Stir of Echoes

Name: Stir of Echoes
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: December 10, 1999
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 67
Cast: Kevin Bacon

1999

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 180 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 180 Ratings

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Stir Of Echoes

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Movie Details & Credits

Artisan Entertainment | Release Date: December 10, 1999 | R

Starring: Kevin Bacon

Summary: After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law (Douglas) at a party, Chicago telephone lineman Tom Witzkey (Bacon) begins to see haunting visions of a murdered girl's ghost and struggles with his sanity when he realizes that he now has the power to see spirits.

Director: David Koepp

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Bob Graham

Stir of Echoes is much more down and dirty (than "The Sixth Sense"), and the thrills are more visceral. Read full review

Dallas Observer M. V. Moorhead

The scares early on are potent and get Stir of Echoes off to a chilly horror-movie start. Read full review

Shawn Levy

"Sixth" achieves a rare hushed poetry where Stir, for all its strengths, is more earthbound and familiar. Read full review

Ella Taylor

The ghost story is not half as satisfying as the lovely indie mood piece tucked inside it about a community tending to itself in the wake of a recent wound. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Marvelous not in its evocation of horror but in the way it slowly chips away at the mundanities of day-to-day urban living. Read full review

Phoebe Flowers

A scream-out-loud movie, upsetting and deliriously effective. Problem is, Koepp relies almost entirely on the isolated shocking images, ignoring the human element at the center.

TNT RoughCut Christopher Brandon

All that suspense falls dead at its climax, which proves to be a bore. The absence of a surprise ending and the lackluster spooks make this one worth skipping. I'm going back to see "The Sixth Sense."

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User Reviews

Propensity862

May 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Stir of Echoes is an intense atmospheric thriller with Kevin Bacon's best performance. He plays Tom Witzky, a regular guy with a wife and one underage son. He works as a lineman in Chicago, he is a day to day toiler earning his wages and supporting his family. One night at a social with his wife, her sister and his closest friend the unthinkable happens. He goes from being an ordinary man to having extraordinary visions he can't explain or comprehend. His wife's sister Lisa discusses hypnosis at the social. She describes how a person under hypnosis can't feel anything or realize what is going on because they're in another state of mind. Apparently she knows how to hypnotize someone, so Tom's best friend suggests to her that she hypnotize someone there. Tom suggests himself to her and she denies his request at first. He convinces her and then the audience sees what Tom sees as she guides him through the trance. He sees something during the trance but he doesn't know what it is. She opens a portal in his mind, and then his mind starts receiving supernatural visions. A girl is missing and she wants him to assist her in finding her body. Then she can be freed from being a ghost and rest in peace. She wants him to expose and punish the ones culpable for her demise. A man who is into some kind of witchcraft or supernatural activities tells his wife that she'll never leave him alone until he helps her with her predicament. The movie is ultra spooky and unpredictable. The mystery is tough to unravel and I'm sure most people didn't put the pieces together until the movie clarified what happened to the girl and who the culprits are. Stir of Echoes is one of my favourite horror thrillers by far. It was very underrated in 1999 and it deserved and deserves the kind of attention that The Sixth Sense garnered that year from audiences. It is a one of a kind movie that is a magnificent cinematic experience. The other movie that deals with hypnosis is Danny Boyle's Trance. However Trance isn't dark like Stir of Echoes is because it is an action thriller and not a horror thriller, Trance is great as well. These movies have similarities by sharing hypnosis plots but that is all they have in common.… Expand

33 of 33 users found this helpful330

Exemplify78

May 18, 2021

⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

Excommunicado

Jan 19, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In the scene where Tom gets angry after digging in the backyard, and kicks the bucket towards the wall, it was not supposed to hit and break the window. This was a "happy accident", and it was used in the film, as Kevin Bacon stayed in character, and continued the scene.… Expand

8 of 9 users found this helpful81

Aerialist277

Jun 19, 2021

♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤¿♤
:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Catenary44

Jun 7, 2021

$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.$.
》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■》■

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Tss5078

Jun 23, 2016

In recent years, supernatural horror has become about gore and jump scares, these movies aren't scary anymore! Paranormal Activity, The Grudge, The Ring, are you kidding me?! Those movies were terrible! They don't make movies like Stir of Echoes anymore, this is a supernatural thriller, thatIn recent years, supernatural horror has become about gore and jump scares, these movies aren't scary anymore! Paranormal Activity, The Grudge, The Ring, are you kidding me?! Those movies were terrible! They don't make movies like Stir of Echoes anymore, this is a supernatural thriller, that was truly unsettling and creepy, the kind of film that defines what supernatural horror should be. Tom & Maggie are celebrating moving into a new house, and as the party is winding down, Maggie's sister claims to know something about the supernatural. Tom (Kevin Bacon) is a complete skeptic, so she offers to hypnotize him and see what happens. Reluctantly Tom agrees and after seeing some strange flashes, Tom wakes up unsettled but still a non-believer. Over the next few weeks, Tom continues to see strange images of a girl asking for his help and believes his sister in-law messed with his mind somehow. Once convinced that she had nothing to do with it, Tom decides to investigate and try to find out, who this girl is and why she's asking for help. This movie is truly scary because depending on what you believe in, this could be 100% real. Kevin Bacon is one of those actors who when he is in the right role is better than anyone, and this role is perfect for him. Bacon had me on the edge of my seat and it seemed as thou this movie just flew by. I wanted to know who this girl was and what happened to her just as much as he did. As for the paranormal stuff, it wasn't bloody, gory, and out of nowhere but it was just as creepy. This is the kind of film that left you jittery and uneasy for hours afterwards, the definitive horror movie. Bad reviews had me skeptical, but I am a skeptic no longer, Stir of Echoes will most definitely be included in my next Halloween movie marathon!… Expand

1 of 9 users found this helpful18

Compi24

Aug 25, 2015

As cheesy as it may be, "Stir Of Echoes" still manages to conjure up a general sense of suspense, as well as a committed performance from Kevin Bacon.

0 of 20 users found this helpful020

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73	#73 Best Movie of 1999
44	#44 Most Discussed Movie of 1999
51	#51 Most Shared Movie of 1999