Rating: Summary: first scarey movie ive seen in a LONG time Review: First of all, I'd like to say that this movie reminded me a little of the Poltergiest trilogy. The effects were phenominal, and the acting was great. It's got comedy and action, plus a whole knot of plot twists to it. Personally, I hardly ever get scared watching a movie, but I thought he was exceptionally freaky. Most movies made these days are pretty predictable, but this one will definitely keep you spinning through until the end.
Rating: Summary: Thriller of the Year! Review: I don't understand why this movie was not the top box office draw as it should have been. It is definitely one of the best thrillers I have ever seen. Even Hitchcock would be impressed!!!
Rating: Summary: Ecellent,total package Review: I have not reviewed any american films on amazon yet but if I should start with one it should be the one that deserves one,to be frank I haven't found a good psycho thriller in a long time.This movie,in my opinion out does the other suspense thrillers around right now by leaps and bounds meaning Sixth Sense (boo) and Sleepy Hollow,they just weren't freaky at all.This movie was excellent though,it really emphasises on visual style which is hard to capitalize on when you're using city landscape scenery rather than constructed sets like in Sleepy Hollow,but I think the effect was equal if not better than Sleepy Hollow(excellent cinematography).Next the story was also very well put together,in the beggining I thought it was going to be a rip off of Sixth Sense with the kid speaking to the walls ,but it doesn't take that route at all,it was a totally origional concept of a movie that is put together in such a way that it totally kept my attention until the end and has an outstanding performance by Kevin Bacon.The sound track was yet another strong point in this movie with some of the tracks seeming like they were pulled right out of Resident Evil and helped a lot to keep the tension built.For anyone into these sort of movies a definite must buy,but even if you're not I think everyone should at least rent it and see it once.Forget Sixth Sense,forget Sleepy Hollow,grab this one instead-a psycodic master piece that almost had me going a little crazy from the wonderful array of colors the director slips in through out the movie to get some what of a hypnosis effect.Very origional,very artistic ,very good-watch it
Rating: Summary: STIR OF ECHOES Is Better Than THE SIXTH SENSE! Review: Don't listen to people who say "Stir of Echoes" and "The Sixth Sense" are basically about the same thing...because "Stir of Echoes" is better than "The Sixth Sense."Kevin Bacon plays a man with a wife and son, and one night at a party, his sister-in-law hypnotizes him just for a gimmick. When he wakes up, he begins having visions of a ghostly young girl who pulls him into solving a mystery that involves a murder and conspiracy cover-up in his own neighborhood. This film has more suspense, more scares, and a better surprise ending than "The Sixth Sense."
Rating: Summary: Good movie, bad DVD Review: I won't disagree with the other folks who already gave the movie a 5-star rating. Yes, the *movie* is great, but... it is the worst *DVD* -- looking only the technical aspect -- I bought until today. Before somebody thinks to flame me, let me explain my one-star rating: - this movie doesn't have any subtitles (English, French, Spanish, whatever); - this movies doesn't have any alternative languages; - the Closed Captions encoded on this DVD are defective, producing nothing but garbage on the bottom of the screen, incomplete sentences, randomic lower case letters instead of spaces, and so on. Another glitch is that the DVD is actually widescreen, but on the jacket is written "fullscreen" twice. Seems that Artisan doesn't know the difference. Not being an US citizen, it is helpful to have subtitles to follow when the characters are only whispering or speaking without good pronunciation. Even understanding most of the movies without the need of subtitles, sometimes certain words are spoken too low or fast to be understood, and subtitles can be very handy. Unfortunately, as I said above, this DVD is without any subtitles, and the CC is worthless. And yes, my equipment is working very well, this is the only DVD with this malfunction. Other non-US customers, be warned!
Rating: Summary: Kevin does it again Review: Once again, Kevin Bacon comes out with something new and basically more names to add the game "Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon". "Illeana Douglas...?" "She was in "Stir Of Echoes" with KEVIN BACON!" This movie is much more than that to be honest with you. I want to start by saying that it is not "The Sixth Sense". Yes many of the ideas of young kids seeing dead people are there, but this movie is a lot more eerie than dramatic. The film begins with Kevin's son talking to someone. "Oh God. He talks to dead people." Well, it's only one really. Both the father and son share a connection about being able to experience things that aren't real. They can see the future and the past. The gift doesn't come to Kevin until his sister-in-law, played the previously mentioned Douglas, hypnotizes him. This is what wakes the power in him to see a person in his house that is dead. He doesn't clearly know the reason she died, or why she is in his house and talking to his son. The visions of the past (and future) are mangled to him and his son is too innocent to solve the case. He goes through a bad head-trip and figures that the reason he is seeing these things happen is because it is his destiny. On a binge of orange juice (for some reason he has to keep drinking when these things happen. It was never explained that well) it's Kevin to the rescue. I'm not a big fan of all of his films but Bacon does some great work every now and them. This is certainly one his best works as a working class Boston man that must struggle between the ghostly voices in his head and everyday life with a now pregnant wife. This is a truly remarkable thriller and should be seen at least once.
