Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) begins to witness the disorders immediately after moving into her dead father-in-laws Lake Vermont house, which has the feisty Feurs as neighbours. They fight in the day and make violent love at night. On a welcome visit to their house, Claire finds Mrs Feurs blood-stained footwear - and begins to fear the worse.
Claires ruffled, overworked husband Norman (Harrison Ford), a scientist involved in a big research project, boots her claims of a next-door homicide. With counselling sessions turning out into a joke, and Mrs Feur appearing right when Claire accuses her husband of murder, the focus shifts to the housewifes home. Through a series of random encounters, the nervous housewife discovers her husbands dark secret - and how it may have led to his involvement in the disappearance of the woman whose wraith-like image haunts the lake and her bathtub. Zemerick grabs attention through a series of deft surprises, but then resorts to familiar plot devices, like chance, to propel the story. In the attempt to go beyond Hitchcock and his earthly, sensual sense of mystery, the situations appear calculated if not predictable. The staggeringly shot, bone-crushing climax falters on the customary retribution for crime note - it was expected after all for the ghost to save the wronged wife in the end.
