Stir of Echoes (1999)

In this supernatural thriller, Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a fairly typical working-class guy living in Chicago with his wife Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and his son Jake (Zachary David Cope). One night at a party, Tom gets into a lively discussion with his sister-in-law, Lisa (Illeana Douglas), who believes in psychic communication and the power of hypnosis. He challenges Lisa to hypnotize him, and she plants in him a post-hypnotic suggestion to be more open-minded. But the results aren't quite what Lisa or Tom expected; Tom now senses an air of terrible dread throughout his house and is convinced that evil lurks just around the corner. He also sees the spirit of a girl from the neighborhood who disappeared months ago -- and Jake sees the spirit as well. Stir of Echoes was based on a novel by Richard Matheson, whose work inspired such disparate films as Somewhere in Time and The Incredible Shrinking Man; it was written and directed by David Koepp, who wrote the screenplays for Jurassic Park and Mission: Impossible.

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Review By Jason Clark

An effectively creepy thriller by Hollywood scribe David Koepp (who penned the blockbuster Jurassic Park), this film explores hypnotism and delusional horror with an acuteness unusual for a film of its genre. Eschewing gore and fake shock tactics, Koepp uses his material as a means of exploring his main character's psyche. To this end, Kevin Bacon's resourceful portrayal perfectly embodies the archetype of a family man threatening to be done in by his demons. The film's momentum dissipates as it draws nearer to its semi-predictable conclusion, but the engrossing storyline and excellent use of Chicago locations create a tangible world for the tale, and make it easier to relate to on a human level. In an luckless bit of coincidence, The Sixth Sense was released just a few weeks prior to Stir, and the similarly ghoulish ghost story (both involve the use of a young boy as an oracle for otherworldly devices) all but crippled this film's opportunity to reach the moviegoing masses.