WHAT LIES BENEATH

2000

Sure it's manipulative, predictable, cliched, and even slow at times,.. but it's good, and it IS scary. Much of the success of this film is due to a carefully-written screenplay by Clark Gregg, fine direction by Robert Zemickis, and really good old-fashioned acting by two of Hollywood's true "stars," Harrison Ford, and especially Michelle Pfeiffer. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then "What Lies Beneath" flatters the hell out of such suspense classics, as "Diabolique,"(the original French one) "Angel Street," "Psycho," and "Wait Until Dark." If you look carefully you'll be able to spot the references to each of these films. Just remember that in films about the supernatural, you have to suspend belief and move away from the world of reality... be prepared to do this!

4 Stars

NJB

Boy, did I think this one was going to be a dud -and was I wrong. Director Robert Zemeckis gives us one of the creepiest, eeriest movies I have seen in a long time. Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer play a married couple in Vermont who are contacted by a ghost after their daughter goes off to college. This one zigs, zags, does a great job of making you jump out of your seat and that's all I'm going to say. My faith in Ford as a good, versatile actor has been restored (it was trounced after last year's Random Hearts). He and Pfeiffer have great chemistry. Unlike many of the ghost/haunting films that have come along in the last few years, this one doesn't rely on special effects and lots of blood to scare you. Instead, Zemeckis uses lots of little techniques that are more based on sounds, environment and camera tricks. What you get is much more effective in making the hair on the back of your neck stand up!

4.5 Stars

CDF