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 him.

Director:

David Koepp

Writers:

Richard Matheson (novel), David Koepp (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Zachary David Cope, Kathryn Erbe

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

A man is hypnotized at a party by his sister-in law. He soon has visions and dreams of a ghost of a girl. Trying to avoid this, nearly pushes him to brink of insanity as the ghost wants something from him - to find out how she died. The only way he can get his life back is finding out the truth behind her death. The more he digs, the more he lets her in, the shocking truth behind her death puts his whole family in danger.

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Plot Keywords:

hypnosis | seeing a ghost | missing person | psychic power | haunted house | 

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Taglines:

in every mind there is a door that should never be opened.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The hypnosis sequence in which Tom (Kevin Bacon) is hypnotized for the first time follows actual hypnosis techniques used by professional hypnotists. In order to ensure that the audience hasn't been put to sleep (and some susceptible people have been), there's a musical accent at the close of the sequence to wake everyone up.

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Goofs

When Tom is digging, his hands are dirty. When he starts arguing with his wife and waving his hands around, they are clean.

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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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Alternate Versions

On the DVD director's commentary, David Koepp states that for the home video release, the two scenes where words appear blurred on a theatre screen were blurred even more with digital effects. He states that this is because on video, what the text said was obvious well before it should be known to the audience.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time/Sex and the City 2/MacGruber (2010)

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Soundtracks

Rio de Generic
Performed by The Mighty Tartans
Written by Danny Pelfrey and Mark Stephen Ross
Published by Amusicam Publishing (EMI) and Tonalvision Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Amusicom Records

User Reviews

Above average horror

The biggest problem with Stir of Echoes is the timing of the release. As we all know it was released at the same time as The Sixth Sense and the subject matter is coincidentaly very simular. This film not quite as good as the Bruce Willis classic because i dont think the twist is quite as dramatic. The thing that compares favourably to The Sixth Sense is that Stir Of Echoes is thoroughly entertaining from the first minute. Kevin Bacon Stars as a father who is hypnotised by his sister in law, which results in the opening of his mind to the spirit of a girl who was murdered in his house. His son already had the powers to speak to dead people and together they try to solve why the girl keeps contacting them. The young boy is brilliant in the roll as is Kevin Bacon and the whole film keeps you on the edge of the seat. The way this is filmed is stunning, especially when he is first hypnotised, i nearly went under myself! A Very entertaining movie. 8 out of 10.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Korean

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stir of Echoes

Filming Locations:

Oak Woods Cemetery - 1035 E 67th St, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,811,664, 12 September 1999

Gross USA:

$21,142,914

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,142,914

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1