Review: Stir of Echoes (1999)

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Stir of Echoes

Rating

Director

David Koepp

Screenplay

David Koepp (Novel: Richard Matheson)

Length

1h 39m

Starring

Zachary David Cope, Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Dunn, Conor O’Farrell, Luisa Strus, Stephen Eugene Walker, Mary Kay Cook, Larry Neumann Jr., Jenny Morrison

MPAA Rating

Review

What if you could talk to the dead? What would they say to you? What if they decided they wanted to mess with your life until you did what they wanted you to do? “Stir of Echoes” lightly, yet disturbingly, answers these questions.

Kevin Bacon is Tom Witzky a telephone line repairman. He, his wife Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and son Jake (Zachary David Cope) have only recently moved into their new home. They are well adjusted and emotionally centered.

One evening, at a block party, Maggie’s sister Lisa (Illeana Douglas) hypnotizes young Tom and opens a door he never thought he had. He starts hearing voices…voices of the dead. Jake also hears them, which bizarrely brings them closer together. Maggie, however, seems to be out of the loop and feels the family splitting apart.

We learn that Tom is a receiver and can actually communicate with the dead. The first person he talks to is a young neighborhood girl, Samantha (Jennifer Morrison), who disappeared and was never found. She won’t stop bothering Tom until he discovers what happened to her.

“Stir of Echoes” is a creepy film that steps out the shadows almost comically. The film feels quite light in comparison to Bacon’s other dark, supernatural thriller “Flatliners.” There are moments in the film however, which leave you speechless. Most of the horror elements are quite powerful, but there is one subplot left unexplored. We only see a brief glimpse of other “receivers” who can speak with the dead, yet the story is never developed further and only muddies the water.

The story becomes predictable as you near the climax, but until then, it’s hard to figure what exactly happened. The end feels like it could have been more touching if we’d been more attached to the characters.

The cast does quite well overall. Bacon delivers a very good performance, but doesn’t seem destined for an Oscar nomination any time soon. Douglas is wonderful in her small, calm role. Erbe works fine in her role, but still feels like a two-dimensional character, something that is more likely the writer’s fault. Good children’s performances are so hard to come by that even the slightly good should be commended. Cope gives a very good performance, despite being overshadowed by his fellow cast mates and the other speak-with-the-dead-kid Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense.”

Writer-turned-director David Koepp knows how to deliver a good screenplay. He also knows how to deliver bad ones. He penned both “Carlito’s Way” and “Death Becomes Her,” two extreme opposites. He seems to write popcorn while waiting for his fillet mignon to get out of the oven. His direction, however, is newer and thus less developed. “Stir” is only his third time behind the lens. He manages to keep himself hidden for the most part and does coax some great performances, but with these actors, that’s not hard.

The sound effects are the only other thing of note. They are both terrific and terrifying. In a less-strenuous year and if it had been a box-office smash, I’d put it down for an assured Oscar nomination.

“Stir of Echoes” isn’t complex, nor is it shallow, it’s a delightful in-between. Anyone up for a supernatural thriller will find this film a treat.

Awards Prospects

The only major chance at a nomination is Sound Effects, but with so many great Sound Effects films this year and only three tiny slots to fill, “Stir” may not get into the mix. Bacon gives one of his best performances, but horror films seldom get major nominations.