Stir of Echoes

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2000 Howard Anderson

Synopsis

Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) works as a utility company lineman in Chicago. He has a wife and son, and he is beginning to realize that while caught up in the everyday rut of his existence, life has passed him by without any of the goals he'd set for himself achieved. "I never wanted to be famous," he tells his wife. "I just never expected to be so ordinary." But after he is hypnotized by his sister-in-law (Illeana Douglas) at a neighborhood party, he is immediately thereafter plunged into a shattering encounter with another world. Disturbing visions start filling his mind, short glimpses of violent and atrocious acts. And as these supernatural apparitions not only continue but intensify, Tom finally makes the realization that they are all pieces of a puzzle, echoes of a crime, and now they are calling out for him to uncover the truth, thus laying the vengeful spirit that haunts him to rest.

Review

"Stir of Echoes" stirred me... deeply. Based on the novel "A Stir of Echoes" by author Richard Matheson, I thought this this film was one of the scariest and creepiest I have seen for quite some time. While other films of 1999 dealing with this same subject-matter failed on some or more levels, I feel "Stir of Echoes" succeeded in full. There were several instances in this film where I found myself genuinely disturbed and startled by what I saw, and as some of the more intense scenes played out I could not for the life of me sit still. I shifted around nervously and muttered remarks like, "no, don't do that", "oh, God, no", and "what the hell was that?" This is not something I have a habit of doing. I can't remember precisely how I reacted the first time I watched "The Exorcist" or "The Shining", but most likely they produced a reaction similar to this one. In comparison I did not find "The Blair Witch Project" particularly frightening. It was a suspenseful film and an amazing psychological study of the three characters, but it never really scared me out of my wits. "Stir of Echoes" did that. As the story unfolded and the growing tension grabbed a hold of me, I noticed my pulse hammering faster and faster, as if my psyche was walking hand in hand with Kevin Bacon down this darkened alley of discovery. Then there's the relentless and shocking visitation haunting Kevin Bacon's character, some of which I actually shrieked outloud when watching.

"Stir of Echoes" also boasts one of the best performances of Kevin Bacon to date, and when you consider some of his past achievements, like "Murder in the First", "Sleepers" and "Apollo 13", that's saying quite alot. He really did an amazing job with his part, as did all the supporting characters as well, and along with the striking visuals, the solid plot, and the great direction of David Koepp, I have to say that "Stir of Echoes" belongs right up there along with "The Exorcist", "The Shining" and "Fallen".

Image

This 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer is without a doubt the best one I have seen from Artisan Entertainment. As well as plenty of shadows and darkness, the film also features a rich composition of vibrant and beautifully rendered colors (captured masterfully by director of photograph, Frank Murphy), and from the brightest of scenes to the very darkest, the image is unwavering in its jaw-dropping quality. The blacks are as smooth as they come, and the colors, which have an incredible range and depth to them, never show even the tiniest of hints of smearing. Grain and other imperfections are also unheard of. This is state-of-the-art reference quality stuff.

Sound

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is perfection. There is no better way of putting it. This eerie and atmospheric mix equals and maybe even surpasses that of DreamWorks' "The Haunting", and during several instances it will easily make the hairs stand up in the nape of your neck. Every channel is used extensively throughout, especially during the visitation sequences, with everything from all-out assaults packing quite the punch coming at you from all directions, to soft whispers gliding teasingly around the room. The dialogue is also rock-solid, and blends seamlessly with all the other elements. This soundtrack will inject your body and soul with frights and scares the likes of which you have never before experienced. Enjoy.

Features

And the good stuff just keeps on coming. There's an excellent audio commentary with director David Koepp, a short promotional featurette that I though was actually quite good, the original theatrical trailer, four TV spots that convey in a much better way than the theatrical trailer what the viewing audience has in store, a behind-the-scenes segment that is literally just that, a music video that is unfortunately only in Dolby Surround, a nice line-up of cast & crew biographies and finally some production notes. The DVD also features one of the coolest and creepiest menu intros that I've ever seen put together.

Overall Opinion

This is David Koepp's second feature directorial outing, and as much as I loved "The Trigger Effect", I thought "Stir of Echoes" was even better. Where "The Trigger Effect" was a great character study under times of chrisis, "Stir of Echoes" was a much more intense and fast-paced tale of supernatural suspense and horror, and still he managed to make the characters come alive in a way that is rarely seen in today's movies. And the fact that this is a film based on a novel by one of my favorite authors, Richard Matheson (whose "I am Legend" is probably the best horror story ever written), it was just great to see that a novel can actually be made justice when translated to celluloid. So, if you like your horror on a much more realistic level, like "The Exorcist" and "The Shining", then you can't go wrong with "Stir of Echoes". And when you get a DVD as great-looking and sounding and feature-packed as this, then what more can you possibly ask for?