YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT. From the screenwriter of Jurassic Park

The house the main characters move into in You Should Have Left isn’t haunted, but something is definitely wrong with it. A black monolith with modern interiors that don’t quite fit into the Welsh landscape doesn’t bother the three-person family from California, who decide to spend a few weeks there. Once they arrive, however, they find anything but rest: the house starts affecting the inhabitants — especially the father (Kevin Bacon), who begins to feel the effects. Dreams blend with reality, and soon he struggles to distinguish between what’s real and what’s just a hallucination.

The new film by David Koepp, based on the book by German writer Daniel Kehlmann, opens with a nightmare sequence and doesn’t abandon that technique, returning to it multiple times. This suggests that perhaps everything we’re seeing is part of a dream. The dreamer would be Theo, a former banker, loving husband and father — seemingly fulfilled. But then why does he follow the advice of a spiritual coach whose monologues become a recurring element in the narrative? Is he searching for comfort, peace of mind, emotional stability? Perhaps it stems from jealousy toward his much younger wife, an actress (a very good, albeit thankless role for Amanda Seyfried).

In one of the film’s early scenes, Theo visits her on set but isn’t allowed to approach, as she’s in the middle of filming an erotic scene. He hears her moans and cries but is denied a glimpse. A crew member mistakes Theo for her father, which likely deepens his frustration. This moment, partly intended as comic relief, surprises with its sense of helplessness and jealousy. That helplessness is quickly compensated for with a sex scene in the car; the jealousy, however, lingers. There’s also the memory of a former wife who committed suicide. Not everyone believes that story — some blame her husband for her death. The accusation is so widespread that Theo claims to recognize a certain look or telling pause in strangers when they realize who he is — a potential murderer.

Bacon has played many villainous and demonic characters, but here we have no reason to suspect any evil. We believe in his good nature, his love for his young daughter (a successful debut for Avery Essex), and his current wife. Even when anger gets the better of him, it seems more like a reaction than a character trait. Thus, it’s hard to believe the accusations. And yet Theo seems to be seeking help — listening to tapes, writing in a journal, ultimately fleeing toxic Los Angeles for the beauty of Wales. But the house he arrives at only intensifies these anxieties, posing a threat to him and his family. Echoes of The Shining are loud and clear here, as well as another Stephen King adaptation: Secret Window, also directed by Koepp in 2004.

In that film, an accused plagiarist struggled with his demons and unresolved betrayal by his wife. I don’t mind Koepp repeating himself, telling another story on nearly the same theme, because what matters more than narrative similarities is how he differentiates his protagonists. He also has strong support in Bacon, who superbly brings his character’s hidden fears and insecurities to life. The problem begins when Koepp tries to blend his psychological thriller with traditional horror elements.

As long as he only hints that the house is alive and somehow influencing the protagonist, the film is not only intriguing but makes us believe that behind all those corridors, oddly angled walls, and the time-space confusion lies something original and terrifying. The eventual resolution disappoints, as it boils down to an allegorical parable that ultimately explains nothing. Perhaps we too should take what we’re seeing less literally — maybe, Koepp seems to say, to face your fears and prejudices, you must first do some serious soul-searching. But here, the judge is the demonic house — one that reacts only to the evil in a person, not the good. Given that the first hour gives us the portrait of a flawed man, far from black-and-white judgment, the final message feels tonally inconsistent.

There’s another reason why You Should Have Left doesn’t work. The film was produced by Jason Blum and his Blumhouse studio, known for low-budget horror hits both commercially and artistically — Split, The Invisible Man, Get Out, and the recent Halloween (not my favorite, but undeniably successful). With just a few million dollars per film, directors are given creative freedom and often manage to overcome financial limitations and imprint a personal style on their projects.

Koepp, however, clearly struggles with the limited budget. His film looks cheap, with visuals more suited to TV movies. It relies too much on special effects, which are underwhelming, and tries to scare mostly through shadows on the wall and uninspired jump scares. Koepp is a talented Hollywood screenwriter — his credits include Death Becomes Her, Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, War of the Worlds, and the less successful Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Mummy.

He’s also a solid, craftsmanlike director — one who needs proper production backing. When he has it, he can make a good film like Stir of Echoes (another horror with Kevin Bacon). Without it, his new film feels like the work of a debutant still learning the ropes of directing.