What Lies Beneath (2000)

2.5 out of 4

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Harrison Ford, James Remar, Miranda Otto, Diana Scarwid, Joe Morton, Amber Valetta

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Time: 129 mins

What Lies Beneath was a rare late season box office success during the recent North American summer. Its combination of ghostly horror, thrills and chills, and big time stars (Pfeiffer and Ford) and director (Zemeckis) made it this year's The Sixth Sense. While easy to see why it raked in the cash, What Lies Beneath only turns out to be rather average. There are several eerie and effective sequences during the first half of the film, and even a moderately suspenseful climax, but several plot holes and stupid character actions torpedo whatever pretense it had to joining the ranks of classic chillers like Psycho (1960) and Dressed to Kill (1980). Pfeiffer and Ford are usually compelling to watch, but they barely save this film from drowning. If you like good scares, What Lies Beneath can satisfy you, but don't expect much more.

Former cellist Clair Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her researcher husband Norman (Harrison Ford) live in a beautiful home by a lake in Vermont. Claire is recovering from the trauma of a motor accident the year before, and now has to cope with the ordeal of her only daughter leaving for college. To make matters worse, she believes the next door neighbour, Warren Feur (James Remar), has murdered his wife Mary (Miranda Otto). Soon, she finds odd disturbances in the house, such as a picture frame falling and breaking by itself, and the bathtub twice filled with water. She is convinced the ghost of the dead woman is trying to contact her. Her husband is consumed by his work, but is concerned enough to send her to a psychiatrist (Joe Morton). Is Claire slowly going crazy, or is there some truth to her claims?

Zemeckis manages to create a menacing atmosphere during the first hour of the film, with a combination of voyeurism, a feeling of isolation, and some long, slow camera shots. Once a main plot point is revealed, however, the film slowly degenerates into a silly murder mystery with supernatural elements. There are some suspenseful scenes near the end, but the film is another in a long line crippled by the Stupid Character Action Syndrome. Sure, most movies ask you to suspend disbelief, but some of the happenings in What Lies Beneath just make you want to shout: "Stupid!" Why do scriptwriters do this, I wonder? Why can't they credit their audience with a bit more intelligence?

Pfeiffer and Ford are big Hollywood names, but Pfeiffer has the lion's share of screen time. Her delicate, almost fragile, features are put to good use. Though I've never considered Michelle a great actress, she does command your attention with a mix of vulnerability and sensuality. There's even one scene where she looks a little frightening. Ford is not as convincing in his role, though that may be because he's hardly in the film at all during the first half. His physique still suggests he could play Indiana Jones for a fourth outing. As for the other actors, it's interesting to see Joe Morton (Speed and Terminator 2) and Australian actress Miranda Otto in smaller roles.

Robert Zemeckis has made his name with a string of commercially successful and diverse films like the Back to the Future series, Forrest Gump, and the recent Contact. With What Lies Beneath, he tries his hand at the horror/suspense thriller. The chilling bits may deliver the goods, but a mediocre script prevents him from doing much else. If you like thrillers and can see past stupid character actions, What Lies Beneath may be worth a look.

(c) Joe Wong (4 November 2000)