Task: Sentiment Analysis
Input (English): after being hypnotized , a man believes there is a ghost in his house .
the review two low - key summer horror films have become surprise financial successes this year : the blair witch project and the sixth sense .
each has made well over $ 100 million in north america , based on a combination of strong word of mouth and clever advertising .
if a film 's box office take were based primarily on its quality , stir of echoes would join blair and sense in grossing far more money than expected , for it is as scary , if not scarier than the other two .
writer / director david koepp has given artisan entertainment , the folks who distributed blair witch a second creepy hit .
the story gets going after tom witzky ( bacon ) , an average blue - collar dad , gets hypnotized by his wife maggie 's ( erbe ) sister lisa ( douglas ) at a party .
while the hypnosis goes as expected to the party - goers , it triggers something in tom 's head .
things begin to change around him ( blinking red lights let off a strange hum , for example ) , and he fights to stay in control of his own senses .
where these experiences take tom , maggie and their son jake ( cope ) , who tom thinks might have some answers , is down a dark path that will scare and disturb you .
david koepp keeps the action localized ; the majority of the action takes place at tom 's house or just down the street .
by keeping things at home , koepp is able to proceed without having to resort to any clumsy segues ( montages of driving down roads as we move from one city to another etc . ) .
unfortunately , the dread and spookiness of stir of echoes are frequently interrupted by moments of levity .
humour can take the tension away from a scene faster than any shoddy special effect or poor acting .
several tense moments become completely diffused by a few misplaced jokes .
also , there are a couple of plot developments that are left unresolved , though to mention them would be to give too much away .
kevin bacon handles the duel task of playing an everyman and a man losing his sanity admirably .
his total lack of understanding of what is happening to him is believable , as are the reactions from his wife
maggie .
kathryn erbe is given a role meatier and better written than that of most " wife who can no longer handle her husband " parts . while it is still a supporting role , her maggie is moving as she watches
both her husband and her son enter what she calls " a private club that i 'm not invited to " , where they whisper about things all day long .
as jake , zachary cope equals the performance of haley joel osment in the sixth sense , but gets less screen time .
both children manage the same trick , making the audience creeped out by their apparent acceptance of the way things are .
fans of blair and sixth sense will almost surely love stir of echoes .
it combines the dread of blair , a creepy closed - in feel thanks to cinematographer fred murphy and great performances by the whole cast , specifically bacon , to give the fall its first genuine scary film .
if only they had let up on the unneeded funny bits and tweaked the plot a bit more , this could have been one of the year 's best .
Output (English): P