Stir of Echoes Review
by Tim Chandler (timbit AT canada DOT com)September 10th, 1999
Stir Of Echoes
Rating: 3 out of 4
The Info
Directed by: David Koepp
Written by: David Koepp (novel by Richard Matheson)
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Dunn, Zachary David Cope
Produced by: Judy Hofflund, Gavin Polone
The Basic Plot
After being hypnotized, a man believes there is a ghost in his house.
The Review
Two low-key summer horror films have become surprise financial successes this year: The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense. Each has made well over $100 million in North America, based on a combination of strong word of mouth and clever advertising. If a film's box office take were based primarily on its quality, Stir Of Echoes would join Blair and Sense in grossing far more money than expected, for it is as scary, if not scarier than the other two. Writer/director David Koepp has given Artisan Entertainment, the folks who distributed Blair Witch a second creepy hit.
The story gets going after Tom Witzky (Bacon), an average blue-collar dad, gets hypnotized by his wife Maggie's (Erbe) sister Lisa (Douglas) at a party. While the hypnosis goes as expected to the party-goers, it triggers something in Tom's head. Things begin to change around him (blinking red lights let off a strange hum, for example), and he fights to stay in control of his own senses. Where these experiences take Tom, Maggie and their son Jake (Cope), who Tom thinks might have some answers, is down a dark path that will scare and disturb you.
David Koepp keeps the action localized; the majority of the action takes place at Tom's house or just down the street. By keeping things at home, Koepp is able to proceed without having to resort to any clumsy segues (montages of driving down roads as we move from one city to another etc.). Unfortunately, the dread and spookiness of Stir Of Echoes are frequently interrupted by moments of levity. Humour can take the tension away from a scene faster than any shoddy special effect or poor acting. Several tense moments become completely diffused by a few misplaced jokes. Also, there are a couple of plot developments that are left unresolved, though to mention them would be to give too much away.
Kevin Bacon handles the duel task of playing an everyman and a man losing his sanity admirably. His total lack of understanding of what is happening to him is believable, as are the reactions from his wife Maggie. Kathryn Erbe is given a role meatier and better written than that of most "wife who can no longer handle her husband" parts. While it is still a supporting role, her Maggie is moving as she watches both her husband and her son enter what she calls "a private club that I'm not invited to", where they whisper about things all day long. As Jake, Zachary Cope equals the performance of Haley Joel Osment in the Sixth Sense, but gets less screen time. Both children manage the same trick, making the audience creeped out by their apparent acceptance of the way things are.
Fans of Blair and Sixth Sense will almost surely love Stir Of Echoes. It combines the dread of Blair, a creepy closed-in feel thanks to cinematographer Fred Murphy and great performances by the whole cast, specifically Bacon, to give the fall its first genuine scary film. If only they had let up on the unneeded funny bits and tweaked the plot a bit more, this could have been one of the year's best.
email Tim Chandler at [email protected]
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