The blight of genre films is that more often than not, they find their audience long after they’ve been released. If you’re a filmmaker and lucky, you’ll live to see the day your work gets the appreciation and recognition it deserves. Others are not as lucky, with the likes of Lucio Fulci coming to mind as someone who died before their films caught fire with collectors across the globe. Still, we live in an era where great companies are going to amazing lengths to preserve works of all kinds and quality which gives us genre fans the opportunity to see it for the first time, or just with some very fresh eyes. This brings us to “Stir of Echoes” which has just received a lux 4K UHD Steelbook treatment from Lionsgate as we celebrate 25 years since the film’s original release. Is this supernatural shocker worth a second chance, or is it better left buried?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

After Tom is hypnotized at a neighborhood party, he sees things he can't explain and hears voices he can't ignore. As the horrific visions intensify, Tom realizes they are pieces of a puzzle, echoes of a crime calling out to be solved. But when his other-worldly nightmares begin coming true, Tom wants out. He desperately tries to rid himself of his eerie, unwanted powers - only to be seized by an irresistible compulsion to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery that is consuming his life.

HOW IS IT?

The best possible outcome for re-watching a movie you’ve only seen once a long time ago is that you enjoy it more than you did the first time. Such is the case with “Stir of Echoes,” a supernatural thriller that is efficient, effective, and eerie all at once. And yet, it has been somewhat forgotten since its heyday on DVD at the start of the 00s despite it being so prominent and often found in many home video collections. The good news is that “Stir of Echoes” holds up a lot better than films from the end of the 90s, and despite a predictable ending the journey is lots of fun and wears a lot of inspirations on its sleeves.

As mentioned on our colleagues' podcast, Blood, Guts, and Paper cuts Podcast, with Author Nicole Wolverton (listen here!) “Stir of Echoes” is a pretty derivative film that draws heavy inspiration from previous genre heavyweights like “The Shining” and “The Changeling” while adding enough variance to blaze its own trail. The synopsis above does a good enough job of hitting the narrative highlights, but what it doesn’t elaborate on is how quickly the story moves. No time is wasted dumping the viewer into the lives of this working-class Chicago family who also happens to be able to see ghosts, some of them at least. What unravels is a tense and fast-paced spiral into lunacy as Kevin Bacon begins demolishing their rental home with the help of their son Jake much to the chagrin of Maggie (Kathryn Erbe), the matriarch. The exclusion of the wife/mother as not being able to see what the men (father and son) see, alongside a Scatman Crothers stand-in that is way too similar to be coincidental is heavily winking at the audience to catch their drift, but it never feels disingenuous as much as it is just a charming homage. The same inspirations come into play with the story, which sees Bacon doing a little bit of Jack Torrance mixed with John Russell as his visions cause him to help a ghost seek justice from beyond the grave. In the year 2024, this premise has been done ad nauseam, but in 1999 this was wide-open spaces (mostly).

A lot of the credit goes to Director and Screenwriter David Koepp who knows what makes a good ghost story work is likable characters that propel the action, not just the horror. The horror bits here work, too. The hypnosis scene at the start and some of the latter paradigm shifts look great and are all done in-camera at a time when CGI was starting to take over the industry. Koepp keeps the story and the script simple, and the performances bring everything together perfectly. Most will see part of the “twist” coming, and there are still some good tricks up the film’s sleeve even if you’re sure you know where things are headed. Bacon’s hard-Chicago accent is a tad comedic at times, but it works and his performance as Tom is ace so who are we to smirk? Finally, what can’t be understated or appreciated is how hard the third act of “Stir of Echoes” goes. These days, third acts feel so risky because of the desire to hold tension through slow-burn pacing leaving expectations high for the climax. “Stir of Echoes” not only delivers the goods in the third act, but it also has a few curveballs that grip you tight until the end. There is a chilling scene with Jake before Maggie leaves to go see Tom at their house referencing “feathers,” and that payoff is fiendishly fun. “Stir of Echoes” deserves another chance, and this is the perfect opportunity to revisit one of the best supernatural thrillers of the last 30 years.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

“Stir of Echoes” is finally getting a 4K UHD release to replace the ancient Blu-Ray that was released eons ago. The thing to note about “Stir of Echoes” is that it was shot on 35mm and the lighting is quite dark. The 4K transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 helps a ton in improving visibility on what has notoriously been a rather dark and grainy print. There is still some grain, and the opening 5 minutes will require some adjustment since it isn’t as crisp as digital, but it looks damn good. Images from this release are used throughout this review.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Another addition to this release is a Dolby Atmos track that sounds stellar on home theaters. There are quite a few scenes with heavy rain as well as lots of background and diegetic sound, so the rear and side speakers get a good workout without ever being overdone. The dialogue is balanced and easily audible, and there are English and Spanish subtitles included.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

The previous Blu-Ray release of “Stir of Echoes” came out in 2006, when the format was still competing with DVD and HD-DVD. A lot of time has passed since then, and Lionsgate has done “Stir of Echoes” justice on its 25th anniversary by collecting all the previously released material and commissioning two new features for this release. The one that we gravitated towards immediately was Visions of the Past: Re-visiting Stir of Echoes a 17-minute interview with Writer / Director David Koepp as he reflects on the film 25 years later. Koepp touches on the Matheson story and how he went about updating some of the context to harmonize with the late 90s and spends a lot of time talking about lessons learned. Things planning well and storyboarding every single shot in the film in pre-production, or rejecting ego and accepting a good idea no matter who it comes from, and above all things will go wrong. Koepp also spoke about the blossoming CGI industry that at the time was becoming more commonplace, and his decision to do everything in-camera and practically as much as possible. Like so many genre films, “Stir of Echoes” found its audience on home video and not entirely at the box office, and yet, Koepp reflects on this positively. It’s a wonderful interview that makes a good companion to some of the archival features included to see how people’s views may have changed over time. A full list of special features is listed below.

Special Features

Audio Commentary with Director David Koepp
Visions of the Past: Re-visiting Stir of Echoes (2024 NEW featurette)
Establishing Shot with Fred Murphy (2024 NEW featurette)
Flipping the Switch: Directing Stir of Echoes
Maggie's Memories: Inside Stir of Echoes
Opening the Door: Designing Stir of Echoes
Making of Stir of Echoes
Sight of Spirits: Channeling the Paranormal
Behind the Echoes
The Mind's Eye: Beneath the Trance
Special Effects
Production Design
Interviews with Cast and Crew
Behind the Scenes
Scene Comparisons
Screen Tests
Deleted Scenes
Promotional Materials
Breathe Original Music Video
Theatrical Trailer

LAST RITES

“Stir of Echoes” deserves a revisit, and this is the best the film has ever and likely will ever look. The new Atmos sound option is a wonderful compliment to this 4K UHD release, and we highly recommend you add this to your collection!

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends over at FonsPR and Lionsgate for providing a review copy for the crypt, and Stir of Echoes is available NOW!

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Nov 4, 2020

Matthew Orozco