IMDb on iPhone and iPod touch Learn more Learn more Download from the App Store
What Lies Beneath
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips
  • Continuity: During the final sequence, Claire is obviously wearing dark red or pink underwear underneath her night gown. Later on, they turn white.

  • Continuity: When Norman sits down on the bed and then stands up, the lining (perhaps a handkerchief) in his pocket disappears.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Claire screams while she is trapped in the pickup truck; opinions differ over whether she opens her mouth.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Near the end, the water level in the bathtub rises very quickly, then it hardly changes. This may be due to the overflow drain, which almost keeps up with the incoming water.

  • Continuity: During the sequence when Claire is in the tub supposedly unable to move, her head is higher and lower in relation to the back edge of the tub in different shots.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The picture that keeps breaking is a newspaper clipping of the same celebration that Madison attended. While the clipping reports the search to be "intensifying" and Madison didn't go missing for three days, the report could have been from a weekly newspaper.

  • Continuity: Since he just got into the water, Norman's fingers should be less wrinkled during the underwater struggle.

  • Errors in geography: Adamant, Vermont is mentioned twice. Both times it's described as being "down 7", meaning southward on US Route 7, the principal north-south artery on Vermont's western edge. Route 7 passes through the Burlington/Lake Champlain area where the movie is set. Adamant is about 40 miles east of Route 7.

  • Continuity: When the pickup truck first crashes in the water, it stalls and the headlights go out. In the next scene, they are on again. Besides a continuity error, this implies an unusually waterproof electrical system.

  • Continuity: During the seance scene where Claire and Jody are using the Ouija board, in one angle the handpiece shows a "T" through it and in the next shot there is a different letter (with no movement).

  • Continuity: When the picture with the newspaper breaks the first time, Claire puts the glass into a bin piece by piece. There is still one piece on the picture when she puts it back on the table.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Claire is in the bath she turns the water tap counter-clockwise by pulling on the shower line. While that would normally open a tap, in some older plumbing it does not.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The ghost fogs the mirrors in the bathroom, yet Claire sticks her arm in the tub and is not scalded. The fog, being ghostly, need not have been caused by hot water.

  • Crew or equipment visible: When Claire walks into the bedroom for the first time, she passes a mirror. For a split second, you can see a cameraman's reflection.

  • Continuity: The first time the bathtub mysteriously fills, Claire rolls up her sleeve as she walks towards the tub. In the next shot, we see her rolling up her sleeve again.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Claire is looking up missing persons and comes across Madison Elizabeth Frank, her details are to the left of the screen and her picture is to the right. When she hands the page to her husband, the picture is on the left and the info is on the right. The page may have had a "format for printing" option.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Claire finds the tub filled with water (both times), it is completely filled. While the overflow drain would not have normally permitted this (and while the second time, it has filled abnormally fast and quietly), it's a ghostly event, which means some of the normal laws of nature are suspended.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Claire drives away from the house in the pick-up, which we can see has the boat attached to it. One viewer claims the boat disappears as she turns a corner, but another disputes this.

  • Factual errors: All of the vehicles in the movie have Vermont plates, but no visible inspection stickers. They are supposed to be in the top center of the windshield, behind the rear-view mirror.

  • Continuity: Claire first sees the ghost when she reaches out to pull the plug from the bathtub. Then she screams and Norman runs in. She hugs him, and you can see her hand on the back of his robes. Her hand isn't wet, and his shirt doesn't get wet.

  • Continuity: When Claire is walking up to open her door after getting cut outside, a napkin appears in her hand.

  • Continuity: When Claire sees Madison's face in the water after she throws the tennis ball in the water, the ball disappears in one shot.

  • Continuity: When Claire is drugged and in the bathtub, the water is at the bottom of the overflow valve in one shot, then below the valve in the next shot.

  • Continuity: When Claire notices the gift that her friend left on her doorstep, she has a key in her hand. In the next shot, the key is in the door.

  • Factual errors: When Claire's friend visits her early in the movie, she brings her a pouch of "Kombucha mushroom tea". Kombucha has been used in Europe for centuries, and gained popularity in the U.S. in the 1980s. It's black tea semi-fermented by the kombucha fungus, which floats on the top of the tea, growing thicker as it eats the tannins in the tea and the sugar that you add, producing the distinct "zingy" taste of kombucha after 2 to 4 weeks. In the movie, it's portrayed as a simple dry tea, not a disc-shaped living mushroom that must be kept alive.

  • Continuity: The bite Claire takes out of the apple is gone when she forces Norman to take a bite out of it.

  • Errors in geography: It seems unlikely that Norman or Claire would be able to dial 911. Only 30 of Vermont's 250 towns have 911 service. Residents in rural areas, like Norman and Claire's town, have to dial 7 or 11 digits to call for emergency services.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The computer in the Spencer's house is a Macintosh, but shows Windows 95 screen shots for the close-ups. It is possible to emulate Windows on a Mac, although it's not common.

>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<

Goofs below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.

  • Incorrectly regarded as goofs: SPOILER: When Claire is in the bath near the end, Norman comments on how cold the water is, then turns on the hot tap. Therefore, it makes sense that this is the one Claire turns off with the shower pipe.

  • Continuity: SPOILER: Despite having been completely submerged in the bathtub at the end, Claire's clothes are almost completely dry while she searches for a phone.

  • Continuity: SPOILER: When Claire crawls to the stairs toward the end of the movie, an overturned lamp on the landing is lit, even though nothing is plugged into the electrical outlet.

  • Continuity: SPOILER: When Norman falls in the bathroom, he opens a large gash on the right side of his forehead. Later, when the pickup plunges into the water, the bloody gash is visible during the fight scenes. In the last couple of shots of Norman underwater, the gash completely disappears.

  • Factual errors: SPOILER: Halothane in the movie is treated as a drug that paralyzes animals without putting them to sleep. In fact, halothane is not a paralyzing drug; it is a general anesthetic, that was widely used in the past (and still is in some parts of the world) to put people to sleep. In fact, there is no drug that would have paralyzed Claire Spencer, while keeping her awake, without killing her (she would have been unable to breathe had she received a paralyzing agent).

  • Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): SPOILER: The ghost manages to type 'MEF MEF...' on the computer, and offers other tantalizingly vague clues throughout the movie. Why not just type "your husband killed Madison Elizabeth Frank", along with the address and so on?


Related Links

Trivia Quotes Plot summary
Soundtrack listing Crazy credits Movie connections
FAQ Main details IMDb goofs browser
Search goofs section
Browse titles with goofs by letter
   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Other

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.