What Lies Beneath (2000)

What Lies Beneath is a supernatural horror released in 2000, led by Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. It follows a string of unusual events that happen not long after a married couple move into the husbands old house, their daughter having left for college.

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I picked this VHS tape up off Ebay for spooky season, something perfect to settle into September with. I wasn’t aware it was one of my Grandparents favourites, which made watching it with my Nan very special. I’ve always been a massive fan of Michelle Pfeiffer, and it was exciting to see Harrison Ford in a role other than the big franchises he’s known for.

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The movie begins with Michelle sitting up suddenly in the bath, and this is an excellent bit of foreshadowing for one of my favourites scenes later in the film. Not long after, Pfeiffer and Ford get used to an empty house without their daughter around, and from this moment on unexplained occurrences begin, as the bath fills itself with water and another woman’s reflection can be seen. Pfeiffer meets her new neighbour Mary briefly, who is hysterical in the garden over her love for her partner, and days later is nowhere to be found leading Michelle to suspect she’s been killed.

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Harrison and Michelle’s relationship begins to unravel as she becomes more unsettled by things that are happening, and she does a séance to get some answers. This prompts some messages from the spiritual realm, as ‘MEF’ is written continuously on their computer and Pfeiffer’s character Claire is convinced it’s her neighbour trying to make contact - at a work event she accuses the husband, only for his wife to join his side moments later, revealing she’d been to stay at her mothers.

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A little earlier, a photo frame had fallen off Harrison’s desk, containing a newspaper clipping and a key. Revisiting this evidence reveals to Claire that ‘MEF’ are the initials of Madison Elizabeth Frank, who had gone missing a while before. She goes to visit her mother and steals a lock of Madison’s hair, noticing a photo of her wearing a necklace.

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She uses the hair for another séance, where she becomes possessed by Madison’s spirit and seduces Harrison’s character Norman aggressively, warning him his wife is starting to suspect the truth. This scene really drives home Pfeiffer’s versatility because she appears to become someone else completely. This trance is broken when Claire drops the lock of hair.

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This event unlocks memories repressed by a car accident that had happened the previous year, as Claire had hit a tree during a storm after catching Norman and Madison together. Claire goes to stay with her friend Jody who informs her she saw Norman and a girl arguing in a cafe in Adamant. Claire returns home to find Norman unconscious in the bathtub, as he manipulates her to stay with him.

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She later goes outside and stands near the lake, having already seen a woman within its depths earlier in the film. She’s pulled into the water where she sees a box on the floor, before Norman dives in to rescue her. They burn the lock of hair and this temporarily stops the haunting.

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After this it seems momentarily that they’ll move on with their relationship, as they go on a boat trip to Adamant. Claire sees the same necklace and jewellery box in a shop window, returning her suspicions again. She goes back to the lake to retrieve the box and uses the key she found to open it, revealing Madison’s necklace inside.

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Confronting Norman with this, he shows his true colours and uses a sedative he’s been working on at his lab to paralyse Claire, leading to one of my favourite scenes as he places her in the bathtub and turns on the taps, leaving her to drown. Watching Michelle struggle and not knowing if she’ll regain enough movement in her body to avoid her demise is so intense and terrifying.

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She does by some miracle manage to pull the bath plug and climb out, Norman unconscious after seeing a manifestation of Madison and hitting his head. Claire tries to call for help but Norman wakes up, and she attempts to flee in his car but he catches her, forcing them to crash into the lake where Madison’s body rests. She’s dislodged from the wreckage while Claire and Norman are trapped, and while Claire breaks the surface Norman is left behind to face his fate.

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I really loved this film and I think watching it on VHS only adds to the atmosphere the plot builds. Michelle Pfeiffer truly is the standout for her performance, but Harrison Ford plays a very good villain and I like how the story slowly unfurls as a trail of clues is left both for our protagonist and us viewers to follow.

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What’s even more exciting is that this cassette features a bonus documentary at the end, exploring the psychology of horror and analysing this through the creation of this movie. These featurettes are seen quite often in the special features of horror films but it’s always cool to get a new perspective and especially on the end of a VHS tape.