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Film by Richard Zywotkiewicz What Lies Beneath starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer directed by Robert Zemeckis opens Friday, July 21 Director Robert Zemeckis can be the king of schmaltz, a second-rate Spielberg – I will dispute his Oscar for Forrest Gump until my deathbed. However, in What Lies Beneath he shows incredible restraint, opting for slow building Hitchcockian suspense rather than the in-your-face thrills that turn his and many studio films of this sort into a silly roller coaster ride. Zemeckis and producers Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke joined forces to create ImageMovers in 1998 and they were ecstatic about the possibilities of putting superstars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer together for this project. Ford plays Dr. Norman Spencer, a research scientist walking in the footsteps of his late father. His wife Claire (Pfeiffer) gave up a promising music career so that the couple could raise a daughter the "proper way." When the girl leaves for college, Claire slowly becomes delusional about their home. She’s convinced it’s haunted by a malignant spirit, and research points her in the direction of a young student from the university where her husband works, who disappeared a year ago under mysterious circumstances. As things unravel, some unpleasant turns uncover facts revealing Norman’s affair with the woman. As Norman seeks Claire’s forgiveness in earnest, the haunting ultimately leads the distraught woman to the truth. Though What Lies Beneath unfolds in true Hitchcockian fashion, i.e. slowly, and is well over two hours in length, the film never gets dull. Some of the situational horror that Claire finds herself in, especially in the last half hour, are truly riveting. Despite a notable absence throughout, Zemeckis eventually relies on special effects in the climactic moments – not surprising considering his track record on such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her and the Back to the Future trilogy. The one surprising flaw in this film is Harrison Ford’s performance. Ford is great at playing a character straight, but as he proved once before in The Mosquito Coast, he’s not good with transitions. When called upon for personality transformations, the results are often abrupt. It seems that Ford, even in the hands of a capable director, can’t do character arcs. What Lies Beneath is certainly not a classic horror film, but it is one of the better ones in recent years, especially coming from the studio system. And what makes it all that much more enjoyable is the care the filmmakers took in not letting the film turn into a circus.

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