What Lies Beneath
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Movie Reviews of What Lies Beneath
Movie Review: 'Til Death do us Part?
Summary: 5 Stars
Making a good movie of a ghost story is a ticklish business. There is a vast but treacherous chasm between Terror and Horror, and few can navigate it successfully, for Terror is the subtler art of the two, a fact attested to by the rarity of truly terrifying movies about Haunts.
Think about that for a minute. While there are scores of excellent Horror movies awash in buckets of blood and gore that I would happily watch again and again, you can count the truly successful cinematic Ghost Tale on one hand. Why are Ghost Stories, which are the pinnacle of trule tales of Terror, so difficult to put on film?
I think it has something to do with the nature of what terrifies, as opposed to what horrifies: Horror is a visceral and visual art, which repulses and horrifies by sight. Terror, on the other hand, is heightened by the unseen far more than the seen. The good Ghost Tale is the haunt of the guttering candle, the shape in the shadows, the thunderous knock on the wall of an empty room in an empty castle, the dimly heard footstep treading up a lonely stairwell.
Only a few films have gotten this delicate balance right: the original "The Haunting," Amenabar's superbly chilling "The Others", M. Night Shyamalan's "Sixth Sense", and the criminally underrated "The Haunting of Julia", the last of which is not available even on VHS! To this short list of worthy Terror films, I would add, without hesitation, Robert Zemeckis's superb little excursion in sheer spooky fright "What Lies Beneath."
Yes, Zemeckis has studded this simple, frightful little tale with all manner of homages to Alfred Hitchcock, including nice little nods to "Rope", "Vertigo", "Rear Window", and "Suspicion". But Zemeckis, a seasoned and skilled director who has a few trips to the Crypt under his belt, is not overly pleased with his cleverness; instead he spins out a crisply paced, beautifully filmed (cinematography by Don Burgess, who worked on "Terminator 3", "Bourne Identity" and "Forrest Gump")little movie that builds from a lurking sense of unease to a shrieking crescendo of full-bodied terror.
The story is simple. Dr. Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford, grizzled and effectively obtuse) and his wife Claire (played by the always lovely Michelle Pfeiffer) are empty nesters. Their daughter has gone off to college, Dr. Spencer has his genetics research, and Claire---well, Claire has the summer house on the lake, memories, and a little too much time to herself.
Claire quickly becomes caught up in the silence of the lake house, and the profusion of her memories---particularly some she has lost, or possibly buried. And what of her mysterious, reclusive, slightly sinister neighbors? What of the brusque professor-next-door's wife (played briskly by Miranda Otto, who even musters up her frightened eye in service of scares), who evidently lives in fear of her husband? And what of her sudden disappearance during a rainstorm?
Worse still, what of the whispered voices in the house, doors slamming shut, and the bathtub filling up by itself?
All classically spooky stuff, but all legendarily difficult stuff to get right if you want to truly creep the audience out. Zemeckis does it, littering the path to the white-knuckled conclusion (why, on the lake, of course...where else?) with red herrings and a bucketload of ghastly little moments designed to make your bones creep and tingle.
But the pleasure of this journey is the getting there, and Zemeckis realizes that the best horror is painted on a palette of silence. "What Lies Beneath" benefits from its studied atmosphere of the malevolent. And when the Spook appears, as in all good Terror Tales it must, it is deliriously scary.
"What Lies Beneath" joins a select group of truly creepy terrifying films, and like the other members of that good company, this movie is ideal for a storm-swept weekend night with you, a blanket, a cup of hot spiced tea, and a warm and stoic cat.
JSG
Movie Review: Just when you thought classy, classic terror was dead...
