MC: Film Analysis - What Lies Beneath (Zemicks, 2000)

What Lies Beneath (Zemicks, 2000)

Opening Sequence

In the opening of What Lies Beneath (Zemicks, 2000), almost the entire sequence is shot in one cut. This adds to the overall tension of the sequence as the audience are positioned with the protagonist and experience her anxiety and obliviousness to what is suggested to be around the corner. There are multiple conventions of horror reinforced, as the atmosphere is incredibly tense.

There is a distinct lack of white noise, further isolating this character the audience are positioned with. The only diagetic sound the audience can hear is the quite, minimal footsteps of the woman, further connoting her vulnerability; as well as the sound of running water. Steam is in the air, which comes as a surprise to this character, as we are under the impression she is alone. With the ideology that a bath is being run, we assume someone is in her house, uninvited. As she turns to notice this floating steam, there is a discordant high-range strings noise in accord with her actions. This is to put a ‘shiver’ down the audience’s spine and create a chilling atmosphere.

The way the actor moves cautiously and slowly, with non-verbal language of her hands out to balance; the audience are positioned with her. As she approaches the door, we hear the high-range strings noise which we have already grown to hate. Selective sound is also used, a generic horror movie trait. The woman’s sharp breath when she enters the steam-filled bathroom gives connotations of not only the heat of the room, but makes us understand she may have been holding her breath being so scared; and heightened emotions, that she may be on the verge of crying.

A low-pitched drone is heard when she is approaching the bath, and as the camera seems to pan into the bath, more discordant sounds are heard, frightening the audience and seemingly triggering more selective out-of-breath sounds. When the camera pans around to her shocked face, we see a movement in the mirror, in conjunction with a loud eerie sound. This is a large  event of the sequence, and heightens the fear factor, as the audience understand there is a greater force doing these ghostly acts. When we see writing appear in the condensation, in text that drips down connoting blood, dramatic irony is employed, as the protagonist does not notice this supernatural act initially. When she peers into the bath, we see an outline in the steam of her face. This face is small and resembles a female child, a very freighting image.

As she runs away, the sequence reaches a climactic point as the music experiences a crescendo and she is panting and crying. This culmination of no-diagetic and diagetic sound adds to the panic of the audience and we relate to the female character as if we were there. The supernatural force types on the screen of the computer, further connoting a greater force possessing the protagonist’s house of even her. The sound and tense building techniques used in this sequence are typical conventions of the genre horror, reinforcing the stereotypical conventions.