Stir of Echoes Review
by "Berge Garabedian" (drsuess AT microtec DOT net)September 5th, 1999
STIR OF ECHOES
RATING: 7.5 / 10 --> Very Good Movie
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"Does it hurt to be dead?", is one of the first questions that we hear the little kid in this movie ask someone who is not shown to us. Hmmm...I thought. Sounds kinda familiar. You bet it sounds familiar! The concepts behind this film are eerily reminiscent of one of the major hits of the summer, THE SIXTH SENSE (8/10). Does it matter? Not at all. Point one, this film centers around Kevin Bacon and not the kid. Point two, this movie's damn creepy, people!
PLOT:
Man who does not believe in anything supernatural gets hypnotized and suddenly opens a "door" in his brain to all things metaphysical. Much like his own son, he begins seeing and feeling things from the afterlife, and falling into a psychological world outside of our own.
CRITIQUE:
I don't generally get too many goosebumps in the theatre, unless of course, the Mrs. and I are jazzing it up, but the last few weeks have been a hotbed of goosepimples! First THE SIXTH SENSE, and now this creepy, supernatural thriller, both demonstrating the effective nature of a well-written story, solid actors and a tiny sprinkle of ghosts, without the over-use of special effects a la crappy HAUNTING (4/10). Admittedly, this film actually did start feeling like a sequel to the SIXTH SENSE at times, with many of the same theories running across both films. That didn't bother me at all, in fact, it made for a more powerful film-going experience, since the previous film had already convinced me of the possibility of these occurrences, so this one felt like it was speaking from a solid foundation. The story starts off a bit like a bad acid trip, but slowly explains itself into comprehension, and turns into a nicely developed supernatural mystery (Some claim to have seen it "all coming", but I personally was hooked the whole way).
The conclusion also came through for me, with plenty of moments of suspense and surrealism thrown into the mix before its fateful finish. And in how many movies do you see Kevin Bacon's name before the film title?! Not many. Usually he's the fourth or fifth banana, but he's the top dog in this one, and boy let me tell you, the man comes through! Kevin's perfect for this role with his everyday dude quality, and solid acting experience striking all the right chords. Please Mr. Oscar, why not knock on Kevin's door this year? :) The kid is also pretty good in this one, although nothing close to Haley Joel Osment from THE SIXTH SENSE, and they could have cast a better wife, but all in all, a great time at the movies. Mrs. JoBlo literally bounced off her seat during a few scenes, and despite no major gross-out sequences, this film sure packed a handful of frightening moments, a great spooky story with a timely correlation to that other Bruce Willis movie (I guess you know which one I'm talking about by now), and even a moment of tender closure at the end. I wish they would have used the song "Paint it Black" from The Stones in a few more scenes, but hey, I'm just a bitch with a boner for that song, so what can I say! :)
You like the creepy supernatural stories? Check into this one and you won't be dissapointed!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Actor Kevin Bacon is married to actress Kyra Sedgwick and also has a band with his brother called THE BACON BROTHERS. Kevin describes the sound of their band as "Forosoco" (also the title of their first album), an anacronym for Folk, Rock, Soul and Country. He was born in Philadelphia, PA. And if you look closely, you might remember his big-screen debut in 1978's ANIMAL HOUSE as Chip Diller.
Actress Illeana Douglas dated director Martin Scorsese for a few years and also appeared in bit parts in at least two of his greater films including GOODFELLAS (10/10) as Rosie, one of Pesci's side-kick girlfriends, and CAPE FEAR (8.5/10), as Lori Davis, Nolte's "good friend" who gets the crap beat out of her by the DeNiro character.
Actress Kathryn Erbe's feature film-debut was playing Anna, the daughter of Richard Dreyfuss and Julie Haggerty and friend of Bill Murray in the Disney film, WHAT ABOUT BOB?
Actor Kevin Dunn is the brother of ex-SNL personality and actress Nora Dunn. Director David Koepp, now 36, was born and raised in the small town of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He moved to Los Angeles to attend film school at UCLA and lived there for several years. He has recently moved to New York City with his wife and two children. He has written several known screenplays for JURASSIC PARK, CARLITO'S WAY, THE PAPER, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, THE LOST WORLD and SNAKE EYES (6/10).
This film was adapted from author Richard Matheson's novel entitled "Stir of Echoes". He's also the man who wrote the novel "What Dreams May Come".
Review Date: September 4, 1999
Director: David Koepp
Writer: David Koepp
Producers: Judy Hofflund and Gavin Polone
Actors: Kevin Bacon as Tom Witzky
Kathryn Erbe as Maggie Witzky
Illeana Douglas as Lisa
Genre: Thriller
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
