The Echo - Blu-Ray

Film: Bobby Walker (Jesse Bradford) is facing the ruins of his life. He has spent the last few years in prison and has now been released on parole. But as an ex-con, getting a place to stay and a job is next to impossible. So Bobby has to move into the gloomy apartment of his recently deceased mother. Initial attempts to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend Alyssa (Amelia Warner) also prove unsuccessful. At least he finds a job at an auto repair shop, which pays poorly but is at least an important step toward rehabilitation. But just as Bobby's life seems to be taking a turn for the better, and his contact with Alyssa is once again taking on more intimate forms, strange events begin to pile up in the run-down apartment block where he now lives. An apparently violent neighbor (Kevin Durand), nightmares, strange noises and evidence that his mother did not die of natural causes scratch more and more at Bobby's psyche. But his mental health is soon the least of his problems.

In 2008, Filipino director Yam Laranas was allowed to direct a US remake of his own horror film Sigaw, The Echo. Over four years after its release in America, the creepy thriller has now made it to Germany. It's clear from the film that it was made in the wake of US remakes of Asian horror films like The Ring, The Grudge or Dark Water. The Echo also relies on a dark atmosphere, eerie ghostly apparitions and murderous curses. Especially the scenes where Larana's very traditional creepiness kicks in then work very well. But genre fans should also enjoy the few gory shock effects, especially a scene with Pruitt Taylor Vince.

What stands in the way of an all-round positive overall impression is the very clichéd dramaturgy, through which the action is not only unnecessarily drawn out, but also diluted in terms of creepiness and suspense again and again bad. The whole thing culminates in a finale that can only convince those viewers who desperately want a happy ending even in a scary movie. Otherwise, however, the resolution can only conditionally keep what the in itself good beginning promises.

The Echo is an overall neatly crafted horror thriller that can make up for some of its weaknesses with its dark atmosphere and some very effective shock moments. Unfortunately, there are still too many dramaturgical hangs and the unsatisfactory ending to draw a completely positive conclusion. Still, if you liked the US remake of The Grudge and its sequel, you'll be pleasantly creeped out by this ghost tale as well.

Picture + Sound: The image of the Blu-Ray has a high level of detail, which can still convince in the numerous darker scenes despite small quality losses. The mix of the black levels and the rather earthy colour tones underline the eerie atmosphere of the film, which is also supported by the purposefully used sound effects. While these provide a bit of movement to the tonal proceedings, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix otherwise remains rather subdued and unspectacular. For the story told with many quiet moments, however, this is entirely appropriate. Good.

Extras: Except for the trailer, the disc unfortunately has no bonus material to offer.

Conclusion: The Echo is a decent creepy thriller that, apart from a few genuine shock effects, primarily relies on its dark atmosphere to give the viewer goosebumps. This often succeeds very well, only overall the film has to fight with some lengths, quite a few clichés and a somewhat unsatisfactory ending. But who liked the U.S. versions of The Grudge, which can also access confidently here - even if the technically well implemented Blu-Ray has to offer only trailers as bonus material

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp