Stir of Echoes Blu-ray offers decent video and solid audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar worker, a family man, the most ordinary guy in the world...who is about to be plunged into a shattering encounter with another world. And it doesn't matter that Tom doesn't believe in the supernatural. Because something supernatural has started to believe in Tom. After he is hypnotized at a neighborhood party, Tom changes. He sees things he can't explain and hears voices he can't ignore. As the horrific visions intensfy, 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. When at last he unearths the truth, it will draw him into the long-buried secret of a ghastly crime, a vengeful spirit...and the lethal price of laying that spirit to rest.
For more about Stir of Echoes and the Stir of Echoes Blu-ray release, see the Stir of Echoes Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on December 5, 2007 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5.
Do you believe in the paranormal? Visions? The power of hypnosis? This is a film that examines
these unearthly phenomenon and how the spirit world can communicate with ours. What if
certain people in the
world
are "receivers," people who have a sixth-sense that allows them to communicate with the dead?
If this
sounds all too familiar, it should. M. Night Shyamalan's hit The Sixth Sense, which
debuted a month before Stir of Echoes, is an eerily similar movie. There are some major
plot differences and devices, obviously, but the foundation for both stories revolve around a
young boy who
can communicate with the dead. In the case of The Sixth Sense, the movie is more of a
drama with minor horror elements
leading to a major reveal, the ending that made Shyamalan famous, while Stir of Echoes
is a slightly more traditional thriller that becomes a "whodunit?," employing the paranormal to
help solve the crime rather than more conventional detective work.
The movie theater of the future featuring floating recliners.
Kevin Bacon (Flatliners) stars as Tom Witzky, a middle class man living in Chicago with
his wife Maggy (Kathryn Erbe, Oz) and his young son Jake (Zachary David Cope in
his
only credited film appearance). As the film opens, Jake is taking a bath, seemingly talking to the
camera, asking "does it hurt to be dead?" With his father sitting in the background, we discover
something is amiss as Jake
continues to talk as if to a third character who is not there. Later on, at a party, Tom is
convinced
by his sister-in-law Lisa (Illeana Douglas, Ghost World) to undergo hypnosis. When he is
brought back into reality, he realizes he has seen horrific images and is frightened and confused
by them. As the days go by, Tom continues to see disturbing images including his teeth falling
out, blood being splattered, and that of a teenage girl in his home. When he and his wife leave
their son with a babysitter of the son's recommendation, Tom begins seeing red, literally. He
realizes something is horribly wrong and returns home to find both his son and the babysitter
missing. He eventually tracks them down and discovers that the girl that he has been having
visions
of is the babysitter's sister, Samantha (Jennifer Morrison, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), who has been missing for six months. Tom and his
wife find Jake and the babysitter, and Tom finally begins to piece together the mystery of his odd
and horrific visions.
Stir of Echoes is a smart, agreeable thriller. It's not too crazy or bizarre. It offers up
some of the usual tricks employed by movies of this type like the split-second flashes of
something scary with a loud musical cue, but we are never bombarded by such images. The
movie instead relies more on the story line, generally good acting and writing, a halfway
believable plot
(insofar as a movie like this can be believable) and solid direction from David Koepp (Secret Window) for
the majority of its scares. It's
a well-made picture that is never boring or slow. I've never been a huge fan of Kevin Bacon, but
he turns in one of his better performances here. Stir of Echoes is mostly a poor man's
version of The Sixth Sense but it's one of the better "poor man's" movies out there.
Lionsgate's 1080p, 1.85:1 transfer of Stir of Echoes to Blu-ray is relatively solid. This is a
dull, lifeless image devoid of bright colors. However, detail is high and it looks very natural
and film-like. I never noted any problems with the black level, either. Flesh tones look realistic,
with maybe just a hint of being too red here and there. The
print was mostly free of blemishes. I did notice a pop here and there, especially in the final
moments of the film, but they were hardly distracting.
This is still a relatively new film (about eight years old) and it looks mighty good, all things
considered. This is one of Lionsgate's early releases, and the studio has been churning out good
looking discs (for the most part) that are getting better and better with each release.
Lionsgate presents Stir of Echoes with a 1.5Mbps DTS track alongside a lesser bitrate Dolby
Digital 5.1 EX track. Dialogue sounds fine, if a tad muted. Ambience is amazing when employed.
The soundtrack really elevates the quality of this movie a degree or two. It's downright spooky at
times, used to great effect only when called for, and appropriately scary.
Surrounds, too, are active,
bass is hard hitting and will at times rattle the foundation. It's deep, tight, and heavy, and it's
sounds (and feels!) great. There is good separation across the front soundstage. Sounds are well
placed in
the front right and left channels. When a character is seen digging and the camera pans to the left,
we hear the continued sounds of his digging right where it should be in relation to what's now
on-screen. This is a very, very impressive sound mix. Like the movie, it's effective without being
rambunctious. This is a good, solid effort by Lionsgate once again.
Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of supplements available. Lionsgate has eschewed several
extras
from the latest DVD rendition of the film, but they did include an impressive commentary track
with
writer/director David Koepp. He discusses the inspiration for the film (the novel by David
Matheson,
author of I Am Legend) as well as casting and accents, the joys of filmmaking (except
when
the Green Bay Packers are losing!), filming in Chicago, sticking a pin through an actor's hand for
$100,
and pointing out some mistakes in the
movie. This is a good track that doesn't stray from the main topic of discussing the film and
there is
no significant spaces of dead air. It is a very nice companion piece to the
movie.
Sights of Spirits: Channeling the Paranormal (480p, 10:36) features Dr. Larry Montz,
Ph.D., who is a para-psychologist. Para-psychology is the study of different types of phenomena,
and Dr.
Montz focuses on ghosts and people with psychic abilities. He discusses what his work entails,
some
of his cases, and his theories on the paranormal. It's pretty interesting. Also included are several
deleted scenes (480p, 4:53), and the usual 1080p Lionsgate montage of now-available discs
(except for Dune).
Hollywood is becoming notorious for releasing similarly-themed movies in close proximity to one
another. Volcano and Dante's Peak, Armageddon and Deep
Impact, The Cave and The Descent, and The Sixth Sense and Stir
of Echoes, to name a few. In each category there is one film generally accepted to be superior
to the other, and Stir of Echoes is definitely the lesser of its grouping. Still, it's a solid film
that is better than most of its horror/suspense brethren providing a tight, compact, 90 minute story
that never has a lag. We get fine direction, good acting, and excellent use of ambience and sound.
This Blu-ray disc features strong audio and visual quality but, unfortunately, not all of the
supplements offered on previous DVD editions are provided here. However, I'm recommending
Stir of Echoes anyway provided that you don't already own the special edition DVD.
