Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak
Encyclopedia
Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming is a 2007 American
television movie
produced by Lions Gate Entertainment
. The film premiered on the Sci Fi Channel
. Originally titled The Dead Speak, it was written and directed by Ernie Barbarash
and purports to be a sequel
to the 1999 feature film
Stir of Echoes
, although its only connection to the previous work is the inclusion of Jake Witzky, who had a key role in the original film but is only a secondary character here.
The film was released on DVD as Stir of Echoes 2.
) is a United States National Guard
captain
commanding a National Guard unit in Iraq. When a van pulls into his checkpoint
, he orders it to stop, but it does not. He orders his men to fire a warning shot, but they shoot up the van instead.
A few booms and crackles later, an Iraqi girl comes out of the van, then the whole thing catches fire, and Ted finds that they have just killed an innocent family. Ted tries to save the girl, but the vehicle explodes and Ted's unit is attacked, leaving Ted in a coma
.
Two weeks later, Ted wakes up and gets to return home to his wife Molly (Marnie McPhail) and teenage son Max (Ben Lewis
) in Chicago, but he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
complicated by the extreme guilt he feels about the Iraqi family's deaths. Little does Ted know that the terror has only just begun. He starts having visions of a burned man who wants him to right a wrong.
As Ted begins to lose his grip on both his sanity and his family, he seeks medical support for his post-traumatic stress disorder, but his financial situation does not allow him to pay for a treatment, and the government denies him. Ted enlists the aid of an equally unhinged psychic
named Jake Witzky (Zachary Bennett
) to help him understand his terrifying and relentless dreams.
It turns out that Ted is seeing the spirit of Farzan (Vik Sahay
), an Arab-American college student who was beaten up and then set on fire. Farzan wants Ted to find his killers -- whose identities shock Ted to the very core.
Max's girlfriend Sammi (Tatiana Maslany
) and their friend Luke (Shawn Roberts
) were devastated and extremely angry about the deaths of their fathers in Iraq. Max was angry about what happened to Ted in Iraq. That resulted in them becoming furious at Arabic people. Farzan asked them for a jack so he could fix a flat tire one day, and they took that fury out on him by brutally killing him.
Sammi and Luke get killed in a car crash that injures Max, and after a lot of thought, a heartbroken Ted turns Max in, against Molly's wishes. Max is locked up for a period of time, and Ted visits him.
, Marnie McPhail, Katya Gardner, Zachary Bennett
and Ben Lewis.
The film was shot in Stouffville
and Toronto
, both in Ontario
, Canada
. It was released on DVD
on November 20, 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
produced by Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
. The film premiered on the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
. Originally titled The Dead Speak, it was written and directed by Ernie Barbarash
Ernie Barbarash
Ernie Barbarash is a movie producer, perhaps best known as co-producer of the films American Psycho, Cube 2: Hypercube, Prisoner of Love, The First 9½ Weeks and The Cat's Meow. Barbarash also wrote and directed Cube Zero and Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak...
and purports to be a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the 1999 feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Stir of Echoes
Stir of Echoes
Stir of Echoes is a supernatural horror / thriller released in the United States in 1999, starring Kevin Bacon and directed by David Koepp. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Richard Matheson.-Plot:...
, although its only connection to the previous work is the inclusion of Jake Witzky, who had a key role in the original film but is only a secondary character here.
The film was released on DVD as Stir of Echoes 2.
Synopsis
Ted Cogan (Rob LoweRob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
) is a United States National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
commanding a National Guard unit in Iraq. When a van pulls into his checkpoint
Checkpoint
- Places :* Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected** Checkpoint Charlie, the best known crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War...
, he orders it to stop, but it does not. He orders his men to fire a warning shot, but they shoot up the van instead.
A few booms and crackles later, an Iraqi girl comes out of the van, then the whole thing catches fire, and Ted finds that they have just killed an innocent family. Ted tries to save the girl, but the vehicle explodes and Ted's unit is attacked, leaving Ted in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
.
Two weeks later, Ted wakes up and gets to return home to his wife Molly (Marnie McPhail) and teenage son Max (Ben Lewis
Ben Lewis
Ben Lewis may refer to:*Ben Lewis , English-born Australian musical theatre actor*Ben Lewis , British writer for theatre, radio and television; theatre director; actor and performer*Ben Lewis , English footballer...
) in Chicago, but he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
complicated by the extreme guilt he feels about the Iraqi family's deaths. Little does Ted know that the terror has only just begun. He starts having visions of a burned man who wants him to right a wrong.
As Ted begins to lose his grip on both his sanity and his family, he seeks medical support for his post-traumatic stress disorder, but his financial situation does not allow him to pay for a treatment, and the government denies him. Ted enlists the aid of an equally unhinged psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
named Jake Witzky (Zachary Bennett
Zachary Bennett
Zachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
) to help him understand his terrifying and relentless dreams.
It turns out that Ted is seeing the spirit of Farzan (Vik Sahay
Vik Sahay
Vikram "Vik" Sahay is a Canadian actor best known for playing Lester Patel, a member of the Nerd Herd in the NBC television series Chuck on which he became a series regular from the second season, and Rama in the Roxy Hunter Saga.-Life and career:...
