LITERAL REMAINS

Bobby Walker is fresh out of prison, having served time for involuntary manslaughter.  He moves into his mother’s old apartment; she died while he was doing time.  Bobby has no other family, and when he tries to reconnect with some old friends, they blow him off.  Even his old flame, Alyssa, is hesitant to try and rekindle their old romance.  She tells him it’s been so long, things have changed, she’s in school trying to make something of herself.  She is still hurt from him cutting off communication with her while in prison.  Other than a low paying mechanic job, Bobby doesn’t have a lot working in his favor.

His neighbors at the apartment building give him suspicious looks; word has travelled fast that an ex-con is living amongst them now.  One neighbor has twitchy eyes, the other neighbor is a cop who beats his wife and daughter.  The apartment itself is still filled with his mother’s belongings, which is hard enough for Bobby to deal with, but it is also filled with odd sounds which he suspects is bad plumbing.  And he can hear the neighbor cop through the wall yelling at his wife and hitting her.

Cleaning the apartment, Bobby uncovers evidence that his mother went insane.  He finds her medications, and closet is filled with old food cans and wrappers.  The closet door has locks on it on the inside.  He also finds a recorder which contains frantic messages from his mother about the sounds.  It seems his mother barricaded herself in the closet for weeks before finally dying of starvation.

Those sounds haunt Bobby in, and out of, the apartment.  He begins seeing people who are not there.  The same as people who visit the apartment.  Then people begin dying.

The Echo is the American remake of the Filipino film Sigaw.  Yam Laranas, director of the original, helms this one, and has made an interesting little film.  Plodding at times, but interesting.  With the DVD proclaiming it from the executive producers of The Ring, The Grudge, and Dark Water, you know what you’re in for with this one.  I think The Echo is better than The Ring, but not as good as the other two films mentioned.

The best way to enjoy this movie is with a superior sound system, just so you catch all the little noises, moans, voices, pops, and creaks.  The movie is keen on composition, but falters with the story in spots, and runs a little long.  It will try the patience of some, but is worth at least a rental to see a well made horror film with a somewhat different aim.

3.5 out of 5
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