It's ironic that a movie be entitled `What Lies Beneath' when it is so shallow. Not as much shallow' as opposed to empty'. This picture is typical Hitchcock suspense. There are plenty of creaks and jumps and `look behind you' scenes, but there aren't enough full on scare sequences. And much of these are just overused clichés. That said, there's a good deal of fun to be had along the way. Zemeckis is clearly having a blast behind the camera and successfully masters yet another genre. He puts a tremendous deal of skill into the proceedings.
But there simply isn't enough material to work with. The film uneasily balances between domestic drama, supernatural chiller and all-out thriller, and the three sub-genres simply don't gel. While it starts well and ends well, there is a huge dissipation in the mid-riff. With the `horror' being reduced to a series of talky conversations, it's just too slow burning. But the closing half-hour is a skilful succession of high-octane moments that never wear thin. The less you know about the plot, the better. And whatever you do, don't read the tagline, as it will only spoil things.
As the neurotic housewife, Michelle Pfeiffer is perfectly cast and brings depth to her first good role in a long time. And she holds her own against the more popular Harrison Ford, who curiously avoids the limelight for most of the movie. It's just surprising that he was credited first. Miranda Otto and James Remar on the other hand, are totally out of place. No that the performances are bad or anything, but after a revelation in the first 50 minutes, their characters are totally and utterly irrelevant to the plot.
As soon as the emotional hokum gets going, the film loses a good deal of momentum, but the shear suspense of it all is what keeps `What Lies Beneath' going. But with the uneasy mixture, the bogeyman material seems out of place when in tone with the thriller aspect. While it is very slow-paced, my advice is to stick with the movie and you'll probably be rewarded. Zemeckis and Pfeiffer make a deadly combo and almost overcome the bogging down of sentimentality and a slightly shallow script. Eerie, creepy and surprising, `What Lies Beneath' is flawed, but generally good. My IMDb rating: 5.9/10.
But there simply isn't enough material to work with. The film uneasily balances between domestic drama, supernatural chiller and all-out thriller, and the three sub-genres simply don't gel. While it starts well and ends well, there is a huge dissipation in the mid-riff. With the `horror' being reduced to a series of talky conversations, it's just too slow burning. But the closing half-hour is a skilful succession of high-octane moments that never wear thin. The less you know about the plot, the better. And whatever you do, don't read the tagline, as it will only spoil things.
As the neurotic housewife, Michelle Pfeiffer is perfectly cast and brings depth to her first good role in a long time. And she holds her own against the more popular Harrison Ford, who curiously avoids the limelight for most of the movie. It's just surprising that he was credited first. Miranda Otto and James Remar on the other hand, are totally out of place. No that the performances are bad or anything, but after a revelation in the first 50 minutes, their characters are totally and utterly irrelevant to the plot.
As soon as the emotional hokum gets going, the film loses a good deal of momentum, but the shear suspense of it all is what keeps `What Lies Beneath' going. But with the uneasy mixture, the bogeyman material seems out of place when in tone with the thriller aspect. While it is very slow-paced, my advice is to stick with the movie and you'll probably be rewarded. Zemeckis and Pfeiffer make a deadly combo and almost overcome the bogging down of sentimentality and a slightly shallow script. Eerie, creepy and surprising, `What Lies Beneath' is flawed, but generally good. My IMDb rating: 5.9/10.