Unbeknownst to him, all of that's about to change. Attending a neighborhood party with friends such as Frank McCarthy (KEVIN DUNN), Tom challenges Maggie's sister, Lisa (ILLEANA DOUGLAS), to hypnotize him after voicing his doubts about such matters. Although she's reluctant, she does so, and when Tom finally comes out of it, he experiences some odd and disorienting sensations and visions, as well as an insatiable thirst.

He doesn't think much of it, but after seeing the ghost of a dead teenage girl sitting next to him on the couch as well as odd flashes of blood red light, Tom starts to worry about what he's seeing. After Jake informs him that he's seen the same girl, Samantha (JENNIFER MORRISON), Tom becomes obsessed with figuring out what's going on. No longer going to work, he then spends his time on the sofa trying to see this girl again, hoping to find answers to his newfound power.

Of course Maggie doesn't understand this sudden change in her husband, although a chance encounter with a mysterious local cop (EDDIE BO SMITH, JR.) does give her some insight into the special powers that Tom and their son apparently possess. With more troubling visions and an increasing urgency to have his questions answered, Tom's obsession grows to the point where he soon endangers his personal as well as family's well-being.

While its troubled protagonist may be haunted by flashes and visions of horrifying past events, audiences are apt to have recollections of their own regarding superior horror films such as "The Shining," "The Changeling," and the recently released "The Sixth Sense."

While one can't fault writer/director David Koepp (writer of "Jurassic Park," "Mission: Impossible" and director of "The Trigger Effect") for having his film open just a month or so after the similarly thematic Bruce Willis thriller (that will obviously steal this one's thunder), the similarities to those other films are more than just a little striking.

Although the film is based on the 1969 novel of the same name by author/screenwriter Richard Matheson ("What Dreams May Come," "Somewhere in Time") and thus predates those other films, in the world of cinema, as in any other business, those who arrive second or anytime afterwards are seen as imitators.

Like "The Shining," this one features a young boy with a gift for seeing what others can't -- particularly those pesky dead people -- as well as a father who slowly but progressively goes crazy, upsetting both his wife and that boy. There's even a character who has knowledge of the boy's powers who could easily be a brother to the late Scatman Crothers (the caretaker for that film's haunted hotel) in both looks and necessary plot development.

Regarding "The Changeling," the George C. Scott movie famous for a wheelchair, some tub pounding and a pesky bouncing ball, let's just say the plot structures of both have men digging up some unsavory facts. There's also a passing similarity to James Brolin's character in "The Amityville Horror" similarly digging in a crazed fashion looking for info.

Of course, it's not always fair to compare newer films with those that preceded it, especially since it's difficult to ascertain whether this one's original novel inspired them in any way. Thus, the key question that remains is whether the film's any good or not. If one hasn't seen any of those other films, then this one might seem like a great and highly original supernatural thriller. For those who have, the film still manages to be effective despite the unavoidable similarities and the plot's occasionally predictable revelations and occurrences.

That's because Koepp introduces the spooky stuff right from the onset. From the scenes where Jake talks to an invisible person -- including a great one where the babysitter hears this over the baby monitor and then slowly walks up the stairs to investigate -- to classic, but still effective scenes where a character or the camera moves to reveal a creepy or scary image, Koepp has made sure that we're primed for more of such material to follow at any moment.

In fact, the film has so many red herring moments -- where the audience thinks another jump scene will be sprung upon them as the camera slowly moves around the house, but doesn't always occur exactly when they're expecting it -- that the viewer is constantly kept off balance.

That's a good tactic for most any film, but is particularly true for one attempting to be a spooky suspense thriller. Although some of that material and its related dialogue later get a bit hokey at times (such as the whole bit about the all-knowing cop explaining things to Maggie) and other elements are never explained or are abandoned (Maggie's pregnancy), for the most part the film is successful in delivering the chills (although not quite as well as the similar moments of "The Sixth Sense").

As the troubled protagonist, Kevin Bacon ("Wild Things," "Apollo 13") is quite good and makes a credible transition from a dissatisfied blue collar stiff to an obsessed and apparent lunatic. Undoubtably, he'll remind viewers of a mixture of Richard Dreyfuss' similarly obsessed character in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and Jack Nicholson's progressively unhinged persona in "The Shining." Although certainly not as much fun to watch as Nicholson hamming it up, Bacon does bring enough energy and believable determination to the role to make his character interesting, and somewhat sympathetic.

Playing the confused and trouble wife, Kathryn Erbe ("Kiss of Death," "What About Bob?") delivers a great performance, while young Zachary David Cope (making his debut) as their clairvoyant son is an appropriate mixture of innocence and spookiness (and constantly reminded me of the little boy in "Close Encounters"). Meanwhile, the always interesting to watch Illeana Douglas ("Message in a Bottle," "To Die For") gets just a small and underwritten supporting role with which to work.

For those who like supernatural thrillers, you could certainly do worse than this film. Although it's temporal proximity and story similarity to "The Sixth Sense" is unfortunate, and its drawing of elements from other superior films reduces -- or altogether eliminates -- its novelty factor, this is still a decent entry in the horror/suspense genre. We give "Stir of Echoes" a 6 out of 10.