Across his near-40-year career, David Koepp has delivered several iconic adaptations of genre properties, the most notable being that of Stir of Echoes, which also marked his second time in the director's chair.

Based on Richard Matheson's novel, Stir of Echoes' story centers on Tom Witzky, a blue-collar worker in Chicago who finds his life shaken up when he learns his wife, Maggie, is pregnant with their second child. While attending a neighborhood party, Maggie's sister Lisa hypnotizes him to prove it to be real, while also leaving a subconscious suggestion that he opens his mind to more things. This leads to him having visions of a local teenage girl's murder, leading him down a path of mania as he tries to figure out the truth and how to stop his visions.

Stir Of Echoes' Mystery Is An Engaging Mix Of The Supernatural & Grounded Characters

Koepp Never Forgets About The Characters At The Center

The '90s proved to be an interesting time for the supernatural genre as multiple filmmakers took to developing stories based on the idea of those alive communicating with the dead, generally to help them deal with some unfinished business. Upon its release, Stir of Echoes found itself frequently compared to M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, particularly as the latter was released just a month prior to the former. Regardless of comparisons, though, Koepp found several ways to make sure his movie stood out from the pack.

Another major reason why the mystery playing out as slowly as it does works well for Stir of Echoes is that Koepp re the grounded story and characters that surround it.

The movie's central mystery is one of the most fascinating things about Stir of Echoes. The introduction of Tom's visions comes quick enough to intrigue us as to what Lisa's hypnotization actually unlocked. But even as we get more and more glimpses of the spirit he's connected to, very few breadcrumbs are dropped to set up the reveal of what happened to her, and who was responsible. While this could be seen as a lack of development for the plot, it keeps the story feeling nicely unpredictable.

The mystery playing out as slowly as it does works well because Koepp re the grounded story and characters that surround it. When we're introduced to Tom and Maggie, they're a couple who find themselves occasionally pushing against one another due to Tom's desire for a bigger life beyond his job. As Tom's latent abilities become unlocked and he becomes more entrenched in finding out the answers behind his visions, we do see it taking a toll on their relationship, but in ways that feel authentic, as the two seesaw between humor, love, and contempt.

Koepp's Direction Is A Visually Mesmerizing Treat

His Use Of Stark Colors Feels Like A Nice Homage To Giallo Classics & Hitchcock

In addition to its compelling script, Stir of Echoes also largely succeeds thanks to Koepp's gorgeous direction. He and cinematographer Fred Murphy bring a unique approach to capturing the supernatural side of the film's universe, really leaning into the effects of colors. Jennifer Morrison's Samantha is often visualized in a blue color scheme in her ghostly figure, while Tom's visions of impending danger are coated in a harsh red hue, which feels nicely reminiscent of some of the best giallo movies from the '70s grounded in a '90s setting.

Well before it became an overused horror trope, Koepp makes surprisingly effective use of jump scares for a few good jolts. Even for 1999, they don't necessarily leave us unsettled well after the closing credits, but they do add a nice extra layer of tension to the whole piece as we're left wondering what other shocks he has in store. The most notable is that of Samantha suddenly appearing next to Tom on the couch in the middle of the night, something he tries to recreate multiple times, to which we anxiously wait to see if she'll appear.

Bacon's Gripping Performance Still Remains One Of His Best

He Finds The Right Mix Of Heart & Fear For Tom

One of the biggest reasons Stir of Echoes works as well as it does, though, is Bacon's lead performance as Tom. It certainly wasn't the first or only time he played a so-called "ordinary man", and yet there's something about Tom that proves to be a perfect fit for his talents. One of my favorite scenes is when, during a conversation with Kathryn Erbe's Maggie, he goes through a range of emotions as he reflects on where his life is at that point, and where he wanted to be. It's all so subtly delivered by him that it feels sincere.

Even as the stakes rise and Tom finds himself on the verge of losing his mind, Bacon never really goes overboard with his performance, keeping us truly grounded in his journey in Stir of Echoes. That's not to say the movie isn't without its flaws, as Maggie rarely feels like she lacks any agency, while a lack of backstory for Samantha makes her depiction a somewhat mixed bag. But regardless of some of its other issues, Koepp and Bacon's movie still proves to be a chilling ride from start to finish.

Stir of Echoes is now available on 4K Ultra-HD for the first time and it's also available to stream on Prime Video.