Stir Of Echoes (1999) (Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: David Koepp

Cast: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas

Release Date: December 17, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar worker, a family man, the most ordinary guy in the world…who is about to be plunged into a shattering encounter with another world. And it doesn’t matter that Tom doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Because something supernatural has started to believe in Tom. After he is hypnotized at a neighborhood party, Tom changes. He sees things he can’t explain and hears voices he can’t ignore. As the horrific visions intensify, Tom realizes they are pieces of a puzzle, echoes of a crime calling out to be solved. But when his other-worldly nightmares begin coming true, Tom wants out. He desperately tries to rid himself of his eerie, unwanted powers – only to be seized by an irresistible compulsion to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery that is consuming his life. When at last he unearths the truth, it will draw him into the long-buried secret of a ghastly crime, a vengeful spirit…and the lethal price of laying that spirit to rest.

‘Stir of Echoes’ tells the haunting tale of an everyday family man who finds his life uprooted after being hypnotized by his sister-in-law as the hypnosis opens a doorway within him that triggers visions of a dead girl within his home and flashes of the terrible manner in which she died. Desperate to figure out what she wants from him and to uncover the full details of her death so that he can move on, it soon sends the neighborhood where he lives into frenzy where old secrets thought to be buried begin to arise.

‘Stir of Echoes’ was written for the screen and directed by David Koepp, based on the novel ‘A Stir of Echoes’ by Richard Matheson and Koepp does a great job at the helm guiding along the creepy and engaging tale with fitting style and heart. The film’s cast includes Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Dunn and more who each offer generally solid and fitting performances in their respective roles throughout.

‘Stir of Echoes’ was released theatrically in the fall of 1999 and took viewers on a dark, emotional and eerie ride filled with murder, hidden secrets and vengeful spirits, with a solid mystery at its core that keeps you guessing while being creeped out by the eerily indelible imagery and tone. I still remember catching this one in theaters during its initial release and loving it and I’m happy to say that it hasn’t lost much of its touch or impact in the twenty five years since. It utilizes some jumps and clever shooting techniques in order to get adequately under your skin and then takes you along on for a haunting mystery that never leaves you uninterested along the way.

A screenwriter that penned numerous hits over the years, David Koepp tried his hand once again at directing (as well as writing the script) for ‘Stir of Echoes’ which marked his sophomore directorial effort and he does a fully capable job guiding along the tense thriller throughout, while his capable work behind the scenes is only greatly boosted a stellar cast led by Kevin Bacon who delivers a believably haunted and conflicted performance in the lead that helps the tale move along as smoothly as it does. It’s a memorable ghost story that leans more toward disturbing than graphically violent and if you’re a genre fan that’s never had the pleasure of ‘Stir of Echoes’ I would wholeheartedly encourage you to make a point of checking it out when possible because this one still serves up the creepy goods after all of these years and it only looks and sounds better than ever before here on 4K UHD.

In celebration of its 25^th Anniversary, David Koepp’s ‘Stir of Echoes’ arrives home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time courtesy of Lionsgate in an Amazon exclusive Steelbook release. The release features the film itself in full Ultra High Definition with Dolby Vision HDR that brings the eerie thriller into your home looking far better than ever before. The impressive new UHD presentation is perfectly complemented by an immersive and hard hitting Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that combined offer the best video and audio fans have surely ever seen for the 1999 horror film.

In addition to the noteworthy quality of the film itself, the release also features an impressive collection of bonus content including a couple brand new extras paired with previously released special features from previous Blu-ray and DVD releases; all of which is packaged along with a Blu-ray and Digital copy of the film inside a gorgeous Steelbook that features a glossy feel with nice artwork on the front, rear and interior which is itself shipped inside a lenticular slipcover that’s delightfully creepy. If you’re a fan of the film that has been waiting for a notable upgrade over the years since the quite ancient, MPEG encoded Blu-ray release, then this new 4K Steelbook will not disappoint and is definitely highly recommended!

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Stir of Echoes’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful as a whole and makes for a quite significant and welcome upgrade to the nearly twenty year old Blu-ray release (which is also included in this release) that featured MPEG encoding. This new UHD presentation offers a clean, sharp and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues along the way and retains an appropriately filmic appearance. Detail is great and noticeable on everything from character specifics (both living and ghostly) as well as the intricacies of the home and other locations, while the Dolby Vision HDR enhances some of it by contributing more realistic coloring noticeable on the sun blaring down in the opening, along with other tidbits throughout, and black levels are sharp, deep and rewarding. Overall, this is a pretty fantastic Ultra High Definition presentation that looks spectacular throughout and should easily thrill fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This new multichannel soundtrack is quite the treat and it offers a clean, crisp and impressively immersive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, creepy effects and nature content, bits of dialogue and eerie whispers, plus plenty more whipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never negatively impacting any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a marvelous Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that contributes splendidly to the tension and creepiness throughout.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Stir of Echoes’ offers a great collection of bonus content including a few brand new extras and numerous carryover extras from the Blu-ray and DVD Special Edition. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director David Koepp’, in addition to the brand new retrospective Featurettes ‘Visions of the Past: Revisiting Stir of Echoes’ (running approximately 17 minutes in length) and ‘Establishing Shot with Fred Murphy’ (running approximately 8 minutes). Also included are numerous previously released Featurettes and videos including ‘Flipping the Switch: Directing Stir of Echoes’ (running approximately 17 minutes), ‘Maggie’s Memories: Inside Stir of Echoes’ (approximately 11 minutes), ‘Opening the Door: Designing Stir of Echoes’ (16 minutes), ‘Sight of Spirits: Channeling the Paranormal’ (10 minutes), ‘Behind the Echoes’ (21 minutes), ‘The Mind’s Eye: Beneath the Trance’ (10 minutes), ‘Special Effects’ (4 minutes), ‘Production Design’ (4 minutes), ‘Interviews with Cast and Crew’ (8 minutes), ‘Behind the Scenes’ (6 minutes), ‘Scene Comparisons’ (11 minutes), ‘Screen Tests’ (7 minutes), along with some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (5 minutes altogether) and the ‘”Breathe” Original Music Video’ (4 minutes). Also included are an ‘Original Promo’ (5 minutes), ‘Original Short Promo’ (2 minutes), the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (90 seconds) and some ‘TV Spots’ (2 minutes altogether).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 9/10

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‘Stir Of Echoes’ Arrives Home in a 4K Ultra HD Steelbook Available December 17, 2024 Exclusively at Amazon from Lionsgate

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You can purchase ‘Stir Of Echoes’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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