In 1999,Hollywood had three huge horror moviesthat competed with each other at the box office, and the film that most people talk about the least is the best of the three for horror fans. All three movies hit in consecutive months, withThe Blair Witch Project(July 14),The Sixth Sense(August 6), andStir of Echoes(September 10).
The Blair Witch Projectpopularized both the found footage horror movie and thetendency to market heavily to the internet crowd.The Sixth SensemasteredM. Night Shyamalan’s twisty thrillersat a time when it was still fresh and new. However,Stir of Echoeswas a throwback ghost storythat thrived without a gimmick, just delivering great horror thrills.
Stir Of Echoes Was Overshadowed By The Sixth Sense & Blair Witch, But Was A Better Movie
Stir Of Echoes Delivers Scares Without Gimmicks
Stir of Echoestells thestory of Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon),a working-class man whose son claims to be able to see the dead. One night at a party, a neighbor hypnotizes him, and he suddenly gains the same ability to see dead people. That is whenone ghostly girl begins to haunt him, demanding he find and bring her killer to justice.
Stir of Echoesgot the short straw when it came to its theatrical release. By the time July ended,The Blair Witch Projecthad enthralled fans,most talking about its marketing as a “true” story, which employed the then-rare found-footage technique.The Sixth Sensewas able to capture fans' attentionthanks to a twist that forced repeat viewings.
This putStir of Echoesin a tough spot, following two horror movies that changed the genre. With no obvious gimmick and a story that relied solely on creepy horror and tension, fans viewed it as inferior to the two groundbreaking films that preceded it. All three films were still in theaters at the same time, which hurtStir of Echoes.
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As a result,Stir of Echoeswas a box office disappointment, coming nowhere close to the previous two releases. This is despite it being a better story. Without needing a twist (other than the killer’s identity),Stir of Echoesused creepy atmosphere to tell the story and great acting to convey the terror befalling the family. In any other year, it could have been a huge horror success story.
Stir Of Echoes Received A Sequel That’s Nowhere Near As Good As The Original
Stir of Echoesdid get one thing thatThe Sixth Sensenever received. The movie received a sequel. However, just like theBlair Witch Projectsequel, it had almost nothing to do with the original film and seemed to have been given the title to gain more attention.Stir of Echoes: The Homecomingwas made for the Sci-Fi Channel.
The movie’s original title wasThe Dead Speakand starred Rob Lowe as Ted Cogan, a former National Guard captain dealing with PTSD following a tragic explosion in Iraq. When Ted starts to see a dead man who wants him to right a wrong, he goes to Jake (the son from the first movie) for help with dealing with communicating with the dead.
This sequel is not a bad horror flick, but it falls short of the level ofStir of Echoes.If released as a small indie horror movie, it would work fine; however, giving it the original film’s title put undue pressure on it, especially with the growing cult fan base for the 1999 horror release. It was further proof thatStir of Echoeshas a better reputation than its original release might suggest.
