what lies beneath

Director: robert zemeckis

Actor: harrison ford,michelle pfeiffer,katharine towne,miranda otto

Data Published: Fri Jul 21 2000

Genres: Drama,Fantasy,Horror,Mystery,Thriller

Key Words: hitchcockian,death by drowning,small village,pick up truck,entity

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161081/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Lies_Beneath

Description: What Lies Beneath is a movie starring Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Katharine Towne. The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost - or that she is losing her mind.

Plot: After her daughter leaves for college, Claire Spencer begins noticing her volatile new neighbors, Mary and Warren Feur. Claire's husband Norman, an accomplished scientist and professor, dismisses her preoccupation. After failing to see Mary for several days, Claire suspects Warren may have killed her. Claire and her mystic friend Jody unsuccessfully hold a séance to contact Mary. Claire finds the bathtub filled with hot water and, "You know," written in the mirror. Claire then finds her computer typing "MEF" repeatedly. Norman disbelieves Claire, who is convinced Mary is haunting her. Several days later, Mary returns home alive and well, saying she was with her mother in Rhode Island after a fight with Warren. Claire sees the image of a woman floating in the lake, and discovers a key inside a heater vent. In a broken picture frame, she finds a newspaper clipping of a missing woman named Madison Elizabeth Frank, who bears a striking resemblance to her, and whose initials match "MEF." Claire visits Madison's mother, and steals a lock of Madison's hair. Later that night, Claire reads about conjuring the dead, and becomes possessed. When Norman arrives home from work, Claire's personality has noticeably changed, and she aggressively seduces him. However, he admits to having had an affair with Madison, who was a student. Claire spends the night with Jody, who reveals to her that she had witnessed Norman arguing with a blonde woman at a cafe in the nearby town of Adamant about a year earlier. Claire returns home and finds Norman has apparently attempted suicide in the tub with a hair dryer. Claire asks Norman if he killed Madison, which he denies. After visiting Adamant to spot ornate lockboxes at a shop, Claire discovers from the lake an identical box, which she unlocks with the matching key; inside, she finds a necklace. Norman changes his story, claiming that Madison committed suicide in their home, and that he disposed of her body by putting it in her car and pushing it into the lake. Norman agrees to confess to authorities, calling 911 to explain the situation. Claire redials the phone to discover he actually dialed 411 (information), faking the conversation. Norman attacks her, and paralyzes her by injecting her with succinylcholine. Norman finally admits to murdering Madison after she had threatened to report to the dean of the university about their affair. Norman places Claire in the bathtub, which he fills with water. He spots Madison's necklace around Claire's neck; as he moves her, her face contorts to that of Madison's corpse, causing Norman to panic and be severely injured. Recovering from the paralysis, Claire manages to shut the tap off in time to save herself from drowning. She finds that Norman has left the bathroom and discovers him seemingly unconscious downstairs. She flees in the couple's truck, which has their boat hitched to the back. As she is crossing the bridge over Lake Champlain, Norman attacks Claire, who frantically dials 911 on her cell phone and causes the truck to careen down the embankment into the lake. Disturbed by the debris on her car, Madison floats toward Norman and Claire. As revenge, Madison grabs Norman and he drowns, allowing Claire to swim to the surface. Later in the winter, Claire places a single red rose on Madison's grave.