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| Directed by David Koepp; Starring Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Zachary David Cope, Jennifer Morrison, Liza Weil, Kevin Dunn, and Conor O’Farrell |
I have had quite a past with Stir of Echoes. I was given a chance to see it about two months ago at a press screening the week before it was originally going to come out. I passed on it since that week was already full and I thought that it would come out the subsequent week. Then the film was delayed to Fall and I did not really get too mad because I did not really know much about the film. Then a few weeks ago I saw the trailer for the film for the first time. It did not really look to be terrific as in the visuals, but the music is what did it for me. Hearing the theatre filled with a cover of Rolling Stone’s “Paint It Black” was enough to get me hyped and I’ve been heavily awaiting this film since. Now if only the film had met my expectations.
Stir of Echoes is based on a novel by Richard Matheson where a common man (Bacon) finds his view in life completely changed after he is put under hypnosis by his wife’s sister (Douglas). He begins to be haunted in his mind by a scatter of visions that he cannot differentiate, but scares him dearly. Not only are there scary visuals, but there is also the spookiest child actor, Cope, as his son who has the same touch that the kid from The Sixth Sense had.
I’m quite a fan of the writings of Matheson, who wrote many episodes of Twilight Zone as well as the basis for What Dreams May Come, but this film does not show proper viewing of his works. It is poorly written by Koepp who is best known for writing Lost World: Jurassic Park. Koepp is also trying his luck with directing this time, but most of his visuals are less than special. I liked Bacon and especially Cope, but I found the performances of Douglas and Erbe to be rather flat. I must admit that I found the film to be interesting for the first hour and half, but everything falls apart in the third act. When the film tries to explain what is happening, it cannot come up with a understandable or enjoyable idea. The ending is slightly sufficient, but nothing in comparison to what is given in the first part. Slight, yet still nothing special.
