'What Lies Below' boat scene explained: Is it linked to John's gift to Libby?

What Lies Below is a popular sci-fi horror film that was released last year and streamed on Netflix. The plot of this film revolves around a young teenage girl, Libby, who is curious about her mother’s attractive boyfriend but eventually starts growing suspicious about him and the fact that he is quite obsessed with fishes as the story progresses forward. While many scenes from the plot grasp the attention of the audience, the boat scene of this film could be described as one of the most unexpected scenes. The plot of this film, including What Lies Below boat scene has been elaborated by Decider.

What Lies Below boat scene explained

A thrilling turn of events awaits Libby when she returns to her mother’s lake house after returning from her summer camp. She is introduced to her mother’s attractive boyfriend John, who is shown to be an ‘Aquatic Geneticist’, who is making attempts to get freshwater animals to adapt to saltwater habitat. Libby soon discovers that there is more than what meets the eye with John, who displays odd behaviour when it comes to fishes and aquatic life. The boat scene, however, could be described as one of the most cryptic scenes in the film.

The scene shows John taking Libby out on a boat to help him catch more lampreys. While they are on a boat, she suddenly gets her period, which is followed by strange behaviour from John. He reaches towards her crotch and licks the blood, and even smells her clothes when she is in the shower. His behaviour could be explained by the fact that he had given her a bracelet with Navajo “stone of life” on it, which represents the goddess of fertility.

The ending of this film is equally unexpected, as she and her mother get chased by John and he catches up. She eventually wakes up in a tank filled with water and starts to struggle beside other women in the same situation as well. Eventually, she stops trying to struggle as she realises that she is able to now breathe underwater and smiles.  

• Promo image courtesy: A still from the trailer