STIR OF ECHOES is a film adaptation of the 1958 novel by Richard Matheson of the same title. The film made its entrance quietly in the theatres and left virtually unnoticed. The setting is the Windy City, or Chicago, where we learn in the first few minutes of the opening sequence that thte Witzky family, consisting of Tom,his wife Maggie, and their five-year-old son, Jake, are expecting a new addition to the family. Tom, a telephone line man by day and a wannabe musician by night, doesn't seem thrilled with the news of his wife's pregnancy. He's bored and feels trapped in his mundane life with no alternate paths or direction. One night after having one drink too many at a neighbour's party, he challenges his sister-in-law, Lisa, a student of hypnotherapy, to put him under. "What's the worse that could happen," he asks? He finds out later that he falls into a minority of cases which are highly susceptible to hypnotism, with frightening after-effects of migrane headaches combined with insatiable thirst and abrupt and distorted visions of a violent murder of an adolescent girl which apparently took place in his own home. He also discovers that Jake's imaginary friend, with whom his son has been communicating, is the spirit of this victim. Unlike Jake who is a full receiver and can see and commmunicate fully with spirits, Tom only sees partial images of the ghosts. Visions of the murder come in spurts, sometimes more clearly than at other times. From this moment on, Tom becomes obsessed with unravelling the entire truth behind the visions and trying to discover the identity of the female victim. But with few clues and no set agenda, he transforms into a madman, reminiscent of the late George C. Scott in the 1980 Genie award-winning Canadian thriller THE CHANGELING in his quest to get to the bottom of this spine-tingling murder mystery.

Compared to THE SIXTH SENSE, STIR OF ECHOES did not receive the same degree of attention from critics and theatre-goers, but it did get some nods of approval from select movie reviewers. One of its strengths lies in the portrayal of the characters. The Witzky unit is an average nuclear family placed in an unusual situation. Kevin Bacon puts in a fine performance as the ordinary dad gone crazy over time. Katherine Erbe is the helpless wife who witnesses his metamorphosis. And then there is Zachary David Cope, a precocious six year old who is a standout as young Jake. A genuinely creepy-looking kid with long blank stares, who didn't feel the chills when he turned to address the camera only to ask "Does it hurt to be dead?" Writer/director David Koepp, well known for his work in JURASSIC PARK, takes his time to create suspense filled with a sinister reality and then allows the audience to share the world through Tom's eyes. This is brilliantly construed during the hypnotism scene as we experience Tom's mindset unfold with a series of quick yet blurred images which could be mistaken as a symptom of astigmatism. Unfortunately, the suspense that builds up so well ends rather abruptly in the last fiftteen minutes of the film, and this is, perhaps, its weakest segment. Instead, there is too much time spent on some of the digging scenes as well as some unnecessary scenes of violence supplemented with considerable profanity. Unlike THE SIXTH SENSE, which is rated PG-13, STIR OF ECHOES is rated "R" which left out a number of interested but underaged moviegoers from attending.

Artisan Home Entertainment provides a full-packaged DVD, with the film presented in anamorphic widescreen, letterboxed at 1.85:1, even though the label incorrectly states 16x9 Fullscreen. Pictures are clear with no signs of artifacting. The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, complete with plenty of surround sound to treat viewers to those strange sounds coming from Tom's visions. Extras include an audio commentary by writer/director David Koepp on the technicals of the movie, a theatrical trailer and three TV spots, behind-the-scenes footage as well as a music video of the song "Breathe" by Canadian rock band "Moist." Cast and Crew information, production notes as well as interactive menus round out the list of goodies available only on DVD.