WHAT LIES BENEATH
RATING: 8/10 --> Great Movie
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So where the heck has Robert Zemeckis been? Ever since 1994's Oscar triumph
of FORREST GUMP, the man only managed to deliver one other flick onto the
world via Jody Foster and her CONTACT with aliens in 1997. Now comes the new
millennium, and Bobby decides to spring two big flicks our way. The first is
this film, a thriller starring two major stars in Harrison Ford and Michelle
Pfeiffer and come Christmas, expect to see Zemeckis buddy Tom Hanks star in
the highly anticipated CAST AWAY. And if this film is any indication,
Zemeckis should always take this much time between movies.
PLOT:
The life of a happily married couple living in Vermont is suddenly jarred
from its foundation when an entity (yes, that's right people, a ghost!)
invades their home. The haunting is particularly geared towards the wife,
who just can't seem to figure out what the heck is going on. The workaholic
husband is also worried, but mostly because he thinks that his wife is going
bonkers. Together, the couple attempt to solve the mystery of their haunted
home.
CRITIQUE:
A well-crafted thriller, this movie delivers on various fronts including the
creepy suspense, the cheap scares via the excellent camerawork, the superior
score, the even better use of silence, the solid acting card punched in by
one Michelle Pfeiffer and the ending which grabbed me by the nuts and
refused to let go. Does anybody remember a director by the name of Alfred
Hitchcock? (sarcasm, folks). Well, Robert Zemeckis sure does and he's made
certain to watch every single one of his movies in order to recreate a lot
of that superb Hitchcockian feel, and by golly, it seems to have worked. But
before I unwillingly make this film feel like a thrill-ride, please
understand that it isn't one by any means, in fact, the only real "action"
in the film takes place during its final half hour. This film works in a
different way. It's slow, methodical and even a little longer than it should
be, but once it gets going, I was hooked with a line and a sinker. Even Ford
manages to make us forget RANDOM HEARTS for a couple of hours, and
effectively emotes more than one feeling in this film (hey, it's a start!).
And the story, you may ask?
Well, I can't honestly say that this film is original. In fact, it's not. I
recognized various elements from other suspense features roaming around in
this one, with the strongest vibes resounding from REAR WINDOW, FATAL
ATTRACTION and PSYCHO. Okay, the last one is probably because the "bathtub"
scene in this film is comparable to the shower scene in the latter, but only
because it might actually instill a fear in some people to take more baths.
Actually, there is a more than obvious homage to PSYCHO as well, so I don't
think Zemeckis is trying to fool anybody here. But unoriginality aside, the
film does work and work very well indeed. I personally am not a very jumpy
person, but Mrs. JoBlo was bouncing off the walls at every other "boo!"
moment presented in the film, and so were quite a few others. The film is
extremely effective in that non-teen horror flick kinda way because it
actually manages to creep you out before deafening the room with its deadly
silence, and then boom! Fun stuff. The last thirty minutes also slapped me
silly with appreciation for the work of the man behind the camera, and an
excellent ending which had its twists and turns, some very tense moments and
a satisfying resolution. But I would consider myself an ass if I didn't
mention the consistently great work continued here by Michelle Pfeiffer for
this film. This lady is bursting with talent, secures you in the film with
her appearance as an everyday woman, and is completely gorgeous to boot!
Wow. Give her an Oscar already, goddamit!
Don't go see this movie if you're the type of person who is gonna be asking
your cinema partner the same question every two minutes "why don't they just
leave the house if it's haunted?". Listen friends, this is a movie. Work
with a little suspension of disbelief (or naivete in this scenario) and
enjoy the movie for the creeps that it does manage to sway in you. It's
kinda like the movie that THE HAUNTING was billed as being, but wasn't even
close. And this one might actually scare you crapless if sitting at home
alone in the dark. Take a friend, squeeze an arm (or whatever else is close)
and enjoy the first great thriller of the summer.
PS: Pooh on the damn marketing people at Dreamworks for spoiling a good
chunk of this film for everyone. It would've been nice NOT to know some of
the things that they give away in the trailer, but alas, tis the business of
show, and I guess that's all part of the biz.
Review Date: July 13, 2000
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer: Clark Gregg
Producers: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke
Actors: Michelle Pfeiffer as Claire
Harrison Ford as Norman
Genre: Thriller
Year of Release: 2000
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(c) 2000 Berge Garabedian
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