Stir of Echoes, A MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -3 1/2

Like the recent SIXTH SENSE, this film deals with a young boy communicating with a dead person. After being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, Tom (Kevin Bacon) begins to have dreams and visions of a girl in his house. The girl has already been seen by Toms son, who calls her Sam. When Tom begins to look into Sams relationship with the house, he learns she was from the neighborhood but disappeared, never to be found. Another round of hypnosis gives Tom a vision with the word dig. He becomes obsessed with digging in his yard and his basement. But he digs up a past that the neighbors want to keep buried. This intense, mystery thriller will keep audiences on the edge of their seats, but may lose in comparison with earlier films.

Restless spirits communicating through and with the living is an old plot device, but communicating with dead spirits is forbidden in biblical teachings. Although resistant to the visions at first, Tom becomes so obsessed with discovering Sams secret that his family life slowly deteriorates. Some of the visions contain violent images such as blood splattering on the floor or a person suffocating in plastic. Toms problems begin with hypnosis and the suggestion that his mind will be open. Unless filled with the Spirit of God, an open mind can become a gateway to demonic forces. An apparent practitioner of the occult at a police funeral comments that Toms son has x-ray eyes. He also says Tom is a receiver now. Although told not to watch an old horror film, the child watches as Sam takes control of the TV and shows the film on all channels, even with the TV unplugged. Tom and his blue-collar neighbors fill the dialogue with gutter language and sexually suggestive comments about women. Sex is graphically implied between Tom and his wife, while a separate scene shows unnecessary female rear nudity in a shower. Foul language and occultic images make STIR OF ECHOES one to be avoided.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment, 2700 Colorado Ave., 2nd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90404, (310) 255-3730