Decent Scare-fest Grows Standard With Time

by Jason R. Hewlett

Artisan Entertainment, the people who brought you "The Blair Witch Project," are aiming to be the next big distributor of horror movies in Hollywood. Following the success of "Blair Witch," they've aimed to bring audiences scary, disturbing fare minus the usual, boring slasher/killer formula that has hindered horror cinema for nearly two decades. Unfortunately, their second big scare release, "Stir of Echoes," only succeeds up to a point but is still worth the admission price.

"Stir of Echoes," written and directed by renowned screenwriter David "Jurassic Park" Koepp and based on the novel by renowned author Richard Matheson, involves many of the elements of the blockbuster "The Sixth Sense." There is a child who can see the dead and otherworldly scares that cause you to jump out of your seat without the use of glitzy visual effects. From the get go it could of being better than "Sixth Sense" but where the first film had the slow build to a killer ending, this film works in reverse, playing all its' cards too soon and petering out into a standard thriller.

Kevin Bacon plays Tom Witzky, a typical husband and father, who finds his quiet, blue-collar Chicago lifestyle derailed after he is hypnotized at a neighborhood party. What started as a diversion turns disturbing as a posthypnotic suggestion releases a subconscious power Tom didn't even know he possessed, eventually bringing him face to face with a strange, supernatural force and a horrible secret. Over time, Tom becomes obsessed with the notion that there is a presence living in his house. Plagued by searing headaches, horrific visions and fear that his family is in grave danger, Tom finds himself compelled to seek the source of the visions, no matter the cost.

The fact that the first half of the film overshadows the second so much makes the film a disappointment in my mind. Not having read the book I don't know whether to fault Matheson or Koepp. It's never easy to follow up a similar film that beat you to the release date either but I'd still recommend "Stir of Echoes" to anyone who likes a good, eerie time out at the movies.

6.5 out of 10!