Unlike
The Sixth Sense last summer, which relied on the magic of
revelation, What Lies Beneath builds up to a scare fest so
intense that it took us well into the closing credits to normalize our
adrenaline levels. Veteran director Robert Zemeckis, who brought us
movies like Forrest Gump, Contact, and Back to the Future, tailored
every aspect of the film to maximize the surprises in an ingeniously
scripted psychological horror mystery. Even the film’s trailer, which
had been played to the point of convincing us what the movie is about,
miscued our expectations in order to deliver an overwhelming dose of
shock at the plot’s unraveling.
What Lies Beneath opens
in an idyllic setting of a sprawling lake house inhabited by the
Spencers, who are still very much in love on the day they drive their
daughter off to college. While Norman (Harrison Ford) dives back into
the fulfillment of his life’s work as Professor and Research Physician
ready to announce his breakthrough genetic product, Claire (Michelle
Pfeifer) stays home grappling with severe empty nest syndrome. Strange
things start happening at the house, but Norman dismisses Claire’s
fears as the lonely mother’s need for attention, which he is far too
busy to provide. The presence of an evil minded young woman’s ghost
soon becomes obvious. Claire, although perturbed, begins to follow the
clues that might explain the seemingly tormenting reasons for the ghost’s
appearance.
As is the case with all good ghost
movies, here as well, the ghost only appears evil, and What Lies
Beneath creates a brilliant double mystery. Claire must find out who
the ghost is and what happened to her, but she is unaware that the
answers lie in a mystery blocked from her own memory. The way Claire
gave up being a concert cellist, women who give up the passion of a
successful career for an alluring husband and then end up pretending
they are happily married often force themselves to keep the illusion
going. The ghost is there to help Claire remember what lies beneath her
idyllic life. In a masterful craft of cinematic symbolism, the clues
Claire follows to learn more about the ghost really represent her
eagerness to unlock her own delusions. Such is brilliantly illustrated
as she dives to the bottom of the lake to bring up the locked box of
mementoes. Finally, the real terror comes not from a ghost, but from
knowing the truth.
The set-up and pay-off of various plot
details is designed with dexterous ease. Every element plays a crucial
part, but many are underemphasized to look like mere exposition. Note
the side comment of Norman’s lab assistant about a breakthrough
discovery of a crippling anesthetic that allows for consciousness to be
maintained. Note the frequent mention of a car accident. Note the story
in the restaurant about Claire’s past. When all of these details come
together in the end, we can’t help jumping in our seats from terror
even when we anticipate what might happen next.
Michelle Pfeifer and Harrison Ford’s
significant screen chemistry becomes the driving force of the later
surprises and shocks. Their acting together is a delightful discovery
that will hopefully be repeated. Also, a lot of expectation is riding on
our perception of Ford as the action hero, but in What Lies Beneath, he
crosses into a new character range that is as exciting as it is
refreshing.
This movie offers a magnificent blend of
true horror and psychological mystery, and if you dare to be scared, by
all means, don’t wait.
