In this supernatural thriller, Tom Witzky (
Kevin Bacon) is a fairly typical working-class guy living in Chicago with his wife Maggie (
Kathryn Erbe) and his son Jake (Zachary David Cope). One night at a party, Tom gets into a lively discussion with his sister-in-law, Lisa (
Illeana Douglas), who believes in psychic communication and the power of hypnosis. He challenges Lisa to hypnotize him, and she plants in him a post-hypnotic suggestion to be more open-minded. But the results aren't quite what Lisa or Tom expected; Tom now senses an air of terrible dread throughout his house and is convinced that evil lurks just around the corner. He also sees the spirit of a girl from the neighborhood who disappeared months ago -- and Jake sees the spirit as well. Stir of Echoes was based on a novel by
Richard Matheson, whose work inspired such disparate films as
Somewhere in Time and
The Incredible Shrinking Man; it was written and directed by
David Koepp, who wrote the screenplays for
Jurassic Park and Mission: Impossible. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide