What Lies Beneath (2000) is a supernatural and murderous thriller film. We watched the 3 minute beginning clip of the film in class. The opening title sequence usually hints what's to be expected of the film and What Lies Beneath is not any different.
The beginning of the clip takes a while to start and reveals the title "What Lies Beneath" under what looks like water. The long wait is accompanied by slow, echo-like music which helps stretch out the beginning before the film actually starts. This together helps create tension and slowly builds suspense as I begun to feel uneasy as I didn't know what to expect next.
The first scene in the bathroom has thriller-like features, the mise en scene help evoke this with the cold white bathroom with its sharp props and corners. The bathroom seems empty and hollow which seemed daunting to me and suddenly made me realise the women is alone in this hollow bathroom. Moreover, despite the bathroom being white there is a foggy look about it which strikes me particularly as it has connotations of wide open spaces, yet it's only a small bathroom. This made me think back to the title of the film "What Lies Beneath" and suggested there isn't something right with that bathroom.
Also, the scene begun with whispering while the women's face was underwater- which she then got up from, startled. This seemed mysterious to me and made me wonder why there was whispering under that water and what could it mean later in the film. Also, the camera shot is of a low angle portraying the characters state at that moment in time- depressed and afraid. Then, as she catches her breath the camera slowly zooms in into a steady mid shot of her in the bathroom. This again builds suspense and mystery.
The overall feel of the 3 minute clip of What Lies Beneath was tense. The echoing sounds, cold, foggy, white bathroom, whispering sounds and slow camera movements created a constant feeling of abnormality about the clip and left me feeling constantly on edge.
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