With a hefty $100 million budget, Zemeckis aimed to craft a middlebrow blockbuster, and he succeeded when the film hit theaters. Despite mixed reviews—Roger Ebert famously awarded it two out of four stars, describing it as “a morass of absurdity”—audiences were captivated. The intriguing premise of a housewife uncovering a deadly secret, coupled with the star power of Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, drew viewers in. While the storyline might not break new ground in the genre, it delivers a gripping mix of suspense and supernatural elements. These factors resonated with audiences, helping the film nearly triple its budget.

“What Lies Beneath” may be packed with pulp and moments that challenge credulity, but its nostalgic allure and standout performances make it a hidden gem worth revisiting in cinematic history.

The story follows Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford), a couple living in a picturesque lakeside home in Vermont, whose marriage is starting to fray. With their daughter off to college, Claire faces the prospect of being alone, especially after a car accident a year prior. Norman’s demanding career as a scientist keeps him away, leaving Claire feeling isolated. However, the arrival of a new, contentious couple next door offers a welcome distraction. When Claire hears the woman’s cries one afternoon, she becomes intrigued and soon realizes the woman has seemingly vanished.

While Zemeckis may not be a horror-thriller expert, he excels at crafting suspense. He meticulously builds tension over an hour, and with Pfeiffer’s compelling performance, audiences are hooked. Despite the script’s predictability and some sensational plot twists, the film entices viewers into the mystery, overcoming its contrived elements.

After some weird happenings around the house (doors and faucets opening mysteriously) and talking to the morose husband, Claire slowly grows certain that he killed the woman and dumped the body in the lake. In fact, she’s convinced her ghost is haunting her to reveal the truth. When she tells Norman about this, he’s afraid his wife is going insane and gets her help. We soon find out that Claire isn’t imagining things about the supernatural force or a mysterious slaying, just that things may be a lot more complicated and personal than she suspected.

Robert Zemeckis might not be a master of horror/thriller, but he understands suspense. He spends an hour building it, and thanks to his tricks creating tension and Pfeiffer’s committed performance, we bite. Regardless of the predictability (and some lurid plot twists) of Clark Gregg’s script, there’s an enticement here to get sucked into the murder mystery with these characters despite some inherent contrivance.

In retrospect, Robert Zemeckis’ Hitchcock-inspired slow-burning suspense is much overlooked here in favor of the many twists that hugely contributed to “What Lies Beneath” becoming a hit. The turns that arrive in the movie’s last third are so bonkers (and silly at times) that they become amusing. Arguably, with them, a big chunk of the story’s wonky realism and established character development land in the garbage, but it’d be a lie to say that doesn’t add flavor to the film’s nostalgic early aughts vibe. After all the red herrings, the haunting ghost in mirrors, and the unhurriedly uncovered pulpy secrets about infidelity are said and done, you’ll find yourself in a finale that’s as gripping as it is melodramatic.

That memorable bathtub scene with a feisty Michelle Pfeiffer desperately trying to survive will undeniably send a wave through your nerves and emotions, making you forget every plot hole, inconsistency, and general flaw that you came across in the past 100 minutes. By then, all that matters is that you’re invested in a way that has you rooting for this heroine like she was your favorite marathon runner closing in on the last few yards of the finish line with a broken ankle. Undoubtedly, “What Lies Beneath” tries a little too hard to be a serious life-and-death thriller (with mixed efficiency), but if you can view it as pure pulpy entertainment without any message on its mind to leave you with, it’ll more than likely give you a fun time — even if it proves to be incredibly fleeting.