Rating: Summary: Surprisingly Thrilling Review: Somehow I've had enough of these supernatural-psycho-thriller-movies. They're all the same. And they all use this veeery old trick of adding 20 more minutes of danger when the naive cinema-goer think it's all over, and that the 'good' one is safe.»What Lies Beneath« is not an exception to this rule. And it has no surprises regarding who is good and who is bad and what is really happening here, especially not if you have seen the trailers! Yet, this movie actually succeeds in being kinda scary, maintaining the thrills till the very last minute. Almost... the very last scenes are, as usual, too exaggerated. The very positive thing is that even Michelle Pfeiffer, apart from looking good at her age, is beginning to become an actress. Slowly but promising.
Rating: Summary: Let the plot lead the way and tone down the cheap gags! Review: What Lies Beneath is an exhausting, but not particularly exhilarating ride through two hours of cheap gags and soaring mood music that puts one on the constant edge of tension and, of course, credulity. The comparisons to Hitchcock are rather laughable, as I seem to recall that Hitchcock never felt the near to jar the viewers every 3-4 minutes with abrupt noises, breaking glass, slamming doors, rising steam or suddenly appearing faces or characters or even the family dog. The plot, cast and setting were interesting and intriguing and a lighter, more nuanced touch would have made for a tighter thriller and more satisfaction. The suspense was simply too articificial, too tense to enjoy the outcome. Still, it was some fun--better than a trip to the dentist.
Rating: Summary: Fright Frenzy Review: Yeah, Yeah, we have all read the reviews that "What Lies Beneath" borrows far too heavily from Hitchcock. That the film itself is a trashy example of the genre. Well, with all intent purposes the film works incredibly well on an entertainig level, isnt that what films are meant to do. While the story is not at all one of Hollywood's most original, nor is the film going to knock any Horror/Suspense classics from the Top Ten list, it more than makes up in it's performances. Pfeiffer and Ford seem to be having a complete ball with their characters and the scares, of which there are plenty, will keep those chill junkies rivetted to their seats. I hardly scare at all with films centering around this sort of genre,(Ghosts and haunted houses), I must admit I had pure delight in watching the cinema audiences reaction. They had me jumping more often than I would have like too. Watch this on a cold, stormy night with a couple of your good friends. You'll defnitely be guarenteed of a couple of good chills and giggles and you'll never look at a bath the same way again. Thats a promise.
Rating: Summary: The best worst movie out there! Review: What lies beneath is the best worst movie out there. The acting is acting, and the plot is a plot. Michelle Pfeifer and Harrison Ford are quite a pair together. A good bad pair. Some parts were not very part-like. The scares weren't scare-like either. Claire was ugly pretty, and so was Norman. You could buy this at this site if you want to.
Rating: Summary: Glossy Surface Review: I'm grouchy about this one because all the elements were in place and it should have been so much better, yet it fails to deliver. I'm a sucker for ghost stories, and this one is stylish and pretty to look at. One cannot deny the acting ability, nor the sex appeal of its stars, Ford and Pfeiffer. It has an intriguing, although rather weak, start, and sinks from there. We know there's something spooky going on with Claire but the other characters think she's losing her mind. Unfortunately, she behaves so rashly, for example confronting a neighbor she suspects of murdering his wife, that we also begin to doubt her sanity. (Evidently she'd never read a gothic romance novel and doesn't realize the clichéd folly of poking around in dark places and asking meddlesome questions.) We know where the scary bits are going to be; not only have we seen them in a thousand other movies, they send telegrams ahead to tell us they're coming. The plot relies on deus ex machina explanations - a car accident caused Claire's amnesia, which conveniently caused her to forget exactly the right things and nothing else, and for which the villain must have been awfully grateful. On the positive side, if you're a Michelle Pfeiffer fan, you get to see her take a lot of baths. If you're a Harrison Ford fan, you get to see him brooding and shirtless. If you like renovated elegant old houses, you're in luck. A special mention should go to Katharine Towne, who plays Pfeiffer's college-bound daughter, I know people who saw the movie solely because she was in it. But ultimately, it's just not a satisfying story.
Rating: Summary: So much talent, so much money, so little quality... Review: What lies beneath this movie is an awful script that is so chock full of horror movie cliches, I was left wondering if this is actually a spoof with a straight face on it. There are elements of Rear Window, Fatal Attraction, and other greats, all turned into a stinking miasma of awfulness. The only good performance comes from Pfeiffer. The rest... I am definitely in the minority among people I know who've seen it and it'll probably drop my reviewer ranking as fans of the flick give me unhelpful votes. But I really just hated this movie. I'd actually rather sit through The Haunting again. At least I could laugh at the ludicrous cliches there. Here everyone's too good to do it bad enough to make it funny, so it just ends up being painful.
Rating: Summary: Scary movie, indeed Review: If you want to own the movie so that you could scare yourself & your peers witless, then, by all means, buy it. I can't help but feeling that the movie is planned in a way that the plots revolve around the scary bits. Bob (the director) uses the scary bits sparingly & letting the uncomfortable silence or at times, over the top soundtrack creating the tensions in the movie & letting our imagination takes flight. It's what we can't see that scares us & in this instance, both tangible & intangible stuff complement one another nicely. In terms of suspense, Bob does very well in keeping us guessing for most of the movie until the final quarter when everything becomes predictable. Michelle Pfeiffer is great as the paranoid & lonely wife (or is she?) whilst Harrison Ford plays a radically different role from his previous offerings. In terms of style, "What Lies Beneath" is probably not up there with "The Sixth Sense" but it's definitely more superior than "The Haunting", "The House on the Haunted Hill". In my opinion, "Stir of Echoes" is on-par with "What Lies Beneath". Highly entertaining & highly recommended for first time viewing. On the sideline, this is probably my first ever suspense-thriller movie that caused so much screaming among the female audience that after a while, it just got rather funny. Everybody simply grinned at one another after the show as how out of control the situation was during the screening.
Rating: Summary: the most terrifying movie within the years... Review: It was the best terrifying movie I had seen whithin many years.you'll get punched to your seat and scream! I suggest this movie to every one who likes to be afraid from depth of his\her soul! but honestly not to the people who have wicked hearts!honestly! excellent direction,specially music..! just don't miss it...
Rating: Summary: Suspenseful and creepy. Review: This wasn't one of the scariest movies I've ever seen, but it had my guts clenched and my heart pounding throughout. It was definitely not a horror film. It didn't have to resort to gore or violent deaths to be scary. They managed to do it by slowly building up the suspense using a "simple" ghost story. I think the really effective part was the sparing use of the supernatural. The tension slowly builds and, by the end of the movie, you're sitting on the edge of your seat. The story itself was really well done. The small nuances here and there were really effective. Michelle Pfeiffer's performance was really good. Her character was believable, both in motivation and reaction to what was going on around her. She basically MADE the movie. If you're looking for an intelligent, well-acted, suspense/thriller, this should definitely fulfill your appetite.
Rating: Summary: Better rent this one first Review: This is one of those movies that people seem to either love, or hate. I'm one of those that hated it. The first half hour or so was really interesting, but then the script falls into a series of badly done cheap scares that you can see coming from a mile away. And by the end it was like I was watching a badly done Friday the 13th flick. I'm a huge fan of Zemeckis, Ford, and Pfeiffer, and was very surprised that I didn't enjoy this film. Overall, my advise is to rent this one before you buy it. If you like it, then it's money well spent. If you don't, then it's money even better spent. :)
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