Movie Review: "What Lies Beneath"

What lies beneath

This movie is very creepy. The plot is something similar to a mix of “psycho” and the “sixth sense”. While it isn’t quite as good as either of the above pieces, it still shouldn’t be watched alone on a dark stormy night. Starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfiefer, the film uses scenery placement and ominous themes as well as the usual creepy music to scare us.

The movie starts off with Harrison Ford and His wife, Michelle Pfiefer in their new house. It seems as if everything is going their way. Their daughter has just left for college, and they have more time to themselves. Ford’s character is applying for a doctorate in medicine, and is developing a paralysis drug. However, Something rocks their suburban paradise. First the dog begins to act strangely. Then the neighbor starts to act strangely. Then, odd things begin to happen around the house. The bath fills up and the mirror is covered with steam. Bubbles appear in the lake as if someone were breathing there. Ford seems to be plagued by bad luck. Things start being typed on the computer. Ouija boards spin all over the place. Soon, a haunting is the only option. With some quick research, The wife finds out the ghost is of a missing person, one of her husband’s students. And soon she finds out more about the ghost then she would like to know…

While it’s no horror classic, “What lies beneath” is still a compelling thriller. The main downside to it is that it reminds us of some better haunted house flicks like “the others” or George C Scott’s “the changeling”. It also falls for a couple creepy cliché’s, established by Hitchcock in “vertigo” (obligatory possession, the main character looks just like the girl who was killed) Plus, the film shows that Harrison Ford is getting a little desperate to find jobs. He wasn’t in a lot of good movies after “the fugitive” and this one shows he’s more concerned with making ends meet then with making the next classic. Well, At least it can be said he hasn’t started doing cheesy action movies about cowboys and aliens with the guy who played James Bond in “Casino Royale” , Right?

I give this a 6/10. It’s certainly not a bad film, and any scary movie fan should enjoy it very much. But it’s still not excellent.

-Riley ;)