The Echo (2008/I)

Director:

Yam Laranas

Writers (WGA):

Eric Bernt (screenplay) and
Shintaro Shimosawa (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 May 2009 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Open the door... I know you're in there.

Plot:

An ex-con moves into an old apartment building, where he encounters a domestic problem involving a police officer, his wife, and their daughter. When he tries to intervene, however, a mysterious curse entraps him.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Police Officer | Remake | Remake Of Asian Film | Remake Of Filipino Film

Cast

Hrant Alianak	...	Max
Jamie Bloch	...	Carly
Jesse Bradford	...	Bobby
Iza Calzado	...	Gina
Brendan Carmody	...	University student
Kevin Durand	...	Walter
Jayne Eastwood	...	Lucille Jiminez
Bathsheba Garnett	...	Old Russian Woman
Marvin Hinz	...	Detective
Stacey LaBerge	...	Student
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee	...	Dr. Morris
Carlos Leon	...	Hector
Louise Linton	...	Katie
Robert Morse	...	Construction worker no 1
Vanessa Petronelli	...	Waitress
George Santino	...	Manager
Paulette Sinclair	...	Helen Davis
Courtenay J. Stevens	...	Older Cop
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Joseph
Amelia Warner	...	Alyssa

Runtime:

South Korea:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Vertigo Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Yam Laranas's Hollywood debut.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Sigaw (2004)

Comes Alive Only in the Second Half

Ever since I heard about it, I wanted to watch this American production of a Filipino horror film, with the same director (Yam Laranas) at the helm. However, when I heard it went straight to DVD instead of wide theatrical release, I knew I had to temper my expectations.

The first half of this movie moves at a literal snail's pace. There was nothing much to establish, yet it certainly took its time. Bobby Reynolds (Jesse Bradford) earns parole from his prison term and went to live in his mother's apartment, which had been abandoned since her recent death. However, he sees strange things and hears strange sounds while he is there. This entire scenario with the Mom was not in the Philippine version at all, yet so much time was spent on this side story here.

However, in the second half, the movie finally comes alive when the story about the family who lived next door to Bobby finally gets dealt with in more of its gruesome detail. These scary scenes were shot very well, with the right amount of nervous tension. Still we see the victims do what most "horror movie victims" stupidly do to deserve their fates. The ending would seem to be quite simplistic given the extensive build-up to that point. This is especially true for us who had already seen the original before.

Jesse Bradford did well to convey how a macho ex-con could be the central character of a horror film, which is not typical. He did much better than the original actor. I felt it was too bad that Iza Calzado, who was given the chance to reenact her original role in this American version, was given little opportunity to fully delve into her disturbed character of the abused wife. Some time could have been spent to describe her situation more, than the excessive time given Jesse to explore his apartment. Knowing her character more could have increased the audience's satisfaction with the story's final outcome.