Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming

At a checkpoint in Iraq, Ted Cogan orders a van to stop and fires a warning shot, which leads to the van bursting into flames. The soldiers realize they have killed an innocent family, including an Iraqi girl who escapes the burning vehicle. Ted's attempt to save them ends when the vehicle explodes and his unit is ambushed, leaving him unconscious in a coma.

Two weeks after the coma, Ted wakes in a Chicago hospital and returns home to his wife Molly and teenage son Max. He is plagued by flashbacks and deep guilt over the Iraqi deaths, and he struggles to rejoin family life. The shock of civilian life clashes with his military memories.

Ted begins to be haunted by visions of a burned man who seems to demand that he right the wrong. The dreams intrude on his waking life and strain his marriage as he becomes preoccupied with the ghost’s message. The haunting marks the start of his struggle to understand Farzan's purpose.

Ted learns that medical treatment is out of reach financially and administratively denied by the government. He enlists Jake Witzky, a similarly unstable psychic, to help him parse the dreams and figure out what Farzan wants.

Sammi and Luke die in a car crash, leaving Max injured and traumatized. The accident intensifies the spirit’s messages as Farzan’s presence becomes more demanding, pressing Ted to uncover the killers. The family’s grief deepens into fear and guilt.

Farzan is revealed as an Arab-American college student who was beaten and then set on fire. He explains that he wants his killers found, tying his death to the moral weight Ted carries from Iraq. The revelation reframes Ted’s quest from supernatural aid to a call for justice.

The teens—Sammi, Max, and Luke—encounter Farzan and refuse to help him. An exchange escalates into violence: Sammi strikes Farzan, and the group kills him by pouring alcohol and setting him on fire. They flee the scene, leaving guilt and fear in their wake.

Back at home, Ted's attempts to learn Farzan’s wishes lead to a psychic possession. The spirit takes control long enough for Ted to threaten Max with a loaded gun while Molly rushes for help. Their struggle ends with Molly trying to intervene as Ted fights to regain control.

In the struggle, Ted attempts to kill himself but accidentally shoots Molly instead. Molly dies in his arms, begging the spirit not to harm Max as she passes away. The tragedy cements Ted’s sense of responsibility and fear for his son.

At Molly’s burial, Ted explains to Max why he surrendered to police for Farzan’s murder and asks for his son’s forgiveness. The family’s grief is compounded by the public eye and the shame of Ted’s past actions in Iraq. The burden drives Ted toward accountability.

The police take Max back to jail, and Farzan’s spirit appears one last time, now no longer burned, and moves away as if satisfied. The spirit seems to have found closure, and the haunting slowly recedes as Ted faces the consequences. The apparition fades, leaving Ted to begin serving his sentence.

Ted is confined to a mental hospital, where Molly’s ghost visits to confirm that Farzan’s spirit is satisfied. Ted accepts the resolution and believes Farzan’s vengeance is complete as Molly says farewell and moves on. The film ends on a note of reckoning and tentative peace.