Stir of Echoes
Short description
Stir of Echoes is a horror mystery set in a working-class neighbourhood of Chicago. Tom Witzky lives an ordinary life with his wife Maggie and their young son Jake until a party at a neighbour's house, where his sister-in-law Lisa puts him under hypnosis as a game. Afterwards Tom is troubled by visions and voices he cannot explain, and he gradually becomes convinced that a girl is reaching out to him from beyond the grave. His search for answers to a crime from the past pushes him away from his family and places him in danger. The film is based on Richard Matheson's novel and was directed by David Koepp, who wrote the screenplay with Andrew Kevin Walker.
Released in September 1999, the film was Koepp's second turn as director, following The Trigger Effect three years earlier. Kevin Bacon leads the cast as Tom, with Kathryn Erbe as Maggie, Illeana Douglas as Lisa, Zachary David Cope as Jake, Kevin Dunn and Conor O'Farrell in supporting roles. Twenty-six cast members and 260 crew are credited.
Made for about 12 million US dollars, it took roughly 21 million worldwide, a modest return. Audiences rate it 6.9 out of 10 on IMDb, from around 93,000 votes, and 6.7 out of 10 on TMDB, from some 1,400 votes, while critics gave it 7 out of 10 across 113 reviews, a warmer response than either audience score.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the scene with the English pin piercing the main character’s hand, it wasn't Kevin Bacon who performed, but a specially invited stunt double.
- When Kevin Bacon's character was overcome with rage and kicked a bucket with full force in the backyard, no one expected the bucket to hit the window instead of the wall and break it. But that's exactly what happened. Bacon remained in character the entire time, and that take was the one they kept in the film.
- When Kevin Bacon's character was hypnotized for the first time, a technique used by professional hypnotists was employed. At the end of the scene, a musical signal is used to wake up anyone in the audience who was actually affected by the hypnosis.
- While preparing the scene where Maggie leaves Jake with relatives, someone suddenly realized that Jake's filming time was already up (at that time, the number of hours child actors were allowed to spend in front of the cameras was strictly regulated in Hollywood). The film crew had to go around to nearby houses in search of a child who could substitute for Zachary David Cope, and whose parents would agree to it.
- The scene where Maggie sits in the rain in the car was filmed at night when it was actually pouring, but the rain looked somewhat fake in the shot. They had to cover the car with a canopy to protect it from the rain and then use special watering equipment under the canopy to achieve the desired effect on camera.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
