Fairy Tale and Film

What 
Lies Beneath 
(Robert Zemeckis, 2000) has obvious shades of ‘Bluebeard’ 
in terms of its homicidal husband, yet the fact that his wife has known 
him for years adds an interesting touch, clearly having denied the truth 
about her partner, rather than looking too closely at her marriage. Tatar 
suggests that a key point to understanding the symbolism of ‘Bluebeard’ 
lies in how much knowledge a wife can – or should – seek to acquire 
about her husband. In 
Secret beyond the Door
the husband betrays con-
flicting desires in his relations with women. Deeming his mother to be 
too controlling, and his sister and first wife too intrusive, he seeks to 
keep his second wife at a distance yet ultimately benefits from reveal-
ing all to her. Celia’s forgiveness and understanding are only possible 
because Mark’s murderous fantasies have not been realised – and talk-
ing about them is suggested as the first step to mastering his murderous 
impulses. By contrast, the husband in 
What Lies Beneath
is keen to con-
ceal the fact that he truly has killed. Having murdered a young woman, 

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Demon Lovers and Defiant Damsels 
105
to prevent her revealing their affair, he tries to stop his wife from dis-
covering the truth, seeking to preserve his image as an accomplished, 
successful and happily married man. His wife, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer), 
has been complicit in preserving this image, utterly sublimating herself 
for the sake of his career and a happy marriage, yet she is forced to con-
front the truth about her husband when her former rival supernaturally 
warns her from beyond the grave (or, rather, the lake where her body 
has been dumped). A necklace guides Claire to uncover the truth about 
its owner, and in seeking an explanation for the girl’s disappearance 
she realises her husband’s crime extends beyond his infidelity (a truth 
she has managed to suppress). Unable to maintain such evasion any 
longer, Claire is forced to protect both herself and her daughter, with 
whom the husband is hinted at having an unnatural interest. This talis-
man from a dead girl might be compared to the grisly punch-line of ‘The 
Robber Bridegroom’, in which a decapitated female hand – complete 
with ring – reveals the truth about the groom’s real nature. In this case, 
however, rather than preventing a dangerous marriage, the film works 
to end one. Far from necessarily relating a murder investigation, 
What 
Lies Beneath
probes beneath the surface of a seemingly happy marriage, 
forcing its heroine to face uncomfortable facts. As with many Gothic 
melodramas, Claire’s sanity is questioned. In a Hitchcockian MacGuffin 
near the start of the film, she suspects the worst after a neighbour’s 
wife goes missing, evidently transferring her own subconscious fears. 
Finding out about her husband’s former lover forces her not only to 
come to terms with her own less than perfect marriage, but also to take 
stock of her life, with the murdered lover looking so much like herself 
when she married, putting her musical dreams behind her to support 
her husband, that a clear link is drawn between both figures. Gifting 
her with the wisdom and courage needed to end her marriage, her dead 
double reveals what her husband is capable of, and when Claire’s inves-
tigations get too close to the truth his murderous anger reveals how 
much she has deceived herself. Furious at having been found out, the 
last scene shows him to be far from the devoted husband he pretended 
to be, forcing Claire’s car off a bridge, only for his former lover to come 
to her rescue, drowning him in the same way that he killed her. Claire 
may start the film uncertain what to do with her life (telling her psy-
chiatrist she suspects she is experiencing an ‘empty nest syndrome’ now 
that her daughter has left home), yet she ultimately takes control of 
her destiny, ironically aided by a woman who initially served as a rival. 
A film released the same year, with very similar concerns, is