Plot: What’s it about?
The older I get, the more I think that timing plays a part in most everything. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit when I do something right (but mostly wrong), I won’t blame “timing.” Nevertheless, I mention this as I look back at the Summer of 1999 which can be summed up in four words “I see dead people.” Unfortunately for the filmmakers of Stir of Echoes, that quote isn’t attributed to this film. No, as we all know that one was from The Sixth Sense, a film very similar in nature and tone (and plot) to this one. It also had the benefit of coming out a month prior, a more “family-friendly” PG-13 rating and, well, an ending that’s still being talked about (and imitated). That film made its director, M. Night Shyamalan a household name and it’s a film he’s tried to replicate with critical and commercial acclaim ever since. Turning our focus back to the title in hand, this wasn’t exactly chopped liver. We’ve got Kevin Bacon in one of his better roles, a film directed by David Koepp and a genuinely intriguing premise. What went wrong?
Tom (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar married man who’s just begun renting a house in Chicago with his wife, Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and their son, Jake (Zachary David Cope). Tom and Maggie fail to realize, however, that Jake has an imaginary friend named Samantha (Jennifer Morrison), the “ghost” of a local teenage girl. When Maggie’s friend, Lisa (Illeana Douglas) hypnotizes Tom he also starts to see Maggie. Soon, Tom and Jake are sharing their secret psychic lives, leaving Maggie out of the loop. Tom has visions of the future which include the attempted suicide of a friend’s teenage son. The deeper he goes, he becomes more and more obsessed with Samantha. He digs (literally) to piece together the clues. What’s a guy to do?
I have to admit that the “I see ghosts” concept kind of fizzled, for me at least. But I’ll tell you why. For reasons unbeknownst to me, my wife and I used to watch the Jennifer Love Hewitt show Ghost Whisperer. In essence, that show is essentially like this or The Sixth Sense. She sees spirits, has to help them right some wrong and they go off into the light. There was even a movie a decade later which I liked – The Invisible, but it too is essentially the same plot. Don’t get me wrong, this film is good and Bacon delivers one of his better performances. And who’s to say that had this movie come out first, if it would have been the one that garnered all the attention. We’ll never know.
Video: How’s it look?
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the film, so to view it in 4K was something I was looking forward to. I will note that the aspect ratio has been reframed and it’s now accurate at 1.85:1 (the previous Blu-ray was 1.78:1). Everyone feel better now? No more sleepless nights, right? Ok, very good. Kidding aside, this is a major improvement over the previousy-released Blu-ray. Colors are a bit more spot on, detail has been improved and this film will give new meaning to the term “seeing red.” Flesh tones are warm and accurate as well. It’s a major improvement and one that fans will enjoy.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Another nice surprise was the new Dolby Atmos sound mix. While it’s not the most active, it does seem to utilize what it has and to great effect. There are some literal “stirring of echoes” that did have me craning my neck. I don’t know why, it’s not like by me identifying where the sound came from in a movie I chose to watch would actually do anything, but I digress…vocals are spot on. Bacon’s deep voice resonates as do some of the surround sounds. This is a prime example of “less is more.” But it works.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – Director David Koepp delivers a nice track that’s sure to please die-hard (sorry, couldn’t resist) fans of the film. He’s pretty articulate, gives plenty of examples and cites the film’s genesis. I enjoyed it.
- Visions of the Past: Making Stir of Echoes – New to this disc is a retrospective with interviews with the film’s director, David Koepp.
- Establishing Shot with Fred Murphy – Murphy, who served as the film’s D.P. gives us his .02 on the film, how it was shot and so forth.
- Flipping the Switch: Directing Stir of Echoes – A pretty lengthy discussion with the film’s director, David Koepp.
- Maggie’s Memories: Inside Stir of Echoes – A sit down with actress Kathryn Erbe, who played Maggie in the film.
- Opening the Door: Designing Stir of Echoes – A production design feature that explores the physical look and feel of the film.
- Sights of Spirits: Channeling the Paranormal – We get the lowdown from Dr. Larry Montz, a PhD Psychologist who explores the ins and outs of the film.
- Behind the Echoes – The film’s three stars: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas give us some insight into the film as well as their characters.
- The Mind’s Eye: Beneath the Trance – A look at hypnosis as used in the film.
- < b>Special Effects – Pretty self-explanatory.
- Production Design – This somewhat overlaps the aforementioned feature on production design, but too much is better than not enough, right?
- Interviews with Cast and Crew – Just that, we get some more insight from the film’s stars.
- Behind the Scenes – Essentially plays out like a glorified trailer with some “behind the scenes” material.
- Scene Comparisons – We get nearly 11 minutes’ worth of comparisons from the book to the film.
- Screen Tests – Just that, we get some raw footage of some screen tests.
- Deleted Scenes – Nearly five minutes’ worth of some footage that never made the final cut.
- Promotional Material
- Original Promo
- Original Short Promo
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Music Video – “Breahe” by Moist.
The Bottom Line
I circle back to timing. Like Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, Dante’s Peak and Volcano or Wyatt Earp and Tombstone – Stir of Echoes was released on the heels of one of the top films of the year. If you’re a fan of this film, Lionsgate has given it new life (pardon the pun) with updated audio and video as well as a wealth of supplements.
