Stir Of Echoes (1999)

Solid supernatural fare that has drawn some unfair comparisons to 1999’s other “I see dead people” flick, “The Sixth Sense”. Kevin Bacon plays Tom Witzky, a blue-collar kind of guy striving to make ends meet as a telephone lineman for his wife and young son. Attending a neighborhood block party one evening, a drunken and belligerent Tom is put under hypnosis by his sister-in-law. Falling into a deep trance state, Tom is told to “open his mind” allowing him to become a receiver of sorts for whatever spirit wishes to communicate with him. Shortly after both Tom and his psychically gifted young son (there’s that “6th Sense” angle) are seeing the ghost of a young girl throughout their home. Soon Tom is completely obsessed with trying to figure out exactly what the ghostly lass wants, losing his job and nearly his marriage in the process.

I saw “Stir of Echoes” right after it came out in the summer of 99, shortly after the release of “The Sixth Sense”. It was interesting to hear the audience moan and groan throughout as they compared the two films, and this I found to be rather unjust. This film was, after all, based on a novel written many a year ago, and to the best of my knowledge both films were practically shot around the same time, so it’s not like the producers saw that films success and decide to go ahead with a straight out rip off. “Stir of Echoes” exceeds in the area of what works best for this genre…subtlety. Nothing here will reach out and grab you ala 99’s supernatural flop “The Haunting”. Here it’s all about what you think you see as opposed to what you actually do. The scenes of the ghostly girl are creepy enough, and you’re never quite sure whether she’s exactly friend or foe. The acting is decent by all involved, with the relationship between Tom and his wife being dead on. Hell, even the kid actor was pretty damn good…when do I ever say that? This one’s a solid effort and a great double bill with you-know-what.