Echoes isn’t that well made of a movie, with plot twists coming two miles away, yet the cast is amicable enough headlined by Kate French and there’s enough to at least make it a passably entertaining flick to watch on a Saturday night with a breezy 86-minute running time. The Blu-ray released by Anchor Bay is very basic, which makes the SRP a bit on the high side, but the video and audio were both alright.
Echoes
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Supernatural
Anchor Bay | NR – 88 min. – $29.99 | April 14, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Nils Timm Writer(s): Nils Timm (written by) Cast: Kate French, Steven Brand, Caroline Whitney Smith, Steve Hanks, Billy Wirth DISC INFO: Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1) |
** Click Here to Purchase Echoes on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE MOVIE – 3.0/5
“The truth is a nightmare.”
Anna (KATE FRENCH) is an aspiring screenwriter who is having trouble sleeping. She chases down pill after pill and when she does fall asleep, she experience nightmares and even sleep paralysis, a condition where the person is awake but cannot move and experience hallucinations in the process.
Having trouble with her screenplay, her boyfriend/manager Paul (STEVEN BRAND), offers to take her out to his secluded glass house, located in the middle of the desert, near Joshua Tree, for some fun and relaxation. The home is powered with solar panels but, in typical movie form, has no cell phone signal – except on the mountain ridge – and nobody else around… except for a creepy groundskeeper, Willy err Jeremy (STEVE HANKS).
When Paul is called back to the office for an emergency meeting, Anna decides to stay behind having the chance to work on her screenplay and give us the plot of the entire film. She’s not alone, though as Paul leaves behind his trusty dog, Shadow for protection and companionship since there’s no radio or television.
Her first night alone isn’t quiet, of course. During a sleep paralysis, a ghostly/grisly woman appears scaring the Dejesus out of poor Anna. She awakens the next day to find somebody had scribbled something on the outside bedroom window. After rightfully freaking out, she sets out to the hilltop in order to call Paul to come back and pick her up, on the way back to the house, she trips on a branch, knocking herself out. Creepy but helpful Jeremy is there to bring her back and after she comes to, he takes a look at the writing on the window to reveal it is a date: 03/02/12 (should note this takes place in November 2012).
** Spoilers Ahead **
What significance is the date? And what secret is Paul hiding? Honestly, it’s not that hard to figure out making the mystery irrelevant and certain scenes, like when Anna visits a local Shaman to help, mere filler than anything else. If you’ve seen What Lies Beneath starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer it’s has a similar supernatural-thriller premise.
** End Spoilers **
In spite the fact Echoes isn’t the most unpredictable movie to come down the pike, it does have a few things going for it: Kate French, from “The L Word” and “One Tree Hill”, is quite good in the lead especially with the imperfect script and Steven Brand for his part was alright, again, considering the limitations.
The film was written and directed by Nils Timm in his feature film debut. All things considered, he does give audiences a nice atmosphere especially with the glass house providing a creep factor and even though his screenplay was thin, there was still plenty of entertainment value, in a Saturday chiller movie night sort of way.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0/5
Unfortunately, no features were included.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Echoes arrives on Blu-ray presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and with a 1080p high-definition transfer. The video isn’t anything amazing with average detail and certain softness in its texture and colors, but it was shot to relay its darker tone. The transfer is at least somewhat clean, free of artifacts though I did notice some aliasing in the darker scenes.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track comes through a bit better providing crisp and clear dialogue levels and giving good depth with the few suspense-oriented sequences as well as the score by Dre Nitze (debut). The LFE channel does kick in to give the lossless track that extra boost.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Echoes isn’t that well made of a movie, with plot twists coming two miles away, yet the cast is amicable enough headlined by Kate French and there’s enough to at least make it a passably entertaining flick to watch on a Saturday night with a breezy 86-minute running time. The Blu-ray released by Anchor Bay is very basic, which makes the SRP a bit on the high side, but the video and audio were both alright.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 04/03/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.