What Lies Beneath

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Template:Infobox Film What Lies Beneath is a 2000 motion picture that tells the story of a housewife who finds her home is haunted.

The film is directed by Robert Zemeckis and stars Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diana Scarwid, Miranda Otto, James Remar, Joe Morton, Ray Baker and Wendy Crewson.

1 Plot synopsis
2 References
3 Release and reaction
4 External links

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Plot synopsis

Tagline: He was the perfect husband until his one mistake followed them home.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Claire Spencer (Pfeiffer) enters a new phase of her life after her daughter leaves home. With her husband, renowned scientist Norman (Ford), Claire is now living in a remodelled lakeside home in Vermont that once belonged to Norman's scientist father. However, when Claire meets her new neighbour Mary (Otto), she learns how terrified Mary is of her husband Warren (Remar). And when Mary suddenly disappears, clues lead Claire to suspect that she was murdered by her husband.

So when strange events start occurring in her house, Claire is certain that Mary's ghost is haunting her. But as the events get more and more mysterious, and Mary then turns up alive, Claire is forced to probe the events of Norman's past in order to learn who is really haunting them, and how to set the ghost at peace.

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References

The film features many references and homages to Alfred Hitchcock films, notably Psycho and Rear Window. An example is the final shot, which fades out from a graveyard to show a woman's face, just as the final shot of Psycho does.

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Release and reaction

Budgeted at over $90,000,000, What Lies Beneath was released on July 21st, 2000 and was met with mixed reviews. It received an average of 45% on RottenTomatoes. However, audiences loved it. It opened at the top of the box office, grossing $29,702,959. It continued to have great legs throughout the summer, with word of mouth spreading about the surprise twist ending. It ended up grossing $155,464,351 in the United States and $291,420,351 worldwide.

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