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What Lies Beneath

Starring: Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Thriller
Year: 2000
Rating: 4 / 5

When The Sixth Sense, an old-style thriller that eschewed conventional effects magic, topped $200 million in 1999, some hoped that it would signal a return to a grander time. After all, horror films did not always rely on shock value and fancy tricks. The Sixth Sense even proved that today's audiences could still be chilled with psychology, and What Lies Beneath carries on that message. Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) brings superstars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer together in this taut thriller, a film which reminds us what it means to be afraid to be alone.

Dr. Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford) is a renowned geneticist living in Vermont with his loving wife Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) and daughter Caitlin. Change is afoot in the Spencer household, as it is time for Caitlin to head off to college, leaving Norman to continue his father's scientific work and Claire to manage the family's new home. Something is amiss in this new domicile, however, as Claire begins hearing strange noises and seeing apparitions. Doors are mysteriously ajar, picture frames crash to the floor, and, most ominously, the Spencers' bathtub fills itself up.

Norman is quick to dismiss his wife's claims, especially when she starts connecting them to the apparent disappearance of their new neighbor. Peculiar actions next door lead Claire to suspect that the lady of the house has been murdered and, for an unknown reason, is attempting to contact Claire. Claire begins to wonder about her own sanity, though, when she and Norman encounter their neighbors, both alive and in good spirits. Something is happening in the house, and someone is trying to speak to her. Who is out there, appearing shimmering in the bathtub, and what does she want?

As much as I love Harrison Ford, it is quite apparent that, for the majority of this film, he plays second fiddle to the incomparable Michelle Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer is made to run the gamut from doting housewife and mother to frightened woman, with some interesting stages in between. As she creeps through her new home, wary of any unnatural noise or misplaced item, we feel her fear and trepidation. Credit Zemeckis with delivering some riveting moments, especially those instances where ghostly images flash briefly across the screen. The film does not reinvent the wheel, as some horror stereotypes are definitely in evidence, but the film's distinguished leads allow for some creative twists on conventional wisdom. It is enough to make us all wonder What Lies Beneath…

Cast:

Certification: Rated PG-13 for violence.
Running Time: 129 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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