The Echo (2008)

An ex-con moves into an old apartment building, where he encounters a domestic problem involving a police officer, his wife, and their daughter. When he tries to intervene, however, a mysterious curse entraps him.

Director:

Yam Laranas

Writers:

Eric Bernt (screenplay), Shintaro Shimosawa (screenplay)

Stars:

Jesse Bradford, Amelia Warner, Carlos Leon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Bradford	...	Bobby Reynolds
Amelia Warner	...	Alyssa
Carlos Leon	...	Hector Rodriguez
Iza Calzado	...	Gina
Kevin Durand	...	Walter
Louise Linton	...	Katie
Jamie Bloch	...	Carly
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Joseph
Aron Tager	...	Old Man
Hrant Alianak	...	Max
Jayne Eastwood	...	Lucille Jiminez
Arnold Pinnock	...	Officer Cole
Marvin Hinz	...	Detective
George Santino	...	Manager
Paulette Sinclair	...	Helen Davis

Storyline

An ex-con moves into an old apartment building, where he encounters a domestic problem involving a police officer, his wife, and their daughter. When he tries to intervene, however, a mysterious curse entraps him.

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Plot Keywords:

police officer | apartment | fired from the job | camera shot of feet | mannequin | 

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Taglines:

Do you hear it?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images and brief language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Iza Calzado (Gina) appeared in the original film Sigaw (2004).

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Connections

Remake of The Echo (2004)

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Soundtracks

Good Times
Performed by That Click Gang
Written by Gilberto A. Amarante and Jose Antonio Marine Cabrera
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

Comes Alive Only in the Second Half

Ever since I heard about it, I wanted to watch this American production of a Filipino horror film, with the same director (Yam Laranas) at the helm. However, when I heard it went straight to DVD instead of wide theatrical release, I knew I had to temper my expectations.

The first half of this movie moves at a literal snail's pace. There was nothing much to establish, yet it certainly took its time. Bobby Reynolds (Jesse Bradford) earns parole from his prison term and went to live in his mother's apartment, which had been abandoned since her recent death. However, he sees strange things and hears strange sounds while he is there. This entire scenario with the Mom was not in the Philippine version at all, yet so much time was spent on this side story here.

However, in the second half, the movie finally comes alive when the story about the family who lived next door to Bobby finally gets dealt with in more of its gruesome detail. These scary scenes were shot very well, with the right amount of nervous tension. Still we see the victims do what most "horror movie victims" stupidly do to deserve their fates. The ending would seem to be quite simplistic given the extensive build-up to that point. This is especially true for us who had already seen the original before.

Jesse Bradford did well to convey how a macho ex-con could be the central character of a horror film, which is not typical. He did much better than the original actor. I felt it was too bad that Iza Calzado, who was given the chance to reenact her original role in this American version, was given little opportunity to fully delve into her disturbed character of the abused wife. Some time could have been spent to describe her situation more, than the excessive time given Jesse to explore his apartment. Knowing her character more could have increased the audience's satisfaction with the story's final outcome.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 2009 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

The Echo

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,508,127

Company Credits

Production Co:

RightOff Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment, QED International

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1