Stir of Echoes
Artisan Entertainment | Release Date: December 10, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Stir of Echoes is much more down and dirty (than "The Sixth Sense"), and the thrills are more visceral. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There's visceral horror, too, including a grisly image -- a horror-in-miniature involving a fingernail -- that located an open nerve in my jaded ability to endure screen violence. Read full review
80
Film.comTom Keogh
It certainly has a place among the year's more accomplished productions. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverM. V. Moorhead
The scares early on are potent and get Stir of Echoes off to a chilly horror-movie start. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJohn Anderson
What gives the movie its teeth is the very earthy Witzky family, who behave so much like real people you might think they are. Read full review
80
VarietyJoe Leydon
Koepp does a masterful job of grounding his intimations of the supernatural in a totally persuasive down-to-earth context. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
"Sixth" achieves a rare hushed poetry where Stir, for all its strengths, is more earthbound and familiar. Read full review
75
USA TodayAndy Seiler
The economical, fast-paced style and creepy mood are reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone." Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A horror movie with a Hitchcockian veneer of the everyday, a story that taps into our fear not only of the paranormal but also of insanity and the secret evil that may lie beneath ordinary lives. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Kevin Bacon stars in one of his best performances. Read full review
75
New York PostRod Dreher
Studded with potent fright scenes and built on a rock-solid performance by the ever-dependable Kevin Bacon. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The effectively creepy Stir of Echoes, is enough to make your blood chill. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The conventional ghost-appeasement scenario isn't very suspenseful, which may be part of the reason it's so gripping. Read full review
70
Film.comRobert Horton
The picture has an appropriately grungy sense of place. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A scary, intelligent thriller that remains haunting long after it's over...features what has to be one of the creepiest first half-hours in recent film history. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
The ghost story is not half as satisfying as the lovely indie mood piece tucked inside it about a community tending to itself in the wake of a recent wound. Read full review
68
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Elevates the horror genre with a refreshing intelligence and humor -- too bad it's not half as good at generating scares. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
(Bacon's) most believable, heart-wrenching and charismatic lead performance in many years. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Marvelous not in its evocation of horror but in the way it slowly chips away at the mundanities of day-to-day urban living. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
A conventionally violent, do-or-die ending on such an unconventional movie. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Little internal logic and too many signposts. It's easy to see who in the neighborhood knows more than they're letting on, even without X-ray vision or ESP. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldPhoebe Flowers
A scream-out-loud movie, upsetting and deliriously effective. Problem is, Koepp relies almost entirely on the isolated shocking images, ignoring the human element at the center.
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Needs less down-to-earth flavor and more unearthly force. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Another thriller that packs a spooky wallop as it conjures an unseen world within reach. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The movie tries too hard. Too bad. This coulda been a contender. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Compared with ("The Sixth Sense"), there's no contest. Stir of Echoes has been outrun and outclassed.
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Offers tricky fragmentation without mystery or mood; it's a mosaic of fear that grows less and less unsettling as it comes together. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Some dazzling in-camera special effects, especially the ingenious idea of filming the story's ghost at a slow speed, six frames per second, giving the being a strange, otherworldly way of moving. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Director Koepp relies more heavily on editing tricks than old-fashioned atmosphere. Read full review
50
TNT RoughCutChristopher Brandon
All that suspense falls dead at its climax, which proves to be a bore. The absence of a surprise ending and the lackluster spooks make this one worth skipping. I'm going back to see "The Sixth Sense."
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