directed by : david koepp written by : david koepp ( novel by richard matheson ) starring : kevin bacon , kathryn erbe , illeana douglas , kevin dunn , zachary david cope produced by : judy hofflund , gavin polone after being hypnotized , a man believes there is a ghost in his house . two low-key summer horror films have become surprise financial successes this year : the blair witch project and the sixth sense . each has made well over $100 million in north america , based on a combination of strong word of mouth and clever advertising . if a film's box office take were based primarily on its quality , stir of echoes would join blair and sense in grossing far more money than expected , for it is as scary , if not scarier than the other two . writer/director david koepp has given artisan entertainment , the folks who distributed blair witch a second creepy hit . the story gets going after tom witzky ( bacon ) , an average blue-collar dad , gets hypnotized by his wife maggie's ( erbe ) sister lisa ( douglas ) at a party . while the hypnosis goes as expected to the party-goers , it triggers something in tom's head . things begin to change around him ( blinking red lights let off a strange hum , for example ) , and he fights to stay in control of his own senses . where these experiences take tom , maggie and their son jake ( cope ) , who tom thinks might have some answers , is down a dark path that will scare and disturb you . david koepp keeps the action localized ; the majority of the action takes place at tom's house or just down the street . by keeping things at home , koepp is able to proceed without having to resort to any clumsy segues ( montages of driving down roads as we move from one city to another etc . ) . unfortunately , the dread and spookiness of stir of echoes are frequently interrupted by moments of levity . humour can take the tension away from a scene faster than any shoddy special effect or poor acting . several tense moments become completely diffused by a few misplaced jokes . also , there are a couple of plot developments that are left unresolved , though to mention them would be to give too much away . kevin bacon handles the duel task of playing an everyman and a man losing his sanity admirably . his total lack of understanding of what is happening to him is believable , as are the reactions from his wife maggie . kathryn erbe is given a role meatier and better written than that of most " wife who can no longer handle her husband " parts . while it is still a supporting role , her maggie is moving as she watches both her husband and her son enter what she calls " a private club that i'm not invited to " , where they whisper about things all day long . as jake , zachary cope equals the performance of haley joel osment in the sixth sense , but gets less screen time . both children manage the same trick , making the audience creeped out by their apparent acceptance of the way things are . fans of blair and sixth sense will almost surely love stir of echoes . it combines the dread of blair , a creepy closed-in feel thanks to cinematographer fred murphy and great performances by the whole cast , specifically bacon , to give the fall its first genuine scary film . if only they had let up on the unneeded funny bits and tweaked the plot a bit more , this could have been one of the year's best . email tim chandler at <a href= " mailto : timbit@canada . com " >timbit@canada . com</a> check out the bottom line at <a href= " http : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/heights/8000/index . html " >http : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/heights/8000/index . html</a> for more reviews ! 
