Stir of Echoes (1999)

After being hypnotized by his sister in law, a man begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.

Director:

David Koepp

Writers:

Richard Matheson (novel), David Koepp (screenplay)

Stars:

Zachary David Cope, Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zachary David Cope	...	Jake Witzky
Kevin Bacon	...	Tom Witzky
Kathryn Erbe	...	Maggie Witzky
Illeana Douglas	...	Lisa Weil
Kevin Dunn	...	Frank McCarthy
Conor O'Farrell	...	Harry Damon
Lusia Strus	...	Sheila McCarthy
Stephen Eugene Walker	...	Bobby
Mary Kay Cook	...	Vanessa Damon
Larry Neumann Jr.	...	Lenny
Jennifer Morrison	...	Samantha Kozac (as Jenny Morrison)
Richard Cotovsky	...	Neighborhood Man
Steve Rifkin	...	Kurt Damon
Chalon Williams	...	Adam McCarthy
Liza Weil	...	Debbie Kozac, the Babysitter

Storyline

Tom's a regular guy, a utilities lineman, married, with a young son, his wife is pregnant; he hangs out with long-time pals in a Chicago neighborhood. At a party, his sister-in-law hypnotizes him, and he goes into a deep trance. Before waking him, she suggests that he keep his mind open. That night he sees flashes of violence and the ghost of a young woman. His young son, too, is "a receiver," but while the boy is calm and coherent in his conversations with spirits, Tom is confused and agitated. Over time, the young woman's story comes to the surface, and Tom begins a hunt for her body that puts him and his usually understanding wife, Maggie, in grave danger.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | party | neighborhood | disappearance | hypnosis | 

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Taglines:

Some doors weren't meant to be opened.

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Genres:

Thriller | Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ecos mortales

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£221,500 (UK) (26 May 2000)

Gross:

£818,213 (UK) (16 June 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Maggie is sitting in the car in the rain was shot on a night when it actually was raining very heavily, but the rain did not look "real" on film. The crew had to set up an awning to cover the car from the rain, then rig up rain making equipment under the awning to achieve the look of "real" rain.

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Goofs

When Kevin Bacon's character is digging in the back yard and has to move the water hose, he turns the faucet in the on direction and then unhooks it. When he moves it to the other faucet, he turns the faucet in the off direction then tries to turn it on.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jake Witzky: [to someone] Okay. Guess who came over to play...
[singing]
Jake Witzky: Superheros. I was Black Power Ranger. He was Batman.
Tom Witzky: Jake, you okay in there buddy?
Jake Witzky: I'm okay.
[to whoever else]
Jake Witzky: Can I ask you a question?
Tom Witzky: Okay, time to hit the sack.
[coming into the bathroom]
[...]

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Connections

Features Night of the Living Dead (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Nothing But The Shell"
Performed by Steve Wynn
Written by Steve Wynn and Eric Ambel
Courtesy of Zero Hour Records

User Reviews

Great movie, released at the wrong time...

(A) The Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes must have been the two movies of '99 that I enjoyed the most. Both had good scripts and stories; they were interesting, mysterious, dark, weird -- those are my kinds of movies! They are also a proof that the mysteriousness of ghosts is something we will never tire of or not think to be intriguing.

Stir of Echoes was somewhat similar to Sixth Sense but it was also in many was DIFFERENT. First of all, it (SOE) is dealing with hypnosis and has a more 'criminal' as well as supernatural theme.

This movie is spectacular and the reason it was not recognized as such, is because it was released just a few weeks after The Sixth Sense - a movie which had already satisfied the audience with its supernatural theme. And because The Sixth Sense was such a hit, Stir of Echoes was shoved aside and didn't get the recognition it deserved. Don't get me wrong! I loved Sixth Sense, but this movie is also very good and if you liked The Sixth Sense, I highly recommend you see it!