Everybody’s latest obsession has been the science-fiction thriller What Lies Below, a 2020 movie that was recently added to Netflix. This mind-boggling movie tells the story of the socially awkward teenage Libby Wells (Emma Horvath) and her investigation into her mother’s new creeper boyfriend, John Smith (Trey Tucker).
Throughout What Lies Below, Libby begins to suspect that John is not who he claims to be. However, he puts on a charming facade in front of her mother and her friend. Pushing this movie’s bizarre ending to the back, there was a stand-out scene that left fans confused and pretty grossed out: The boat scene.
Here’s everything you need to know about the boat scene.
WTF was that boat scene in What Lies Below
The supposed geneticist John is introduced as having a keen interest in studying aquatic life. He often goes boating and is seen sloshing through the shallow waters surrounding the Wells’ lake house. In one scene, he invites his girlfriend’s daughter Libby out on a boating trip.
At this moment in the movie, Libby is trying to get to know her mom’s new lover. She previously had an argument with her mom and was trying to get back on her good side. The trip starts off pretty normal with the two engaging in small talk.
Libby holds John’s legs as he sets up a trap to catch eels and she chats about school and college. But, things get incredibly awkward when she unexpectedly gets her period.
John notices first and, as Libby puts it later on in the movie, he “Donald Trump’s her,” shoving his tee-shirt against her crotch. Trying to shrug things off, he licks her menstrual blood off of his fingers while looking her in the eyes. Not causal, at all! While doing this, he tells her, “Libby, it’s okay. We’re both scientists, this is totally normal. It’s no big deal.”
The weirdness doesn’t end there. Later, when Libby is showering, John sneaks into the bathroom and sniffs her clothing. None of this is explicitly addressed later on, although it is revealed that John has a fascination and a personal agenda with fertility.
How did fans react?
Needless to say, fans were feeling a whole lot of “WTF just happened?” after seeing this. Twitter has blown up with commentary from the movie’s audience — which is large, given that What Lies Below has been in the top trending list of Netflix programs in the United States all week. Many fans were left in disbelief of the perverse scene that they had just witnessed between a grown male character and a young teenage girl.
One fan was practically speechless. While trying to decipher the scene, they wrote, “I’m watching What Lies Below on Netflix… What the h**l was that boat scene I-” showing an image of a “processing” computer load screen.
Another chastised Netflix for putting that content on her screen. They tweeted, “I finished #whatliesbelow all I can say is, I’m confused, I’m questioning why I chose this, I don’t understand why I have a Netflix subscription. I can’t unsee what [the] dude did in the boat.”
Many similar sentiments have been expressed across social media platforms — a majority of which have expressed dissatisfaction towards Netflix recommending the flick in the first place. Overall, the movie has a 62 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.5 on IMDb. Its Google audience reviews contrast heavily though, giving What Lies Below a 1.3 out of 5, with 675 ratings.
What Lies Below is currently streaming on Netflix.