Movie Review by: Thomas Huong
Click here for pictures
Hmmm, we have a ghost story
here, namely 'Stir of Echoes'. I had never seen Kevin Bacon
('The River Wild', 'Murder in the First', 'Apollo 13',
'Sleepers', 'Wild Things') in a ghost story before, despite
having watched many of his movies. And this time, I wasn't
disappointed either. 'Stir of Echoes' is really one scary
movie, especially if you have this thing about monsters in the
closet and creepy things like that (I certainly do!).
Otherwise, it provides enough suspense, drama, humour and
thrills to keep the viewer interested.
'Stir of Echoes' is based on
the novel by Richard Matheson and directed by David Koepp
('The Trigger Effect').
One night, Tom Witsky (Kevin
Bacon) allows his sister-in-law Lisa, to hypnotize him and
afterwards, he starts seeing the ghost of a teenage girl in
his house. He becomes obsessed with the ghost, losing his job
and neglecting his family in the process. His wife Maggie
begins to think that he's crazy (who wouldn't?) but his 7-year
old son, Jake completely understands because he too also has
strange visions of dead people.
In 'Stir of Echoes', the plot
gradually builds up towards a climatic ending. It's really
refreshing as it doesn't rely on momentary scares to thrill
the audience. Director Koepp simply allows the tension to grow
at a slow, gradual rate and he does an excellent job here. The
atmosphere in the movie is incredibly eerie. The plot is
detailed yet simple enough for the viewer to easily absorb.
Also, the main characters are
really great in their interaction with each other. Kevin Bacon
is superb as the obsessed Tom Witsky, who goes after the truth
to the exclusion of all else (even his family) with an
intensity that's frightening to watch. Kathryn Erbe is also
outstanding as the wife who doesn't understand what's
happening but who still tries to support her husband and keep
things as normal as possible. But the real show-stealer here
has got to be Zachary David Cope, who is absolutely adorable
as the innocent 7-year old Jake.
Overall, 'Stir of Echoes' is
intelligently done, well directed, has good camera moves
(where a series of tight closeups and distorted point-of-view
shots allows us to see into Tom's mind), full of suspense and
scary moments and credibly developed characters. A movie that
will stay in your mind long after watching it.
|
Chicago
telephone lineman Tom Witzkey is hypnotized at a party by his
sister-in-law and begins seeing the ghost of a neighborhood
girl murdered years before. He comes to the discover that he
is a Receiver- one who is able to see spirits. Now in
possession of knowledge he never wanted to know, Tom struggles
through his daily existence plagued by these newly-acquired
supernatural visions while attempting to retain his sanity.
