Released in the shadow of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, David Koepp’s Stir of Echoes crept in at the tail end of the 1990s to become one of its decade’s finest supernatural thrillers – and certainly one of its most underrated. Effectively written and crisply directed, it remains a modestly scaled gem in the screen horror genre.

Working class Chicago resident Tom Witzsky (Kevin Bacon) is hypnotised at a party, and suddenly finds his mind opened to an apparent haunting in his rented townhouse. The experience inspires an obsession in Tom to discover the origins of the presence in his house, and puts him at odds with his wife (Kathryn Erbe), sister-in-law (Illeana Douglas), and friends (Kevin Dunn, Conor O’Farrell).

The film is based on the Richard Matheson novel, which was published in 1958, and so Koepp’s adaptation does feel rather like a slick, effective play through other film’s ideas and long-worn genre tropes – this because of course other films got to Matheson’s book before the official adaptation did. Where the film excels is in its imaginative treatment of those familiar elements. Tom’s experience of hypnotism is vividly realised, and plays into a wonderfully shocking reprise later in the picture. The ghost that appears to Tom in his home – played effectively by Jennifer Morrison – is realised through manipulations of camera speed and hugely creepy to look at. David Koepp exploits both the Chicago setting and the specific working class elements of the story incredibly well. At its core, this is a story about a matter-of-fact, emotionally blunt working man forced to interact with something inexplicable, vague, and traumatic. He simply is not equipped to sensibly cope.

Kevin Bacon is superb in the part, and successfully makes his character particularly grounded and realistic. He also plays incredibly well opposite Kathryn Erbe as Tom’s wife Maggie, and the pair present a highly believable and somewhat flawed marriage. Zachary David Cope is excellent as their young son Jake – who, like Tom, can see the spectre haunting their home. Whether through his own ability, strong direction, effective editing, or (most likely) a combination of all three, he is a knockout in the part. The supporting cast is also top-notch, including the perennially underrated Illeana Douglas as Maggie’s sister Lisa and Kevin Dunn in a comparatively rare dramatic role as friend and neighbour Frank.

Sometimes it is difficult to consider Stir of Echoes without also considering The Sixth Sense. Both are insidiously creepy films about a child witnessing the supernatural, and they share central male characters bringing themselves inner peace through interacting with ghosts. They even share a composer in James Newton Howard: his work here is distinctive and effective.

It is no wonder the film is so effective, given writer/director David Koepp’s track record writing some of the USA’s most successful mainstream cinema over the decades. He takes the recognisable elements and approaches them with a richness of character and an inventive approach. He undercuts audience assumptions throughout. Malevolent-looking spirits may not be bad. Close friends and family may not be good. Nowhere is this more true than in the film’s unsettling final moments, replacing closure with uncertainty and peace with rising dread. This is a classic example of a film firing on all cylinders and across all aspects, and telling the best of stories. In a crowded genre, it remains a criminally under-viewed classic.

There are many good films released around the world every year. Masterpiece celebrates the best of the very best: genuinely superb works of cinema that come with FictionMachine‘s very highest recommendation. If we had our own Criterion Collection, these are the films we would want it to include.