A good old-fashioned thriller that wears its Alfred Hitchcock pedigree proudly on its sleeve, What Lies Beneath stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as picture-perfect married couple Norman and Claire Spencer, who seem happy and content with a fabulous house, college-age daughter and still-active libidos. When said daughter heads off to college, Claire starts obsessing about her new neighbors, and becomes convinced that the moody husband killed the neurotic wife, and that the wife's ghost has a desperately important message for her. Yes, it's true, there is a ghost, and there is a message, but it has decidedly more personal--and life-threatening--implications for Claire and Norman. Suddenly, that car crash last year that Claire can barely remember and the circumstances surrounding it start falling into place, and Claire begins to realize Norman may have a secret.

Director Robert Zemeckis loads the first half of What Lies Beneath with humorous cheap thrills (the suddenly ringing phone, etc.) that poke fun at Claire's dilemma while simultaneously making you tense beyond belief. Between each goofy thrill, though, is one true one that will make you jump out of your seat, including a bathtub that keeps filling itself. And all the while, Zemeckis subtly telegraphs the fissures in the Spencers' marriage, slowly revealing that all is not well between these two. Yes, it's a blatant Hitchcock homage to movies such as Rear Window and Suspicion, but it's sleekly made, entertaining and engrossing. Ford does his stoic thing well (and looks great doing it), and Diana Scarwid provides a refreshingly lighthearted turn as Claire's best pal, but it's pretty much Pfeiffer's movie all the way, and she carries the film on her not-so-fragile shoulders. And the third act is a suspense tour de force, complete with a breathtaking sequence featuring Pfeiffer and that menacing bathtub. In a time of obvious horror films, What Lies Beneath is an intelligent, fun thrill ride that will leave you breathless. --Mark Englehart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Description
In this exciting supernatural thriller, Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer play a seemingly happily married couple who uncover a terrible secret…a secret so disturbing it threatens to destroy them.

When Claire Spencer begins seeing ghostly images and hearing mysterious voices in their home, her husband Norman suspects it’s just her imagination – until the images turn real. Now, together they must uncover the truth, confront their worst fears and find "what lies beneath"…with twisting and terrifying results.

REVIEW

Whatever homage for Hitchcock was intended, "What Lies Beneath" is not fit to be on the same shelf as "Rear Window." Why? Hitchcock movies are intelligent, winding around the story and characters. "What Lies Beneath" uses spooky music and scenes that jump out and calls it disturbing.

"Ghostbusters" is scarier.

What is disturbing is Harrison Ford's choice to be involved. What was he thinking when he signed on? He's a favorite actor for me. He's starred in "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," "The Fugitive" and "Mosquito Coast." Good stuff. Until this.

Ford's credibility as an actor is not shaken. He carries each scene of this meandering movie. Bad plotlines are confused as tricky storytelling, and even Ford can't take a Saturday-matinee and turn it into a Friday-night blockbuster.

Does the movie adequately refer to Hitchcock classics? Who cares? That sort of thing is only interesting when the referring movie succeeds on its own. This doesn't. That's the same problem Ang Lee had when making "The Hulk." He spent so much time of mimicking a style that he forgot to make a good movie.

The Plot:
Happy couple lives in Vermont. The wife is being spooked but does not know why. The husband does not seem to understand. The ghost slowly reveals its intentions, and the happy couple's life unravels. The big finish is not expected, and the only redeeming part of this 130 minute couch-sit.

About the story:
Connections are never made as to why the ghost waits a year to do some haunting, and why it took the measures involved. Nor, why it thinks Claire "knows" why she's being haunted when she fully demonstrates she has no idea.

The ghost tries to kill Norman, Ford's character. If that's all it wants, why does it need Claire, Michelle Pfeiffer's character and Norman's wife?

Subplots involving the quirky neighbors are never sorted out.

"What Lies Beneath" as a title is misleading. I can't go into this more for the sake of ruining the story for those of you who will wind up still seeing it.

In all, the movie will be forgotten, played late at night in the time slot reserved for exercise equipment commercials. The movie is not awful, and better than a rerun of that infomercial with Chuck Norris. It is just that Harrison Ford, and costar Michelle Pfeiffer can and have done better.

Looking for a real thriller? See the Hitchcock movies that this is being compared. "Rear Window" with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly is a great place to begin.

Anthony Trendl