To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Scream Factory has released a beautiful new 4K release of Robert Zemeckis‘ thriller, What Lies Beneath.
Logline: Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer), the wife of university research scientist Norman (Harrison Ford) believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost (Amber Valletta) – or that she is losing her mind.
The previous physical media release of What Lies Beneath wasn’t exactly bare bones. There was an audio commentary with director Zemeckis and producers Steve Starkey & Jack Rapke, as well as a trailer and a fifteen minute featurette called “Constructing The Perfect Thriller,” which is more of a celebration of Zemeckis’ filmmaking career than an ode to the film.
Along with a brand new 4K transfer, Scream Factory’s 25th anniversary edition release ports over the previous features, as well as one significant new extra: a feature length retrospective documentary called “You Know: Uncovering What Lies Beneath.”
The documentary is the main reason to scoop up the disc. Not only does it feature new interviews with Zemeckis as well as Starkey and Rapke, the talking head parade include writers Sarah Kernochan and Clark Gregg, Costume Designer Susie DeSanto, Director of Photography Don Burgess, Production Designer Rick Carter, Composer Alan Silvestri, Visual Effects Supervisors Robert Legato and Shane Mahan, Puppeteer Jason Matthews, as well as actress Valletta.
While the absence of actors Pfeiffer and Ford is noticeable (they can briefly be seen in the original featurette, including some behind the scenes footage taken during shooting), it makes sense given that the documentary is mostly focused on the technical elements of the film.
The reality is that What Lies Beneath is a highly entertaining, albeit slightly overstuffed thriller, but the film is impeccably crafted – particularly when it comes to production design and photography. The sheer length of the documentary allows the crew to go into the minutiae of making the film, including several never-before-released tidbits and factoids.
Here are a few of my favourites:
- There were seven bathroom sets, including ones that featured larger bathtubs to enable filming the stand-out set piece in which a paralyzed Claire is slowly covered by water
- Starkey and Rapke believe that there are approximately 50 mirror shots in the film
- One of DeSanto’s biggest wardrobe challenges was Claire’s silk bathrobe, which needed to flow in water, be slightly translucent, but not degrade after innumerable takes
- Carter highlights that the house’s colouring, particularly the greys of the bathroom, get increasingly more dark as the film progresses
- Legato fought to shoot the climactic bridge scene using a particular set that would allow the vehicles to reach the necessary speeds to be convincing. Many members of the crew were unconvinced and consequently made up two certificates: one congratulating him if he was right and one if he was wrong. In the doc, he proudly holds up the winning certificate
- Valletta sheepishly admits she did an impression of Pfeiffer in her audition; the model had frequently been compared to the actress when she started her career (which obviously helped her get cast in the film)
- Kernochan was originally the sole screenwriter but had to depart the production when revisions dragged on (she still receives a ‘Story’ credit). She laments that producers never clarified in their feedback that they wanted erotic thriller elements incorporated in the script because she considers it one of her specialties
- There were two houses constructed for the film: one on location in Vermont, and one on a soundstage to accommodate the technical demands of filming. Gregg was bemused to note that the physical house was built right near where he used to go on writer retreats early in his career
“You Know: Uncovering What Lies Beneath” makes good use of clips from the finished film, though at times it would have been useful to include behind the scenes footage from the actual shoot (caveat: it is entirely possible that no such footage exists).
Intriguingly the doc doesn’t spend much time on the reception or legacy of the film a quarter century later. The few times it is addressed is in a brief piece about the premiere and Gregg’s reaction to watching the film on the big screen (he was scared because he doesn’t do well with horror).
Despite these minor quibbles, the doc is incredibly thorough, informative, and entertaining. It offers further evidence that there is great value to be found in well-produced and thoughtful physical media releases.
Hell, I learned several things that I didn’t even know, despite covering the film in-depth on Horror Queers several years ago.
- Doc: 4/5
- Film: 3.5/5
Scream Factory’s 25th anniversary edition of What Lies Beneath is now available for purchase
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