Stir of Echoes review.
Kevin Bacon stars in a solid horror outing unfortunately released under the shadow of a juggernaut.
Classic movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Stir of Echoes
Directed by David Koepp
Screenplay by David Koepp
Starring Kevin Bacon, Kathryne Erbe, Zachary David Cope, Illeana Douglas, Jennifer Morrison, Liza Weil and Kevin Dunn
Stir of Echoes Review
The year was 1999. A mainstream movie star who had risen to fame in the 1980s starred in a horror movie that involved a child who could see dead people. I’m talking of course…about Stir of Echoes. It took another horror movie to knock The Sixth Sense out of the top spot at the box office. That happened the weekend that Stir of Echoes hit theaters. Unfortunately…it was Stigmata that edged M. Night Shyamalan’s blockbuster. In fact, released under the deep shadow of the wildly successful The Sixth Sense…Stir of Echoes didn’t make much of a dent at the box office. Despite hitting theaters a full month earlier, the Bruce Willis lead eventual Oscar nominee managed to almost triple the Kevin Bacon movie’s opening weekend. It would eventually make a modest profit and fade into relative obscurity. At least when compared to the ghost story that dominated 1999.
Kevin Bacon stars as Tom…a husband and father who is about to learn there is more to life than…well…life. His wife Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) is pregnant with their second child. Neither has noticed that their first child is carrying out full conversations with a ghost in their house. Sister-in-law Lisa (Ileana Douglas) hypnotizes Tom as a party trick. The post-hypnotic suggestion she leaves to “be more open-minded” ends up unlocking Tom’s ability to see the ghost too.
Stir of Echoes is based on a novel by Richard Matheson that far predates the other “I see dead people” movie that was in theaters in 1999. Matheson also wrote I Am Legend as well as several episodes of The Twilight Zone…along with a ton of other novels, short stories and screenplays.
Director David Koepp (who also penned the screenplay) had co-written hits like Jurassic Park and Mission: Impossible. He’d go on to write Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and co-write the last two Indiana Jones movies. The next Jurassic World movie sees him return to writing for the franchise. His director credits are…less impressive. He does a fine job with Stir of Echoes though. The visual highlight of the picture involves the way that Koepp films Tom’s hypnosis scene. As Lisa talks him through a scenario…we watch the details he’s imagining change in real time as she introduces them. It’s a cool scene that starts Stir of Echoes out strong.
The bulk of the movie involves Tom’s growing obsession with a girl who disappeared before he moved into the house. He has intermittent visions of her and dives into discovering what happened to her. His son has an even stronger connection with the supernatural. He has full conversations with Samantha (Jennifer Morrison). Stir of Echoes is an investigative horror mystery that follows Tom’s rapid mental decline.
The biggest problem lies in the script choices in the film’s second act. Tom is the story’s most interesting character. Bacon is fantastic in the role. For reasons that can only be explained as trying to pad the runtime…Stir of Echoes largely walks away from him as his obsession is peaking. The story turns towards Erbe’s character and her attempts to figure out what’s happening to her husband. An investigation inside an investigation. It stunts the film’s momentum. Not only that…her quest never really pays off in a way that makes taking it worthwhile.
Neighborhood secrets are revealed, and Samatha’s terrible fate is uncovered. The bad guys get what they have coming to them…Samantha’s family is given closure. It’s as close to a happy ending as Stir of Echoes’ story will allow. Interestingly, this movie and The Sixth Sense both opt for a “ghosts who aren’t trying to scare the characters” approach to a ghost story. Samantha is leading Tom to discover her story. There are a couple of effective jump scares before we figure that out. Mostly, Stir of Echoes is about uncovering the mystery of her disappearance and letting Kevin Bacon put on a show. There are far worse uses of your time.
Unfortunately, there was one far better use of your time in theaters at the same time. The Sixth Sense is just a far better movie. It isn’t something that matter 25 years later…but it’s no less true today. In the end, a little kid staring into the camera talking to a dead person is always unsettling even with a better option in the marketplace. Stir of Echoes is worth a look for Bacon’s performance alone. Perhaps a 1999 kids who see dead people double feature is in order. Just do yourself a favor and watch Stir of Echoes first. It doesn’t do well in the shadow.
Scare Value
Stir of Echoes is a solid horror mystery movie. Kevin Bacon gives a top-notch performance (as always). The story sidetracks itself when it should be ramping up. This keeps it from achieving its peak performance more than whatever else happened to be in cinemas that day ever could. Enough works for Stir of Echoes to carve out its own spot on your TV.
3/5
Stir of Echoes Links
Streaming on Tubi
Rent/Buy on VOD from Fandango at Home
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
