I'll say something for The Echo... it'll keep you guessing about what the heck is going on. This feeling doesn't subside over the ending credits, BTW.
After a very s-l-o-w beginning (a few more impatient people may give up by then) of a guy wondering around a crappy apartment building not doing very much else, we finally get to the meat of the action. This involves the dude witnessing a vicious assault on the lady next door by her thug of a husband.
What complicates things is that the hubby is a cop, and the guy is a freshly released ex-con, and we think this'll cause the central conflict: should the dude report the abusive husband to the police, and risk getting himself sent down again by corrupt officers? After all, the couple do a have a (somewhat creepy) little girl as well to consider the safety of...
Nothing like as simple. He discovers later that the apartment next door has been abandoned for years and is in a state of complete disrepair, so the guy reaches the not impossible conclusion he might be going crazy. That is, until his girlfriend visits him, and starts experiencing strange visions herself...
The middle section of The Echo is it's strongest suite, with a tangible sense of suspense lingering in the air. Nervous tenants at the block reveal horrible secrets about the past, ghoulish hallucinations pop out of nowhere and the meandering film finally starts to develop a true sense of purpose.
That is, until the finale... which is big on sound and fury but offers little in the way of proper explanation. I THINK I got it after a bit of thought, but the confused ending also raises more questions than it answers.
Like, how the... oops, I don't want to go into a lot of detail. Spoilers, and all that. Just ask yourself one question afterwards, though... did you, as an honest viewer, feel completed satisfied with what you just saw?
My confident guess for the vast majority would be a resounding 'no'. 5/10
After a very s-l-o-w beginning (a few more impatient people may give up by then) of a guy wondering around a crappy apartment building not doing very much else, we finally get to the meat of the action. This involves the dude witnessing a vicious assault on the lady next door by her thug of a husband.
What complicates things is that the hubby is a cop, and the guy is a freshly released ex-con, and we think this'll cause the central conflict: should the dude report the abusive husband to the police, and risk getting himself sent down again by corrupt officers? After all, the couple do a have a (somewhat creepy) little girl as well to consider the safety of...
Nothing like as simple. He discovers later that the apartment next door has been abandoned for years and is in a state of complete disrepair, so the guy reaches the not impossible conclusion he might be going crazy. That is, until his girlfriend visits him, and starts experiencing strange visions herself...
The middle section of The Echo is it's strongest suite, with a tangible sense of suspense lingering in the air. Nervous tenants at the block reveal horrible secrets about the past, ghoulish hallucinations pop out of nowhere and the meandering film finally starts to develop a true sense of purpose.
That is, until the finale... which is big on sound and fury but offers little in the way of proper explanation. I THINK I got it after a bit of thought, but the confused ending also raises more questions than it answers.
Like, how the... oops, I don't want to go into a lot of detail. Spoilers, and all that. Just ask yourself one question afterwards, though... did you, as an honest viewer, feel completed satisfied with what you just saw?
My confident guess for the vast majority would be a resounding 'no'. 5/10