#curtlambert

I’m a sucker for any movie character who loves rodents – from Willard Stiles with his army of rats to the Little Family with their adopted furry “son” Stuart – so naturally when I saw that Alysa (Trista Robinson) had an adorable pet mouse I was already half in the bag for Echoes of Fear!

Fortunately, the movie has a lot more going for it than a four-legged, whiskered scene-stealer. Robinson is compelling as the heroine in this rather unsettling mystery-horror story about a young woman who’s inherited a big, spooky house from her deceased grandpa. Gramps died while taking a shower and no one discovered him for weeks, leading to a lot of muck in the pipes and an overall feeling of the heebie-jeebies permeating the two-story fixer-upper.

With her BFF Steph (Hannah Race), boyfriend Brandon (Paul Chirico), and nosy neighbor David (Marshal Hilton) at the ready, Alysa sets out to discover what—or who—is haunting the house. And why. Every step of the way, Twikie the mouse acts as her supernatural divining rod, sniffing out trouble and leading her to clues in the crawlspaces. There are masked villains and a few gotcha “a-ha!” moments once all is said and done. As mature and accomplished as this movie is, I must say I caught “Scooby-Doo” vibes here and there (in a good way!).

Director Brian Avenet-Bradley co-wrote this effective chiller with his wife, cinematographer Laurence Avenet-Bradley, and the result is one that is sure to have audiences breathlessly awaiting their next cinematic collaboration.