# Stir of Echoes (1999)

### reviewed by
James Sanford

Before you spend countless hours at the word processor turning that great high-concept idea for a movie into a full-length screenplay, realize that somewhere in Hollywood some other writer has probably had exactly the same flash of brilliance you did.

Don't believe it? Look at the past few years. In 1998, we had two epics in which Earth was about to be obliterated by giant rocks from outer space: a comet in "Deep Impact," an asteroid in "Armageddon." In 1997, two thrillers revolved around murders in the Capitol, "Absolute Power" and "Murder at 1600." In 1996, there were two extravaganzas about evil aliens terrorizing the planet ("Independence Day" and "Mars Attacks!").

And let's not even try to count how many "body-switcher" comedies there were in the late 1980s.

With "Stir of Echoes" and "The Sixth Sense" currently slugging it out for space at the cineplex, it would seem little boys talking to ghosts is the latest trendy topic. But before you dismiss writer-director David Koepp's "Stir" as a rip-off, take into account that it was filming at the same time as "Sense" and that it's based on a novel by Richard Matheson that predates even Stephen King's "The Shining," which is for many people the last word in psychic-kid literature.

But now that millions have seen "Sense" (in some cases, more than once), "Stir" can't help but look like a rehash. Although the stories eventually take different courses, the initial similarities between the two pictures are striking and, unfortunately, mostly unflattering to Koepp's film. "Stir" does, however, have some terrific performances that elevate it several notches above the run-of-the-mill spook show, particularly from Kevin Bacon, who proves you need not go over the top to play a man on the brink of madness.

Bacon plays Tom, a blue-collar Chicagoan with a tough but faithful wife named Maggie (Kathryn Erbe, an actress who always seems to find intriguing angles in her characters) and a wide-eyed 5-year-old son named Jake (Zachary David Cope) who spends a considerable amount of time in what seem to be one-way conversations with unseen friends. Tom also has a sister-in-law, Lisa (Illena Douglas), who fancies herself an amateur hypnotherapist.

At a beer-fueled bash one night, Lisa hypnotizes the skeptical Tom and is surprised by how receptive he is to her suggestions. Soon after coming out of the trance, Tom begins having gruesome hallucinations about missing teeth and missing teens, sleeping 12 hours a day and guzzling orange juice as if he were at an all-night rave party. Only Jake seems to have a clue what's going on when Daddy suddenly decides to dig up the backyard.

Like "Sense," "Stir" works up a convincingly chilly atmosphere and has a few jolting moments. To his credit, Koepp doesn't rely too heavily on bursts of loud music or people jumping out of the shadows to generate cheap shocks. Bacon is outstanding, and Douglas and Erbe do wonders with their somewhat sketchy roles.

But there are enough odd loose ends in "Stir" to indicate Koepp (whose screenplays include "Death Becomes Her" and "Jurassic Park," among others) was so preoccupied with his directorial chores he didn't pay enough attention to his material. Subplots about Maggie's pregnancy and a vaguely creepy cult are introduced with great fanfare and then abruptly discarded. Even Jake's gift, which seems to be the key to the whole story, turns out to play only a minor role in the overall scheme of things.

Ultimately, where "Stir" suffers most in comparison with "Sense" is in its last reel. "Sense" has a climax that ambushes you and leaves you dazed. On the other hand, the ending of "Stir" is telegraphed so far in advance, you won't need a psychic to determine what's in Tom and Maggie's future. James Sanford

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