Although THE SIXTH SENSE demonstrated the enormous box-office potential of the ghost melodrama, it was not a typical Hollywood blockbuster. Hollywood production companies are more comfortable with projects that fit pre-existing generic norms, and the three films in this chapter illustrate the more familiar practice whereby ghost melodrama elements are incorporated into other genres. WHAT LIES BENEATH was promoted as a Hitchcockian thriller with a supernatural twist; THE GIFT is primarily a Southern Gothic small-town melodrama; DRAGONFLY fits into a short cycle of films dealing with bereaved husbands. But in each film there is also the ghost of a young woman, struggling to communicate with the living.

A Ghost Movie Thriller

What Lies Beneath (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2000)

WHAT LIES BENEATH was a major Hollywood production: an A-list director, two top stars, high production values and a script – screenplay by Clark Gregg from a story by himself and Sarah Kernochan – with built-in audience appeal. However, although it was a box-office success, coming tenth in the listings for 2000, critically the film has not fared so well. David Thomson’s lofty dismissal – ‘a Hitchcock rip-off without any real point’ (2002: 959) – is typical. But it is a mistake to view the film simply through the Hitchcock lens. It is also a ghost melodrama.

In fact, the Hitchcock references are among the least interesting aspects of the film. Throughout the early scenes, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) spies on her neighbours Warren (James Remar) and Mary Feur (Miranda Otto) in a manner which echoes the way Jeff (James Stewart) spies on his neighbours in REAR WINDOW, even to the extent of using binoculars. In due course, Claire becomes convinced Warren has murdered Mary. In order for her to come to this quite erroneous conclusion, some remarkable coincidences are required, such as (a) in Claire's one, truncated, conversation with Mary, the latter gives Claire the impression her husband is harming her, and (b) the female ghost which is already haunting Claire just happens to have the same initials as Mary. It is something of a relief when this matter is resolved and the film can concentrate on the much more promising ghost movie material which has been emerging.