31 Days of Horror: What Lies Beneath brings dramatic depth to the horror genre

What Lies Beneath is a psychological/supernatural horror movie directed by Hollywood giant Robert Zemeckis, starring industry royalty in Michelle Pfeiffer as Claire Spencer and Harrison Ford as her husband Norman Spencer, a scientist. As their sole child in the house embarks for college, they find themselves alone in their quaint lakeside Vermont home. As loneliness descends, Claire finds herself haunted by things she can't explain. Originally zeroing in on her neighbors, she begins to realize that danger may be closer than she thought.

This is a truly stunning and intimate movie, a Hitchcockian detour for Zemeckis that delivers a much harder punch than expected. Pfeiffer is at her peak here, both looking absolutely dazzling and delivering a homerun of a performance. Everything starts and ends with her character, and she is so effective as a physical actor in this film. She is perfectly juxtaposed by the cantankerous and grumbly Ford who mirrors her throughout the film. The cinematography is top notch here. Shot by Don Burgess, the use of mirrors and reflections thematically throughout give the entire runtime a dreamlike feel. There are a few groundbreaking shots in this film, one in particular in the bathtub that is acutely anxiety inducing.

What Lies Beneath is a layered horror film

Thematically, this is about as layered as a horror film can get. There are horrors at multiple levels and as it goes on it oscillates back and forth between psychological tangible horrors and ethereal supernatural occurrences. I think the horror elements of the film were extremely well done but even more impressive are the themes of insecurity, the leverage of relationships, and the horrors of certain phases of our life being over, things we associate deeply with our identity. Zemeckis's ability as a director to move between genres so effortlessly and still pull these extremely emotional and layered performances out of his actors is what I believe makes him one of the best to ever do it.

This is a such a great atmospheric horror film for this season, especially as you feel that first chill in the air. It is great at reminding us that the horrors of the outside world can pale in comparison to the horrors close to us, that we are looking right over.

What Lies Beneath is streaming for free on Pluto TV.