What Lies Beneath (PG-13, 2000)

WHAT LIES BENEATH is about Norman (Harrison Ford), a professor of genetics, and his wife Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer), a former cellist who is a bit at a loss after her only daughter leaves for college. But it turns out that her empty nest is not quite as empty as she thought. There seems to be a malevolent presence in the house. Norman, a scientist, does not believe in such things, and sends her to a psychiatrist (Joe Morton). At first, Claire thinks it is the spirit of a murdered faculty wife. There are some scary surprises, and what lies beneath turns out to be lies.

Think Fatal Attraction crossed with Poltergeist and considerably dumbed down, and you have an idea of what this movie has in store for you. There are a couple of surprises and chills, but I am sure it is nothing compared to the horror in store for whomever persuaded Harrison Ford to follow up Random Hearts with another movie that fails so miserably. And that horror is nothing compared to what is in store for the idiot who decided that the advertising campaign for this movie should give away one of the two big surprises. To the extent that the first half of the movie had any suspense or interest whatsoever, it has been destroyed by telling the audience that it is all a red herring before they even come in the door.

The movie seems to try to follow a recipe -- two parts Hitchcock to one part ghost story -- with elements from Rear Window, Vertigo, and Rebecca. Doors swing open. Hinges squeal. Shadows loom. Music swells. And Michelle Pfeiffer, looking a little skeletal herself, gasps and runs from menaces from this world and the next. This movie tries to do for baths what "Psycho" did for showers. But it doesn't work. Hitchcock knew that suspense had to be about something. He brilliantly universalized his own neuroses to tap into the audience's horrified fascination. Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) tries to do that here, enticing us with the messy reality under the surface of the apparently perfect couple. But Norman and Claire (and Ford and Pfeiffer) don't draw us in. Norman's insecurity over his father's achievements and Claire's loss of a sense of self over giving up her career seem colored-by-numbers. And, though they are two of the most talented and entrancing stars ever, neither of them is up to the tasks set before them by this script.