What Lies Below Movie Review

There are lots of reasons What Lies Below sounds incredibly promising at first glance. It takes a decent stab at marrying two drastically underrated horror subcategories – the aquatic creature feature and the story of the mysterious interloper. It brings some genuinely remarkable talents together, including the very talented Ema Horvath (The Gallows Act II) and the always delightful Mena Suvari (Don’t Blink), as well, so there’s plenty here to whet a genre fan’s appetite. Let’s get into how this new feature from writer-director Braden R. Duemmler follows through on that promise.

The storyline of What Lies Below follows 16-year-old Liberty (Horvath) as she goes straight from a short stay at summer camp to meet up with her mother Michelle (Suvari) at the family lake house. Much to Liberty’s surprise, Mom has met someone and been swept off her feet so thoroughly, she’s now engaged. The man in question is the handsome and mysterious John Smith (Trey Tucker), and Liberty can’t help but think he seems much too good to be real right from the get-go.

Sure, John seems appropriately smitten with Liberty’s mother. But he also has some odd habits and questionable ways that don’t quite add up. For one thing, John keeps randomly appearing and disappearing within the lake house. He’s also a sleepwalker, as well as the type of guy who drinks his own sweat. (Ew.)

As John’s behavior continues to escalate into increasingly weirder territory, Liberty’s apprehension grows. However, Michelle – lonely and quite desperate to be loved – seems to be closing her eyes to the rising number of red flags flying in the wind. Is Liberty onto something, or is she just an overprotective daughter who doesn’t want to see her mother hurt? And if she is onto something, can she put a stop to whatever John has in store for them before it’s too late?

What Lies Below certainly has its strong points. The premise is interesting enough. It certainly strikes that outstanding balance between familiar tropes and fresh material that so often adds up to a great horror movie. The film’s three leads all turn in terrific performances that draw the viewer in right away. Suvari and Horvath, in particular, really make you care about what happens to them. They’re believable as a strongly bonded mother-daughter pair who care deeply for one another. Tucker shines as a mysterious stranger who’s at once equal parts charming and too plastic for comfort.

However, it’s also fair to say What Lies Below doesn’t quite deliver enough in the surprise department. Tucker is so good at playing the smarmy John that there’s never much doubt in the audience’s mind that there’s something deeply wrong with the guy. You know it right from the first scene he appears, so you’re not shocked or surprised in the least when Liberty’s instincts turn out to be spot-on.

The film also seems to be suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. The creature-feature-meets-thriller combination works well enough. But there’s also the fact that John seems as interested in seducing Liberty as he is in hooking up with Michelle, so there’s an odd erotic thriller vibe present, as well, that doesn’t always seem like a fit. The fact that there’s so much going on at once sometimes makes it seem like Duemmler wasn’t sure what type of movie he wanted to make, so things get confusing at times. However, this is also a wholly enjoyable film despite its flaws. The strong performances and the many unique aspects to the plot alone make it worth checking out. What Lies Below is far from a perfect film, but it’s definitely watchable and entertaining for what it is.

Style: Creatures, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Single Mom, Slow Burn, New Release