Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures, 2000
Winter is finally here, which means in just a couple weeks, most of us are going to find ourselves staying indoors unless we absolutely have to go outside. The good news is that this gives us the perfect opportunity to watch as many movies as we want, and the folks over at Netflix have got us covered. December’s lineup is stacked with tons of new thrillers, including one Letterboxd users are calling “the ultimate gaslighting ghost movie.” And if you’re anything like me, that’s exactly the sort of thing you want to watch while you’re wrapped in a blanket in front of your space heater.
That movie is What Lies Beneath, which arrives on Netflix December 1. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Death Becomes Her, Contact) and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, it’s an underrated suburban ghost story with some seriously strong performances (and some borderline Nancy Meyers vibes. Just look at that bathroom).
Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures, 2000
Pfeiffer plays Claire, a former cellist who lives in a beautiful lakeside home with her husband, Dr. Norman Spencer (Ford). After their daughter leaves for college, Claire becomes fixated on the idea that something terrible has happened to her neighbor. But Norman isn’t convinced. He encourages Claire to see a psychiatrist. It’s a reasonable suggestion, considering their daughter just started school and Claire is still recovering from the car accident. But what about the strange things happening around the home? The sound system blares music and static on its own. Ghostly messages appear in the mirror. Bathtubs spontaneously fill with water. And is that…a body in the lake?
Naturally, Claire decides she needs to hold a séance. But what she discovers might change the way she sees Norman forever.
Watch the trailer below:
If you’re a fan of Lily Allen’s latest album, West End Girl, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story The Yellow Wallpaper, or those deranged domestic thrillers from the ’90s and early aughts like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Sleeping with the Enemy, then you’re going to love this. What Lies Beneath gets a little silly at times, but it scratches the itch that I have for, as Chad Collins wrote, films that “[target] perennial social fears in a rapidly changing world.” And with all the conversations we’ve been having both on and offline about gaslighting, marriage being more beneficial for men than women, and mental health, I think What Lies Beneath has aged pretty well.
So if you’re in the mood for something suspenseful, dramatic, and deliciously unhinged (with a very hot cast to boot), What Lies Beneath is worth a watch when it hits Netflix on December 1. And if you love domestic thrillers or you’re just really passionate about Michelle Pfeiffer, let me know: @ashjenexi on Instagram and X.
Categorized: Streaming News
