Taking a cue from the tagline: While I think Haunted Echoes is worth a look once, there won't be a next time for me. It's a pretty standard, by-the-numbers ghost movie making up what it lacks in suspense with a solid cast.
Sean Young (Parasomnia ) plays the grieving and possibly haunted mother of a slain child with enough shades of gray to convince; M. Emmet Walsh (Youth in Revolt) is likable as the new neighbor who is the first to back up the mother's story of seeing the apparition; and Barbara Bain (best-known as Cinnamon Carter in the Mission Impossible TV series) has a small role but is pretty awesome as the crazy lady who once occupied the haunted house.
The story closely follows married couple Guy (David Starzyk) and Laura Dykstra (Young) in the aftermath of their young daughter's abduction and subsequent death. Unable to live in the abyss of memories any longer, they move into a new house… only to find that ghosts of another kind await them there. At first, Laura believes the spirit is that of her daughter. But when the restless creature begins to write strange messages on the walls, harms the family pet, and shows herself as a gruesome corpse, the couple suspects a sinister force is trying to get their attention. But why?
As they unravel the mystery, clues come forth in the form of their helpful and perhaps too-friendly neighbor (Walsh); the angry old woman (Bain) who once owned their abode but is now forced to live in a home; the daughter's grade school teacher (Juliet Landau, Bain's daughter); and the best friend (Michael Azria) of the man who was accused of the murder (Zac Kilberg).
The acting is the best thing about the film, with the script and dialogue being halfway decent. Not so good is the dull, flat shot-on-digital cinematography and the humdrum direction which leaves the viewer vacillating between boredom and attention. It's "OK" TV movie caliber entertainment, which makes Haunted Echoes a decent timewaster but not much else.
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