The Nevada Sagebrush
BY: ENJOLIE ESTEVE
Monday, November 16, 2009 - 7:41 PM
It’s a known fact that most Asian horror films are far superior to their American counterparts. They are generally more haunting, shocking, gory and, most of all, more disturbing. Also widely known is that most American remakes of Asian horrors are terrible, and laughably so. Take last year’s hot messes “The Eye,” “Shutter” and “One Missed Call” as examples. “The Echo” is an exception to the rule.
“The Echo,” which is a remake of the 2004 Filipino horror film, “Sigaw,” far exceeds its predecessor. The film centers around Bobby (Jesse Bradford), a young man newly released from prison who moves into his deceased mother’s apartment. While Jesse tries to pick up where his life left off before he went to prison by trying to get back into the workforce and reconnecting with an ex-girlfriend, he has to deal with a set of noisy neighbors that are always involved in domestic disputes. Bobby then starts hearing and seeing crazy, abnormal things that make him fear he is heading down the same path of insanity that his mother eventually succumbed to shortly before her death. Things get worse for Bobby when he suddenly realizes that his noisy neighbors are not what he expected and their existence threatens not only his sanity, but also his life.
As previously mentioned, “The Echo,” which is actually directed by the original film’s director, Yam Laranas, is a vast improvement to “Sigaw.” While the original version was terrifying and had a great story line, it was a bit too long and obvious. I say this because the film went too in depth with the initial characterization, revealing too much information about the neighbors. While I love films based on strong characterizations, that technique is not always well-suited in horror and thriller films, especially ones like “The Echo,” which is based not on what the audience knows or sees, but rather what it feels and what it imagines is happening.
The fact that so little is known about the constantly fighting neighbors is what makes the updated version so suspenseful and frightening. Laranas uses camera techniques to cast eerie shadows in many shots to convey an ominous feeling, along with perfectly timed, spine-tingling music that is sure to make your heart race and make the hair on your arms stand up. These elements of “The Echo” manage to keep the atmosphere of the film constantly chilling, even when a scene is taking place in stark white, broad daylight. The subtlety of the film only adds to its frightening nature. Because the film does not rely on cheap scares and tons of fake blood, special effects and entrails to send a chill down the viewers’ spines like many B-grade horrors do, it is often left up to the audience’s imagination to decide what is occurring during many grizzly events. One of the most haunting aspects of the film is not the fact that it deals with other-worldly, non-corporeal matters, but the fact that it truly shows the dark, sick and often times uncompassionate side of human nature that lives in every human, not just the sociopaths. “The Echo” shows that the real monsters of the world aren’t slimy, huge, reptilian giants such as Godzilla. We are the real monsters. The name of the film, “The Echo,” is truly well deserved, because this haunting movie resonated with me for days.
DVD release date: Nov. 10
Grade: A
Rating: R for violence, disturbing images and brief language.
Teaser-Poster
Marcel, 24.09.2009 14:03 
