On the surface, What Lies Beneath looks like your average ghost story with the occasional possession. Too bad what really lies beneath is a bad script and some blatant rip-offs. From Alfred Hitchcock’s nail-biting Rear Window to the ultimate bathtub murder flick, Diabolique, What Lies Beneath is a combination of classic thrillers.
Harrison Ford plays Dr. Norman Spencer, a genetics professor whose marriage and life are put in danger when a past lover comes back to haunt him and his wife, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer). Through a series of eerie events, Claire starts to discover secrets to a past she’s blocked out. The plot is actually a little more complex, but for fear of giving anything away, I must remain vague. I will tell you this though: if you take out all the stupid ghost effects and red herring twists, you’d have a pretty good thriller, one that’s actually worthy of the actors involved.
Though the story is a bit hoaky and at times too much, the acting is top-notch. Pfeiffer’s transference from the sympathetic Claire to the possessed scorned lover is hauntingly real. Her fear is convincing, as is her consuming paranoia. And Harrison Ford carries off the pleading husband role with ease. To be honest, it was a bit unnerving, though refreshing, to see Harrison Ford as an adulterer; he should play against his typecast more often.
In supporting roles, James Remar and Miranda Otto are downright spooky as the mysterious neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Feur. Though a great element to the film, their presence is a bit too reminiscent of Rear Window. And Diana Scarwid has her moments of intrigue as Claire’s best friend, Jody. Not to be overlooked is supermodel, Amber Valletta. Though just a ghost with little screen time, the simple look on her face is enough to chill.
I must admit, there were moments so tense that I actually jumped, maybe even slouched a little lower in my seat. Especially notable is the chilling bathtub scene where Michelle Pfeiffer bares an uncanny resemblance to Sharon Stone in Diabolique, but there were also moments where I was laughing at the stupidity of it all. It would have been much better if the supernatural element were knocked down a notch. Don’t filmmakers know that mystery, leaving some things unknown, is a lot scarier than seeing some decrepit body reach out?
What Lies Beneath had the potential to go somewhere; it just got stuck dabbling in other thrillers and the supernatural a little too much. Bottom line: it should have kept the real ghost buried and our imaginations wide open.
+ Ashley Adams
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