Ya know... I love reports that come 'out of the blue'. Actually, it isn't totally out of the blue, you see, just last week Moriarty told me that David Koepp's script for this was a fantastic adaptation of Richard Matheson's original work. And that out of all the haunted/ghost thingees.... This would be the film to watch out for. Once again, it seems Moriarty had his finger on the pulse. Of course, while Koepp gets knocked around a bit for his writing (Snake Eyes, Lost World, Men In Black and Mission Impossible), but I absolutely loved his writing and directing on his own THE TRIGGER EFFECT. That was a film that I completely believe was looked over without near the attention it deserved. David might be one of these writers, who best adapts his own works, or perhaps he saves his heart and passion for his personal projects. Whatever it is... I'm looking for more word on STIR OF ECHOES.... when I hear comparisons to THE SHINING and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.... I pay attention, till I learn otherwise... And right now... that won't be till OCTOBER 1st, that's the projected release date as of the moment...
There was a preview screening of David Koepp's STIR OF ECHOES at the AMC 30 at The Block in Orange, CA last night that played through the rafters (and tested through the rafters though I would be subject to a fate worse than than death if I gave out exact top 2 box numbers) ... It was scary, suspenseful, with a surprising amount of humor. The focus group compared it to THE SHINING and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS ...
The effects were done completely by Banned From The Ranch (Van Ling & Casey Cannon), and though most of the effects were temporary, were pretty phenomonal. The hypnosis scene that took place inside the movie theatre was mind blowing, and quite a head trip to see while in a movie theatre ... This was a first showing of the film for an audience, and still has not had the benefit of the James Newton Howard score to accentuate the suspense ... The editing by Jill Savitt was incredible, while built suspense, provided a few jump scares & screams, and gave breathing room for comic relief. The cinematography by Fred Murphy was stylish, and provided quite a bit of visual cleverness with it's various swish pans and match cuts.
It is dark, moody, and evocative. And the center of all this was the confident and sure-handed David Koepp, who has a huge hit on his hand in his adaptation of a Richard Matheson novel (there is even a visual plug to Matheson's THE SHRINKING HAND, a book being read by the babysitter) ... Oh, and I guess I should mention the tour de force, crowd pleasing performance by Kevin Bacon ...
Anyway, expect a break-out sleeper hit this fall by Artisan.
