Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices—and two strangers appear at their door.
Leave the World Behind builds genuine dread through a slow-burn premise rooted in contemporary anxieties—cyberattack, social distrust, class and race tension—adapted faithfully from Rumaan Alam's novel. The performances from Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke are solid and believable, anchoring the paranoia effectively. Sam Esmail's direction has some stylistic flourishes (creeping zooms, unsettling sound design) that elevate the atmosphere above typical thriller fare, though the cinematography rarely transcends competent. The premise feels timely and the societal undercurrents give it more substance than a standard disaster thriller, earning modest novelty points. However, the ending is its most divisive element—deliberately ambiguous and abrupt, it frustrates more than it satisfies, leaving too many threads unresolved in a way that feels evasive rather than artfully elliptical. Overall a thought-provoking but imperfect thriller that doesn't fully capitalize on its strong setup.