Stir of Echoes

Review - Don't overlook this movie because it appears to be a smaller version of The Sixth Sense.  First of all The Sixth Sense is a pretty small movie and Stir of Echoes IS JUST AS GOOD; and The Sixth Sense didn't keep me up half the night, hearing noises, feeling drafts, and burying my face just enough so I couldn't see anything or anybody standing in my doorway.  Damn Spooky... I swear.

Kevin Bacon plays Tom Witzky, an average working man from Chicago. Works 40hours a week, recently rented a home in a good neighborhood, not allot of money but has a loving wife (played by Kathryn Erbe) and child (Zachary David Cope).  Kevin and his wife go to a local party and as the evening dies away Kevin is convinced to let his sister-in-law (Illeana Douglas) hypnotize him.  When he comes to, the shit hits the fan (I couldn't find a better way to say it).

Kevin quickly begins to have hallucinations that make little, if any sense and as you watch the movie you'll find yourself figuring them out at the same time Kevin does; that's cool.  Much like the acting in Blade Runner you get to watch the characters think.  I found a great connection with watching Kevin's wheels turn in synchronization with my own.

My complaints are minor.  David Keopp has adapted a winning script from source material written by Richard Matheson (the under known horror writer of "I Am Legend".  A film adapted to the screen as "The Omega Man".)  Keopp offers a story line or two that remain untended to with the films ending and considering the film runs only 94 minutes it woulda been nice to wrap up those ideas.  Nice, but not necessary.  In fact the best (or worst) things about my larger complaints are that they need to be there to protect the resolution.

-m-