), an Arab-American college student who was beaten up and then set on fire. Farzan wants Ted to find his killers -- whose identities shock Ted to the very core.
Max's girlfriend Sammi (Tatiana Maslany
Tatiana Maslany
-Acting career:Maslany is one of the stars of the Canadian TV series 2030 CE and is best known in her role as the character Ghost in Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed...
) and their friend Luke (Shawn Roberts
Shawn Roberts
-Life and career:Roberts was born in Stratford, Ontario on April 2, 1984. He started with playing the wolf in a school play of "Little Red Riding Hood" award-winning screenwriter Robert Forsythe and his friend's father helped him get a role in Emily of New Moon...
) were devastated and extremely angry about the deaths of their fathers in Iraq. Max was angry about what happened to Ted in Iraq. That resulted in them becoming furious at Arabic people. Farzan asked them for a jack so he could fix a flat tire one day, and they took that fury out on him by brutally killing him.
Sammi and Luke get killed in a car crash that injures Max, and after a lot of thought, a heartbroken Ted turns Max in, against Molly's wishes. Max is locked up for a period of time, and Ted visits him.
Cast
- Rob LoweRob LoweRobert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
- Ted Cogan - Marnie McPhail - Molly Cogan
- Katya Gardner - April
- Zachary BennettZachary BennettZachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
- Jake Witzky - Ben LewisBen LewisBen Lewis may refer to:*Ben Lewis , English-born Australian musical theatre actor*Ben Lewis , British writer for theatre, radio and television; theatre director; actor and performer*Ben Lewis , English footballer...
- Max Cogan - Tatiana MaslanyTatiana Maslany-Acting career:Maslany is one of the stars of the Canadian TV series 2030 CE and is best known in her role as the character Ghost in Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed...
- Sammi - Shawn RobertsShawn Roberts-Life and career:Roberts was born in Stratford, Ontario on April 2, 1984. He started with playing the wolf in a school play of "Little Red Riding Hood" award-winning screenwriter Robert Forsythe and his friend's father helped him get a role in Emily of New Moon...
- Luke - Vik SahayVik SahayVikram "Vik" Sahay is a Canadian actor best known for playing Lester Patel, a member of the Nerd Herd in the NBC television series Chuck on which he became a series regular from the second season, and Rama in the Roxy Hunter Saga.-Life and career:...
- Farzan - Colin Williams - Drexel
- Pj Lazic - Nunez
- Krista SuttonKrista SuttonKrista Sutton is a Canadian actress who has worked in television, movies and theatre. She is also an acting teacher. She grew up in Toronto but currently lives in New York City. She is best known for her leading role in the improvisational drama Train 48...
- Tessa - Neil CroneNeil CroneNeil Crone is a Canadian voice actor and comedian who does the voices of Gordon the Big Engine, Splatter and Diesel 10 from the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. He does Phillip the Concierge in the My Secret Identity episode "Sour Grapes"...
- Gary - Elias Zarou - Iraqi Officer
- Nicholas Carella - Kablinsky
- Cristine Prosperi — Iraqi Girl
- Jason Mercury - Translator
- Bill LakeBill LakeBill Lake is a Canadian actor whose career began in Vancouver and who has appeared in many movies, television movies and series, stage plays and commercials....
- Colonel - Shari Hollett - Army Doctor
- Greer Kent - Administrator
- Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang - Security Guard
- Eugene ClarkEugene ClarkCommander Eugene F. Clark, USN, was deployed to the Flying Fish Channel, leading into Inchon. Quickly surveying the area, he and two accompanying South Korean officers Lieutenant Youn Joung and Colonel Ke In-Ju landed Yonghung-do Island in Incheon Harbor in advance of the US forces led invasion...
- Older Vet - Lucy Filippone - Latina Woman
- Mikayla Serena Alpas - Little Carlita
- Jasmin GeljoJasmin GeljoJasmin Geljo is a Bosnian actor. He is best known for his roles on Cube Zero as Ryjkin and in the films Land of the Dead, Assault on Precinct 13 and The Sentinel.-Biography:...
- Maintenance Man - George BuzaGeorge BuzaGeorge Buza is an American-born Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in the X-Men Animated Series.-Biography:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Canada as a young man and became a Canadian citizen in 1998. He appeared as Chief Jake McKenna multiple times in the TV series Honey, I...
- Albino Man - Grace Lynn KungGrace Lynn KungGrace Lynn Kung is a Canadian actress. Kung is currently starring in InSecurity as Jojo Kwan, for which she received a Gemini Award nomination....
- Friendly Nurse - Kim RobertsKim RobertsKim Roberts is an award-winning American poet, author, and editor residing in Washington, D.C..-Life:Roberts was born in Charlotte, North Carolina...
- Head Nurse - Anne Tager Page - Old Lady Alice
Production
The cast includes Rob LoweRob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
, Marnie McPhail, Katya Gardner, Zachary Bennett
Zachary Bennett
Zachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
and Ben Lewis.
The film was shot in Stouffville
Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario
Whitchurch–Stouffville is a municipality in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately 14 kilometres north of the City of Toronto. It is 206.74 square kilometers in size, and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York on the ecologically sensitive Oak...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, both in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on November 20, 2007.