Stir of Echoes (1999)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 103
Fresh: 69 | Rotten: 34
Kevin Bacon's acting is so genuine that it's creepy and director David Keopp knows how to create true suspense.
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 28
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 9
Kevin Bacon's acting is so genuine that it's creepy and director David Keopp knows how to create true suspense.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 63,678
My Rating
Movie Info
In this supernatural thriller, Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a fairly typical working-class guy living in Chicago with his wife Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and his son Jake (Zachary David Cope). One night at a party, Tom gets into a lively discussion with his sister-in-law, Lisa (Illeana Douglas), who believes in psychic communication and the power of hypnosis. He challenges Lisa to hypnotize him, and she plants in him a post-hypnotic suggestion to be more open-minded. But the results aren't quite what
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Kevin Bacon
Tom Witzky -
Kathryn Erbe
Maggie Witzky -
Illeana Douglas
Lisa -
Liza Weil
Debbie Kozac -
Kevin Dunn
Frank McCarthy -
Conor O'Farrell
Harry Damon -
Jenny Morrison
Samantha -
Zachary David Cope
Jake Witzky -
Lisa Lewis
Debbie's Mother -
Eddie Bo Smith Jr.
Neil The Cop -
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (105) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (35) | DVD (24)
[A] serious, atmospheric, character-driven supernatural drama.
The skillful shock cuts will make you jump out of your skin, but it's the digital visualisation of the ghostly Samantha which really makes the flesh crawl.
Top CriticIt has enough smarts to scare us, Sixth Sense or not.
The first two-thirds of the movie is engagingly spooky, more so than The Sixth Sense.
Stir of Echoes gives a classic ghost story extra zip by insisting on the reality of the characters and their place.
Stir of Echoes might have worked just fine a few decades ago, but it now seems too simply schematic to spook us as much as it wants to.
...a stylish, sporadically gripping thriller that boasts a number of undeniably tense sequences and interludes...
Stir Of Echoes is a scary, intelligent ghost story and thriller.
I did receive a few chills and some kicks from it.
It's nice to see he relied on more than heavy-handed filmmaking and a twist ending. I just hope audiences go for a supernatural thriller that's a little messier and doesn't feel the need to claw at their heart for two hours.
The cast is uniformly good, with Bacon giving the strongest performance as blue-collar Tom.
Bacon's performance is what makes it more than just another dead-person-walking-the-earth story. Bacon is truly a man possessed.
Ultimately, it is Bacon's blue-collar conflict that resonates.
A psychological thriller about the dark side of having highly developed psychic abilities.
If only the movie had stuck to its ghost-story groundwork....
Disturbing imagery, great timing, and strong acting by the leads.
A startling film that is exacting and personal and resonant.
Audience Reviews for Stir of Echoes
Not long after this supposed bit of fun, Tom begins to feel the presence of evil, and see the spirit of a deceased girl who had disappeared earlier. This latter part sees him become determined to discover the truth about the girl, hopefully bringing her closure and allowing him to return to life the way he was used to.
This is based on work by Richard Matheson,and, though I'm not familiar with the source material, I really dug this when looking at it on its own terms. There's a nice, spooky atmosphere, a good sense of dread and mystery, and some decent performances. Kevin Bacon is good in the lead, Kathryn Erbe is okay as his wife (and I will admit that I didn't mind her brief nude scene), and I liked Illeana Douglas as the woman who gets it all started.
Give this one a look. It's a well made, moody, and entertaining thrill ride.
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Stir of Echoes yet.
Latest News on Stir of Echoes
December 12, 2007:
Total Recall: I Am Legend and the Work of Richard MathesonThis week, Will Smith plays a guy who discovers he's the last man on earth in I Am Legend. So it's a...
May 17, 2006:
Get Ready for Another "Stir of Echoes"David Koepp's "Stir of Echoes" is one of the more underrated chillers of the past several...
March 7, 2006:
Spielberg Puts Koepp to Work on "Indy 4"During his Oscar coverage, Fox's Roger Friedman got to share a few words with director Steven...
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 13
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 6
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 8
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 17
Top Headlines
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
-
10 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Hangover Movies
1
-
Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer Talk Man of Steel
0
-
New Transporter Trilogy in the Works
0
-
Richard Linklater Plans "Spiritual Sequel" to Dazed and Confused
0
-
King of Kong Filmmaker Seeks Funding for Lost Limb Documentary
0
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
6
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
In my opinion this film should have gained more audience than it actually did. It is a well made ghost story that has some really creepy and horrifying moments in it. There is especially one classic moment of horror which is staged so well that it truly will scare audiences socks off.
At it's core this is nothing more than a very well made entertainment but director Koepp is also known for his talents as a writer and he certainly knows how to raise tension. As a director he also trusts more of his characters than any special effects or gimmicks. This is as much a story about family in middle of crisis and something unknown as it is mystery or ghosts.
Kevin Bacon is reliable and good enough as a ordinary man Tom Witzky whose life takes full turn into something terrifying after he is hypnotized. Kathryn Erbe is still films best actor and makes her wife Maggie as an vulnerable and strong character.
Koepp adds nice surreal moments into his film and some of the set pieces are quite clever. Especially the way he plays with his characters psyche is very interesting. Viewer also is not entirely sure when they are seeing hallucination, dream or something that actually exists. That element give this film a nice eerie atmosphere.
Underneath all the horror elements this film is actually more of an murder mystery but works well both ways. If you are looking for a horror-thriller with brains then Stir of Echoes is a perfect choice for you.