Movie Review: Stir Of Echoes (1999)

Stir Of Echoes is a 1999 psychological thriller/horror film directed by David Koepp. The film stars Kevin Bacon as a man who after being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, starts to see visions of a murder that occurred in his neighborhood. Alright, now if ever there were a mixed bag of feelings about a movie, this would be it for me. There are some really intriguing aspects of this movie and then there are some really bad aspects of it. Let's start with the positives though. First off, the opening credits of the movie set the tone perfectly. This is a very creepy movie, and it's not so much due to what you see, but the music (which is very eerie), and Bacon's son, Jake (who breaks the fourth wall to talk with this spirit he calls Samantha.) So from the beginning I knew that the movie was going to be really creepy and eerie. However, that's not quite what I was going for. You see, Stir Of Echoes isn't really a horror movie, because nothing scary or horrific ever happens. A murder does occur, and there is a flashback, but it's not scary. It's disturbing, but it doesn't make you think. That's also because you don't really care about the characters. Another 1999 thriller that came out was The Sixth Sense, which makes you care about Haley Joel Osment as he communicates with spirits. This movie doesn't do that. The audience has no sympathy for Jake or any of the characters, at all. Even the murder case doesn't really make you care. It's a very flat movie, but that doesn't mean it's all bad...right? Well, yes and no. This is a very generic horror movie that succumbs to a lot of the cliches within the horror genre. The kid talking to his "invisible new friend", people having visions of creepy events and phenomena, as well as an extreme disconnect between a husband and wife, which actually does work. There is also some humor in this movie, especially in the digging scene. I won't give it away because it's actually kind of funny. However, there is also humor that isn't intentional. Some of the acting from Bacon (during the third act) is so overacted and it's just hilarious. That's not to say this movie doesn't have it's strengths. It has some really suspenseful scenes, a thought provoking ending, and the disconnect between the wife and the rest of the family is really effective. I'm all over the place with this review because the movie is all over the place. Overall, Stir Of Echoes doesn't scare or even make you jump and the acting falters in some places. However, it's an entertaining, thought provoking, and interesting (at times) movie that can be enjoyed. Two stars