Who Attacked The US In Leave The World Behind? (Netflix’s Movie Revealed It Isn’t Who You Think)

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Leave the World Behind.

Netflix’s popular dystopian thriller Leave the World Behind leaves many questions unanswered, especially who was responsible for the series of coordinated attacks on the United States. The film does an excellent job of making the viewer feel uncomfortable, particularly in the way that mysterious and unexplainable things keep on happening with hardly any explanation as to who or why is behind them. Sam Esmail, director of Leave the World Behind and the creator of Mr. Robot, is successful in making the viewer feel eerily similar to the confused and oblivious protagonists.

Throughout the film, multiple real-life disasters are referenced in order to add to its already incredibly anxious and plausible tone. After a massive oil tanker crashes into a public beach, the main characters, led by great performances from Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, try to carry on with their vacation and forget about the unbelievably strange scenario. As more and more bizarre events pile up on one another, Mahershala Ali’s character G. H. Scott reveals how this entire thing could be part of a three-stage process meant to destabilize the United States.

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Leave The World Behind’s “Misinformation” Theory Reveals The Enemy Likely Isn’t China Or Iran

One of the bizarre occurrences that happens early on in Leave the World Behind is an aerial drone that releases thousands of red pamphlets. Clay (Ethan Hawke) is able to take one back to the house, showing his family and G. H. the Arabic writing all over it. Archie is able to discern the meaning of the pamphlet as “Death to America”, implying that this whole thing is an act of terrorism from somewhere in the Middle East, like Iran.

Later in Leave the World Behind, Danny (Kevin Bacon) reveals that different parts of the United States are getting the red pamphlets but with different languages written on them. Whoever is behind the attacks, it’s clear from the varying pamphlets that they are intentionally trying to confuse American civilians so they won’t know who their common enemy is. As G.H. explains towards the end of the film, the highly efficient three-step program to destabilize a country includes a massive misinformation campaign, suggesting that the real enemy is deliberately left unknown to both the characters and the audience.

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Leave The World Behind’s Mysterious Enemy Brilliantly Connects The Characters & Audiences

Leaving the enemy a total mystery in Leave the World Behind puts the audience right in the same uncertain and anxiety-fueled position as the characters, making us just as blind as they are. The mysterious enemy also brilliantly applies within the context of real-world United States citizens, who could assume a handful of plausible countries or forces acting against America. There could be one major enemy, multiple nations involved, or it could even theoretically be an inside job. There is not enough information presented in Leave the World Behind to know for sure, which seems to contribute to the start of a Civil War or foreign invasion in the end.