the intention of the director, but that was my response to her. I didn't care for the actress who plays Ella (Avery Tiiu Essex ). She just didn't bring anything to the film. It might have been a lack of chemistry between her and the actors.

Writing Quality: This is based on a book and is quite original. The writing is decent, but I ended up with many questions. **See Spoilers at the end.** The house itself is very symbolic in an intriguing and realistic way.

Scare Factor: There are a couple of jump scares and the visions Theo (Kevin Bacon) has are somewhat disturbing. The film is less about horror and more about the psychological boundaries Theo faces.

Content (sex, language, & violence): There is a (clothed) sex scene between husband and wife where they both talk, though there's a focus on her orgasm. We also hear her moaning for a sex scene she's filming. Honestly, both of these scenes were totally unnecessary and did nothing for the film. They happen in the first few minutes, so I thought the film would be pointless. Thankfully, it went in a better direction thereafter. Language: Some. A bit disturbing that the little girl's first comments are curse words--this is literally the very first few seconds of the film. Thankfully, though, she doesn't speak like this thereafter. Violence: In the final act, Theo has a very physical confrontation with another man.

Values: The loving bond of a father & daughter. Confessions and seeking recompense.

Acting: Kevin Bacon is fantastic!

Bonuses: A mind-bending experience with an unusual premise.

Spoilers: A few things that don't entirely make sense. Why was Theo angry with his first wife? Angry enough to let her drown? And why did she kill herself? Why does he suspect his current wife of cheating? There seemed to be no indication of her affair, but then it turned out to be true, and yet there's no commentary about him being right. Why is the house bigger on the inside than on the outside? Granted, that's quite a concerning fact, along with the multiple dimensions throughout the house, but it's not really explained well. I think the saddest part of the film is the end. She cheats on him, he sends her away for the night, but after not being able to escape the house with Ella, he decides to confess that he watched his first wife drown. Just after this, Susanna, despite her affair, wants to work things out with him, tells him how loved he is, and yet he lets them go, deciding he must pay for his sins in the symbolic purgatory of a house. There are references to his Catholic upbringing, which help explain the guilt he's been carrying all along and also the idea of purgatory and paying for one's sins. The film even speaks to the fact that the devil built that house to make sinners pay. It's sad/despairing that he thought he had to carry the burden of it all and not accept forgiveness.