Stir of Echoes (1999)
75%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 5 nominations
Kevin Bacon’s acting is so genuine that it’s creepy and director David Keopp knows how to create true suspense
Stir of Echoes is a supernatural thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. Kevin Bacon delivers a fantastic performance as blue-collar Tom, and the tension is cranked up with intelligent sound edits and the racket of city life. While the plot may get a bit too hysterical at times, the movie is still a stylish and gripping thriller that will give you chills. Plus, who doesn’t love a good ghost story?
Production Company(ies)
Black Mandala Onetti Brothers Productions, Rusty Robot
Distributor
Artisan Entertainment, Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence, sexuality and language
Year of Release
1999
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):English, Spanish, Korean
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 10, 1999 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2000
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Stir of Echoes, Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Richard Matheson, David Koepp, mystery, thriller, R rating, Artisan Entertainment, Miramax Films, Judy Hofflund, Gavin Polone, $21.1M box office, reviewed by David Ansen, Lisa Alspector, Demetrios Matheou, Michael Thomson, Tom Keogh, Steven Rosen, Dan Buffa, David Nusair, Joe Lozito, Jeffrey M Anderson, Ron Wells, Blue-collar family man, hypnotic trance, psychic connection, missing teenage neighbor, life-threatening situation, supernatural phenomena, skeptic, ghost story, Sixth Sense, psychological, suspense, haunting, chilling, well-crafted, finely tuned script, grounded acting, regular people, interplay, humanity, realism, surreal moments, under hypnosis, over the top hokum, climax, coda, haunting song by Poe
Worldwide gross: $21,142,914
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $37,952,120
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,459
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,138,726
US/Canada gross: $21,142,914
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $37,952,120
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,189
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,811,664
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $10,432,099
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 941
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $12,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $21,540,335
Production budget ranking: 1,332
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $11,599,470
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,812,315
ROI to date (est.): 15%
ROI ranking: 1,323
Kathryn Erbe – Maggie Witzky
Illeana Douglas – Lisa
Liza Weil – Debbie Kozac, the Babysitter
Kevin Dunn – Frank McCarthy
Conor O’Farrell – Harry Damon
Director(s)
David Koepp
Writer(s)
Richard Matheson, David Koepp
Producer(s)
Judy Hofflund, Gavin Polone
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (105) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (71) | Rotten (34)
As the plot kicks in, the hysteria mounts and the explanations start coming, the tension starts to dissipate. Like Bacon’s strenuous attempt to sound working class, the movie tries too hard.
March 6, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
[A] serious, atmospheric, character-driven supernatural drama.
December 10, 2007
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Ultimately, it is Bacon’s blue-collar conflict that resonates.
December 2, 2002
Demetrios Matheou
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Second-time director David Koepp steers clear of silly pyrotechnics and empty show as he anchors his supernatural thriller in Tom’s daily rituals, employing the racket of city life and intelligent sound edits to crank up the tension.
April 17, 2001 | Rating: 4/5
Michael Thomson
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Star Kevin Bacon is at times wildly exciting, while Kathryn Erbe, playing his character’s long-suffering wife, delivers an understated but terribly interesting performance.
January 1, 2000
Tom Keogh
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
When Stir of Echoes is focused on the supernatural, it is a scary and technically superior film. However, as it turns into a conventional thriller it becomes ordinary.
January 1, 2000
Steven Rosen
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
Easily one of Bacon’s best roles and a film that grabs your attention.
November 6, 2020
Dan Buffa
KSDK News (St. Louis)
…a stylish, sporadically gripping thriller that boasts a number of undeniably tense sequences and interludes…
January 14, 2010 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
July 14, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
I did receive a few chills and some kicks from it.
May 26, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
It’s nice to see he relied on more than heavy-handed filmmaking and a twist ending. I just hope audiences go for a supernatural thriller that’s a little messier and doesn’t feel the need to claw at their heart for two hours.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Ron Wells
Film Threat
The cast is uniformly good, with Bacon giving the strongest performance as blue-collar Tom.
April 9, 2005 | Rating: B
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews…
Plot
A man is hypnotized at a party by his sister-in law. He soon has visions and dreams of a ghost of a girl. Trying to avoid this, nearly pushes him to brink of insanity as the ghost wants something from him – to find out how she died. The only way he can get his life back is finding out the truth behind her death. The more he digs, the more he lets her in, the shocking truth behind her death puts his whole family in danger.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Kevin Bacon’s acting is so genuine that it’s creepy.
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