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When trailers go bad

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VideoTheatrical preview for 'What Lies Beneath'
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Spooky 'What Lies Beneath' done in by its own promos

July 21, 2000
Web posted at: 9:56 a.m. EDT (1356 GMT)


In this story:

Is it real, or ... ?

Shades of Hitchcock

Two stars needing a hit

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(CNN) -- "What Lies Beneath" is a beautifully shot and well-directed spooky thriller.

But if you've seen the trailer, you've more or less seen the movie.

Yep, it's one of those. The trailer doesn't actually reveal the surprise ending, but the trip there is outlined in sufficient detail.

Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford star as Norman and Claire Spencer, a picture-perfect couple who live in a picture-perfect house, in a picture-perfect community. Get the picture?

Is it real, or ... ?

As the story opens, the Spencers are sending Claire's daughter (from a previous marriage) off to college, and Claire finds herself suffering from empty-nest syndrome. Soon, odd things begin happening.

Doors open by themselves. Photos fall of tables. Is it nerves? Is she going nuts? Or is it a ghost?

If you've seen the trailer you won't need to ask Regis for a lifeline to come up with the final answer.

Here's a hint: In a preview, Pfeiffer's character says to Ford's character, "You had an affair with a girl who killed herself, and now she's trying to hurt you." Still in the dark? Ford's character pops up in the same preview with this: "Someone very close to me seems to be in contact with some kind of entity or spirit."

You conjure up an answer. There's not a lot left to the imagination.

Shades of Hitchcock

The trailer aside, this script by actor/director-turned-writer Clark Gregg throws in numerous red herrings to try to throw you off the path. The first half of the film is lifted right out of Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller "Rear Window" (1954) with Pfeiffer playing Jimmy Stewart's role. None of these plot twists is in the trailer, so it would be fresh if it hadn't been done 46 years ago.

For the most part director Robert Zemeckis builds the tension nicely, but then underscores every scary moment with composer Alan Silvestri's loud, menacing music -- letting you know this is a scary moment just in case you weren't paying attention.

On the other hand, his collaboration with cinematographer Don Burgess is exquisite. Burgess and Zemeckis developed many complicated camera moves and allowed the action to unfold in long takes that never were stagnant. Look for a shot where Pfeiffer is lying on the floor; the camera is positioned under the floor and shoots up to capture her expression.

Two stars needing a hit

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This is the first time on the screen together for Ford and Pfeiffer, two of America's finest actors. Plaudits aside, both are in need of a hit. Pfeiffer's recent efforts, "The Deep End Of The Ocean" and "The Story of Us," both released last year, were not well received. Ford has had the same response to his latest - last year's "Random Hearts" and "Six Days/Seven Nights" (1998).

"What Lies Beneath" is unlikely to break that trend.

This is not an awful movie. It does have its moments, and the talent involved is impressive. But it's not a great film, either, and the marketing campaign does not serve it well.

"What Lies Beneath" opens nationwide on Friday, July 21, and is rated PG-13. 130 minutes.



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