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't get me wrong, I like good special effects as well as the next person, but all too often they have been use to pump life into a sagging story. I was beginning to think that the days of the true terror/horror movies were over. I am talking about the ones when a good story, well acted by truly professional actors,under the direction of an exceptional director produced the suspense and fear that made you jump in your seat. But, at last, here it is again, and it was worth the wait.Zemekis has definitely mastered the genre. He has his fun with us, the audience. We more or less accept that the house where Clarie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Norman (Harrison Ford) Spencer reside is haunted at the beginning, but as Claire's hypothesis about the identity of the ghost unravels, you begin to believe that perhaps she is beginning to lose her mind, as her husband delicately (at that point of the movie) suggests. Even Claire begins to believe it. After all, she is in the middle of remodeling the beautiful home of her husband's childhood after her only child has left for college. Then, too, there was that hideous single-car accident in which she was involved no more than a year earlier. So she assumes that perhaps she is the victim of an overactive imagination and of having to much time on her hands. So she gamely and bravely sets out to continue being the perfect wife of her perfect celebrated high-society husband who is directing some very important and profitable medical research programs.
But soon the evidence of stalking supernatural horror becomes so overwhelming that even logical, pragmatic Norman can't dismiss it as nonsense. He believes his wife, to her relief, and goes so far as to call a parapsychologist associate at Duke University to ask his advice. He wishes to rid the Normans' life of this other-worldly presence as much as Claire does. And it is more or less at this point that the fun really begins.
After finally acquiring her husband's trust about a highly controversial matter, about which nearly no one else believes her, Claire almost immediately loses her trust in Norman when she learns that her picture perfect life is a facade, that the facade is cracking, and that the crack is spreading to the size of the San Andreas Fault. The film then becomes a true craft of suspense, thrills and terror as Claire tries to avoid threats from this world and the next.
It is a great temptation to rapsodize about the excellent job Pfeiffer does from that point on as the terrorized and set-upon Clair, the fine performance Ford delivers as her superficially supportive and apologetic mate, and the great surprise ending of this movie. However, I couldn't do the job right without revealing the ending of the story, which is definitely one of its treats. I will just say that it was a perfect conclusion of the crescendo of suspense and horror that built up to it, and leave it at that. I wouldn't spoil the fun of another viewer for anything.
There is a fine supporting cast in this movie, and Zemeckis knows just how much to show them and then remove them so that they truly support rather than detract from the main plot. And the beautiful New England lakeside scenery where much of the action takes place is another fine element of the film.
You will jump, gasp and cover your eyes all the way through this film and enjoy every minute of it. Thanks to Pfeiffer, Ford and Zemeckis for a film that has been justifiably compared to those of Hitchcock. I have to believe that even Hitch himself would have enjoyed this one.
Movie Review: Blatant homage to Hitchcock, but a fine film in its own right!
Summary: 5 Stars
"What Lies Beneath" will always be remembered as Robert Zemeckis' homage to Alfred Hitchcock. From the opening credits to the stunning climax, the techniques of the master are unashamedly paid tribute to. The music, the camerawork, the building up of suspense, the characters names etc. are all straight from numerous classic Hitchcock films such as "Vertigo", "Rear Window" and "Psycho". But while it may seem quite stupid to try to copy such a brilliant director's work (the "Psycho" remake comes to mind), Zemeckis has surprisingly created a great film here.
Clair and Norman appear to be a happily married couple. They clearly have money, a beautiful house and a daughter heading towards her own successful career. But when Claire suspects her neighbour of murdering his wife, her world suddenly begins to crumble around her. Not only is she constantly spying on the suspicious activities next door, but she also becomes aware of a presence within her own house. While those around her (Norman included) believe her to be losing her sanity, Claire searches deeper for answers which inevitably leads her to repressed memories that, with the help of beautiful girl long dead, lead her to a shocking revelation that sends her marriage and mental state into turmoil.
