What Lies Beneath

Starring: Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Miranda Otto, James Remar, Joe Morton
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary:
A woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) begins to suspect that the strange happenings at her home are the work of a ghost, while husband (Harrison Ford) begins to worry about her mental state.

Review:

Tim: I watched What Lies Beneath twice, nearly twenty years apart. Despite all that time and changes to my perspective and level of experience, I thought nearly the exact same thing about the film both times. That's telling. Robert Zemeckis' film starts out strong. It feels like a more mature, nuanced telling of a horror story. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the mystery. As the film progresses, it feels exceptionally strong. And then, at a certain point, it feels like it all falls apart. It doesn't result in a terrible movie, but a surprisingly disappointing one. The movie is decent, but it's nothing more than that.

That was the impression I got the first time watching it- highs in the beginning and middle before feeling discouraged by the film as a whole. The second time I watched it, I got sucked into the story and the characters. Watching the film with nearly two decades of added experience, I was quite impressed with how Zemeckis crafted this mature horror story. I started to feel like my younger self was wrong- that the initial impression was the right one. "How could I have felt like this was only decent?" I asked myself. I suspected I had been wrong, distracted, or just didn't get it. And then, the movie gets to the point where things stop working and by the end of the film, I felt exactly the same way I did on the initial viewing. Zemeckis does like 80-85% of the right things to create a good horror movie, but the ending doesn't quite work and it drags the film down below the surface. What Lies Beneath isn't a bad movie- it has a lot of solid things working for it. However, taken in it's entirety, I can't claim this is actually a good film.

I do want to start with the positives. It's impressive that they were able to cast Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer for this horror-tinged mystery/thriller. That's a lot of star power for a film like this and it absolutely sets this movie apart. This feels classier, more high brow than your average horror film. It helps having a director like Zemeckis, too. Early on, the mystery elements are the most apparent. There might be some odd occurrences, but this doesn't feel like an outright horror movie. It certainly takes a slow burn approach in that sense. The characters are well established and the mystery they are dealing with feels ambiguous and thought-provoking. You find yourself truly investing in the story. These are all really strong pieces.

I enjoyed the performances of Ford and Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer feels like she's showcased even more- so much of the film rests of her shoulders. She gives a very strong performance. She's always been an underrated talent in my mind- It was nice seeing her effectively take on this challenging role. I think I enjoyed Ford better the second time. The first time, I felt like his wooden acting and some of his emotional displays were a bit forced. That's still true to some extent, but perhaps I've just accepted them more. I thought Ford did a solid job in this role. It was nice seeing Miranda Otto, James Remar, and Joe Morton in supporting roles, too.

Zemeckis creates an effectively creepy atmosphere throughout this film. His "haunted house" approach is so subtle, it lends credibility to the story. The culmination of all this for me is the bathtub scene. It was chilling, expertly shot, wonderfully acted by Pfeiffer. It's the highlight of the film and a truly marvelous sequence. On my second viewing, it was at this point when I seriously doubted my earlier sentiments- how could a film that delivers such a heart-stopping scene not be good? That felt like the high point of the film to me- what everything was building towards. It was excellent.

Unfortunately, that's not the climax. The actual climax feels forced and a bit too much to take. It wraps the story up and answers our questions, I just had a hard time buying what I was seeing. It feels like the movie wisely took a subtle, nuanced approach and then having bottled it all up for too long, finally let it out and it didn't quite work. It's not unfair to say the ending is the worst part of the film.

While I can't say I enjoyed What Lies Beneath nearly as much as I should have, this is still a decent movie. Zemeckis crafts an interesting film here. It doesn't all work, but there are some truly effective moments.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Stir of Echoes, Presumed Innocent, The Mothman Prophecies