The Echo (2008)

Actually, a 'slow burner' denotes something that takes a while to get going. Sadly, 'The Echo' goes so slowly through most of the film, that you're probably asleep by the time the last act (and by 'last act' I mean 'last few minutes') comes along (either that or turned it off).The film follows a man recently released from prison, who returns home to find all sorts of spooky goings on in his apartment. The film start predominantly with him wandering from room to room, trying to work out where various noises are coming from. It is nicely shot, which does give it a suitable creepy atmosphere and, every now and again, there is the odd eerie scene.However, it's all too little and not often enough. Whatever spookiness is too sparse to really be bothered about. The ending isn't bad. There's the obligatory 'twist' (or should I say 'explanation'?) regarding what's going on, but, by the time it happens, will you care?http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Bobby(Jesse Bradford; SWIMFAN) is an ex-con trying to get on with his life after prison, lands a job as a mechanic, returns to the apartment where his mom starved herself to death. Bobby is hearing sounds from the room next to his apartment, a cop abusing his wife, their traumatized daughter out in the hall. A tenant who lives down the hall also experiences sounds and visions that aren't there. Bobby's ex-girlfriend, Alyssa(Amelia Warner; QUILLS), studying to be a fashion designer, reluctant to start a new relationship with him even though she is responsible, in a sense, for his being sent to prison. Life for Bobby goes south fast. He calls the police on a domestic dispute learning that no one lives in that apartment where all that anger and destruction permeate loudly, the echo causing mental mayhem. The tenant down the hall, Joseph Wright(character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince) dies of fright thanks in part to the ghouls which haunt the floor. Bobby is put on suspension when a car is stolen, because he's the only one with a record(Rikers leaves you with a reputation you do not need hanging over you like a thundercloud). He misses an evaluation with his parole officer. Alyssa is experiencing the same hallucinations that Joseph Wright was and Bobby is undergoing.Like THE GRUDGE, a curse spawned from a past incident pollutes whoever comes in contact with it in THE ECHO. What lives on that floor leaves it's imprint on those that have the misfortune of remaining on it too long. THE ECHO is very similar in ways to THE GRUDGE. The victims' apparitions haunt Bobby, Mr. Wright, Bobby's boss(Carlos Leon), and Alyssa because each one sees, hears, and experiences their presence. Spiritual unrest manifests itself and this torments and terrorizes those the ghosts chooses. THE ECHO really is not much different than what the Asian ghost genre has been putting out for 12 years now. There's a reason behind the aforementioned unrest and the protagonist of the movie will have to find out why and how to solve the puzzle so he(or in many instances she)can have peace. In THE ECHO, the incident could've been prevented if someone had offered to help the mother and daughter, instead turning a deaf hear which resulted in tragedy. THE ECHO is pretty average fright fare, the usual musical cues telling the viewer to jump, some hideous make-up distorting the faces of the victims' ghosts. The ghosts pop up from behind or appear at various intervels to spook certain characters. To be honest, THE ECHO contributes very little to the American machine of remakes based on Asian horror films.

The Echo is a classic ghost story. After being released from prison, Bobby moves in his deceased mother's apartment, in an old building and from there, strange things are felt and heard. The sets are great, the old building is perfect for this story. Jesse Bradford is adequate as the protagonist, a sort of well-meaning bad boy who got on the wrong track through no fault of his. There are lots of pieces to the puzzle, lots of people he interacts with... but nothing really grabs you. It's not that the things are necessarily flawed. The story is just following a conventional track that many fans of the genre have already seen, and it's been done better.There are no memorable scenes whatsoever in this film but you will probably not regret seeing it once if you like slow moving supernatural movies.

This film had powerful acting and the plot was good but some scenes made me angry. Sometimes I think the directors have actors do what they think is acceptable for the film not considering whether it's realistic to the audience. What makes a good film is when it's realistic and everybody reacts in a way the majority would. The lesser complaints the better the film. I have several complaints but like I said, it was worth a watch at home. I could think of films that were ruined completely from being unrealistic, which isn't the case here. Like I said, not a strng ghost story but the plot and storyline was good and the acting was dramatic