When reading the above plot, you may feel that this is nothing new. There have been countless movies over the years with ghosts attempting to communicate with the living to reveal the cause of their demise. In fact, there are plenty of cliché moments in "What Lies Beneath". But the film is so beautifully and lovingly made that it is thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford are both fantastic and completely convincing throughout. Pfeiffer in particular has a tough role to get through here, having to be both extremely vulnerable and steamily sexual at various times. She is always beautiful, but at the age of 42, she is simply stunning and captivating as Clair. But it's Zemeckis' direction that stands out as exceptional. The film is quite long at 2 hours, but this running time is used to build up the intensity. What starts out as reasonably cheap scares, turn into genuinely frightening ones by the second hour. There are some great set pieces (the bath scene in particular is a classic) and CGI is seamlessly utilized throughout, particularly as a tool for camera trickery.
I know this film has its detractors and I can honestly understand the qualms that they raise. But a good film is a good film in my book, regardless of its origin or blatant worshipping status. "What Lies Beneath" gave me exactly what I wanted with some great scares, masses of suspense and intrigue, topped off with fantastic visuals, sound, acting and direction. What more could I possibly ask for in a thriller!?
Movie Review: The ONLY film to give me an asthma attack
Summary: 5 Stars
All the hype and feverish wonder over this film from friends and total strangers drove me to spend ..... to see it and it was worth every penny. More shocks and chills and screams than "The Sixth Sense" and "The Blair Witch Project" combined, this unnerving ghost story is tightly wound and strongly vivid. One never knows what fright will loom at the audience and only Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis can achieve such frightful fascination. Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfieffer are outstanding as a middle-aged couple whose only child has just left for college. As soon as she's gone does Pfeiffer start hearing sounds and noises from all over the house. She suspects her creepy neighbor of having killed their spouse, the front door opens on its own power, a picture gets shattered over and over, and some girl appears in the bathroom, among other chills. A terrible secret is soon revealed involving Ford and his quiet past. Once this secret is made manifest to Pfieffer, who has had so much to make any woman go insane, he'll do anything to silence her forever, thus escalating into one of the most heart-poundingly suspensful climaxes ever captured on celluloid. The ghost in the story makes "The Sixth Sense" look wimpy compared to this one. The jolting shocks and sudden scares jump off the screen and into the mind of the viewer without warning. You WILL NOT be prepared for the scares and YOU WILL flinch and jerk more than just a measly few times. There was so many for me combined with the unbearable suspense I started having an asthma attack in the theater. It makes the heart and blood go into high-gear shooting flow like never before and YOU WILL NOT be able to leave and not see what will happen next. Truly this is what movies should do and Robert Zemeckis has proven himself to be a master at this stuff. I predict this film to frighten its way into the Oscar race next spring because if it doesn't, then those Academy voters should have their heads examined. This film is irresistable!Movie Review: Three words: Oh My God!
Summary: 5 Stars
I wasn't originally planning on seeing this movie. We were going to see 'The Kid', but we ended up seeing a little thing on TV about this and decided that we must see it right away! I'm really glad we did! Not only is this movie full of great acting, but great suspense and wonderfully creepy music. The whole story centers around this little three person family living in a house in ... I'm not real sure where it is, but it's by a lake. Right away the movie gives you a bit of a creepy feel. After Norman (Harrison Ford) and Claire (Michelle Pfiefer) say goodbye to their daughter, who's leaving for college, they find to their glee that they're alone in their house.
But Claire's eyes are wandering and she soon begins spying on a neighbooring family, one that has just moved in. It seems that they're having a bit of ... trouble. When she talks to the woman, through a fence, not actually seeing her, Claire is under the notion that the woman is very, very frightened of her husband. Then his wife is suddenly gone. Claire has her suspiscions. But the story doesn't stop there.
Claire begins having ... little spurts of ... how shall I say it... well she feels like there's someone or something in her house. Making this for a very jumpy kind of movie. I'll admit, the movie is quiet except for the noises that pop up for fright, and the wonderfully creepy music that adds suspense at the best parts.
Nevertheless, add in a dirty little secret, and something in the lake that isn't supposed to be there, and you've got a great movie! Unfortunately, I feel that the preview gave too much away. All I want to say is the ending is going to suprise you. Think of it as this summer's 'Sixth Sense'. Go see it, it'll freak you out, make you think, and really wonder what lies beneath everything in your life!