Rating: Summary: One of the best of its genre since »The Shining« Review: It really takes a lot for me to judge a movie as chilly or scary - but this one is, in fact. Maybe because the special effects used when we enter the mind of Kevin Bacon's character are not exagerrated but effective. The story is pretty straight forward, no real surprises, and this is why the chill really works. The fear and the reactions from both the new medium (Bacon's character), from his son, from his wife, and from his surroundings are well-described through very very good acting! Bravo. There are two reasons, however, why I do not grant »Stir Of Echoes« five stars: First of all, there are several beginnings (or hints) which are not followed up! Breaking of one of the most important rules in Movie Making, not least when it comes to scary movies! Too bad! Secondly, it is sickening'n'tiring that we A-L-WAYS have to be bothered with this standardized American movie endning: some guy taken for dead comes up and saves the day with a gun, shooting all the bad guys just like that, and in the very last second. Ew!
Rating: Summary: An excellent supernatural thriller Review: 'Stir of Echoes' is one of the better supernatural thrillers I have seen in some time. It is a frightening and gripping story, well presented and well crafted. Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) and his wife Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) live a normal middle class life with their son Jake (Zachary David Cope) in a Chicago suburb. Normal, that is, except for the fact that young Jake is communing with the dead. One evening Tom dares his sister-in-law to hypnotize him to prove it is a bunch of baloney. The result is that Tom begins to get visions of a young girl named Samantha; the same girl Jake has been talking with. When Tom gets a message to find her, he begins an all consuming and obsessive quest. What he finds turns out to be an evil and sinister revelation that puts him and his whole family in grave danger. The story is very effective, presented more as a psychological horror film rather than the grisly gore so prevalent in the genre. Numerous comparisons have been made between this film and 'The Shining' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', somehow implying that because this film used some of the effective devices from those films, it is without value. I couldn't disagree more. There is a difference between ripping off a story and adapting effective devices used in other films. This film did the later par extraordinaire. This story used a novel approach to a well plowed genre. It combined the supernatural element with a mystery to produce a powerful hybrid. Forget the comparison with 'Sixth Sense'. The only thing these films had in common was dead people. Writer/Director David Koepp did a terrific job in both capacities. The story was plausible, frightening and drew the viewer in. There were some dangling dead end plot lines (Maggie's pregnancy disappeared as a plot element after the announcement; and what was Neil about?) that just wasted our time. But mostly, everything fit together well. The direction was fabulous. It was designed to scare the hell out of you and that it did. Koepp created incredible suspense without the use of expensive special effects, simply by using the camera and sound effectively. The five speaker surround on the DVD was particularly good and added impact and eeriness to each scene. Kevin Bacon was at the top of his game in this film. His obsession with finding Samantha was played with intensity and single mindedness. Kathryn Erbe was also good as Maggie, bringing both strength and passion to the part. I rated this film a 9/10. This is an excellent thriller. Don't miss it.
Rating: Summary: Spare some time for this one. Review: here's another "sixth sense - stir of echoes" comparison, but hey it has to be done so people cand understand better what i'm trying to say. it's just a shame this movie didn't come out before the6sense did. it wouldn't have affected 6's grossing, but this movie would have had better critics, more grossing, and more respect and appreciation. i think it's creepy, and a very good nicely done movie. forget about Sixth Sense or the highly overated Stigmata, just relax, watch and enjoy this great movie. you won't regret it.
Rating: Summary: Very Very Good. Review: This is a film that definetely is worth seeing and if you like to own a lot of DVDs, then by all means, this one won't stink up your collection. If I was to descibe the plot of this movie, I'd probably have to take up a whole page and I'm not going to do that. Let me just say this, if you are a fan of supernatural thrillers, Kevin Bacon or Illeana Douglas, you should have already seen this film by now. The one out of place thing is this, the film takes place in Chicago, yet Kevin Bacon has a Boston accent. I know, I'm a major nitpicker. Great film, full recomendation on viewing and owning.
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