Review of What Lies Beneath (2000) by Jonathan K — 02 Jul 2011

Robert Zemeckis decided to give the thriller genre a go. It was a mistake.

Using every cliche and cheap scare in the big book of How To Churn Out Another Pointless Thriller, most of the film is one huge red herring, before we get to the twist.

There are ghosts and ridiculous coincidences, and then it's time for the unstoppable psycho killer chase sequence that finally buries what has become utterly abysmal and unbearable viewing.

With a red herring plot that's more interesting than the real one, endless no-not-really explanations, an avenge-me ghost, memory loss and a just-can't-be-killed killer, you'd think this was a spoof, but of course it's all dreadfully po-faced. The only good scene here is the famous bathtub bit but it's just not worth sitting through the whole film for.

Avoid, especially on a dark, lonely night.