Best known as the screenwriter of hits like 1993’s Jurassic Park and 2002’s Spider-Man, David Koepp moved to the director’s chair with 1996’s Trigger Effect. Adapted from a Richard Matheson novel, 1999’s Stir of Echoes became Koepp’s second effort in this capacity.

Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon> works as a telephone cable stripper. Married to Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and with young son Jake (Zachary David Cope), he seems content with his life, but he just never planned on being so "ordinary”.

That changes when his Maggie's sister Lia (Illeana Douglas) hypnotizes him at a little party. Afterwards he begins to see odd visions, and these consume him.

Unmentioned: Jake sees dead people too, a factor that led Stir to seem uncomfortably similar to 1999’s Sixth Sense. Given that Stir came from a 40-year-old novel and also hit screens barely a month after Sixth Sense, it becomes obvious Koepp’s film had nothing to do with M. Night Shyamalan’s, but I suspect audiences viewed it as a “me too” effort given the massive success of the latter.

While Stir lacked the freshness of Sense, it nonetheless delivered a pretty good “ghost story” as well. The Sixth Sense had better atmosphere and a great ending.

Stir seems faster paced but it lacks the same gut punch finale. Nonetheless, this becomes a spooky, well-crafted horror flick.

The movie feels consistently creepy and uses that vibe to great effect. Though not gory, the flashes of violence feel like enough. The creepy sound effects actually work as well, and not just noise.

The problem is that it only works during the first viewing, whereasThe Sixth Sense succeeds on additional screenings. Since we never know what Tom really sees, the film leaves much to the imagination, which usually becomes scarier than whatever could be shown on screen.

Once we know, though, the atmosphere disappears on repeat viewings. While Sense works the same way, Shyamalan knew how to handle the mood.

Koepp doesn't really have that knack. Still, the first viewing works quite well.

However, the ending though becomes quite a big letdown. After all these tantalizing ghost scenes and the mystery unfolds by bits and pieces, we get a showdown that does not justify the means of getting there.

You also have that tiring old trick of someone coming in just the nick of time. This technique causes eye-rolling at the wrong time.

Still, even with these flaws, Stir becomes a pretty effective thriller. It doesn’t reinvent the genre but it works most of the time.

Stir of Echoes appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. A release from very early in the format’s existence, the Blu-ray showed its vintage.

Sharpness rarely became better than mediocre. Delineation felt decent but could be on the mushy side, and fine detail seemed nearly non-existent.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, but I saw light edge haloes. Grain seemed somewhat heavy and tended to feel more like noise. Print flaws showed occasional specks but nothing substantial.

The film’s palette mixed heavy blue and orange tones, with occasional loud splashes of red. These appeared overdone and without vivacity.

Blacks seemed crushed and inky, while shadows tended to seem a bit on the dense side. Though a little better than DVD quality, the movie nonetheless lacked the impact we expect from Blu-ray.

At least the movie’s DTS-HD HR 6.1 worked pretty well, with an appropriately spooky soundscape. Much of the movie concentrated on general ambience.

The track used this environmental information in a satisfying manner, and it kicked to life nicely with louder “scare moments” as well. These showed appealing localization and combined to deliver a worthwhile sonic experience.

Audio quality also seemed solid. Music demonstrated good range and clarity.

Dialogue came across as concise and natural, while effects provided accurate and full elements. While it lacked a real “dazzle factor”, the soundtrack suited the story.

A few extras appear, and we find an audio commentary from writer/director David Koepp. He provides a running, screen-specific look at the source and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, inspirations and influences, editing and cinematography, music and audio, effects and connected domains.

Expect a lively, engaging and honest chat from Koepp. He moves along the track at a good pace and reveals a lot about the movie – including mistakes and elements he doesn’t much like. This becomes a well above-average commentary.

Sight of Spirits runs 10 minutes, 36 seconds. It delivers notes from field parapsychologist Dr. Larry Montz and novelist Richard Matheson.

“Sight” examines psychic domains connected to the movie. I don’t believe any of this stuff, but the featurette offers a good overview of the concepts.

Deleted Scenes fill a total of four minutes, 53 seconds. The first shows more of Tom’s developing psychic powers, while the second extends an existing sequence.

The third mostly acts as a glimpse behind the scenes to hear Koepp direct young actors, while the final one develops Tom’s deepening obsession. All seem interesting enough but not great.

Stir of Echoes manages to become creepy and offers better chills than some other more heavily hyped ghost stories. While it borrows from other genre efforts, it mixes all the elements nicely. The Blu-ray brings good audio and a few useful bonus materials, but picture quality seems dull and dated. Although I like the movie, the Blu-ray needs an update.