The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense is a drama film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan who later directed great films like Signs. It stars Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette and Olivia WIliiams. It was released and distributed by Spyglass Entertainment and Hollywood Pictures.

Plot.  The film opens with the murder scene of child psychologist named Dr. Malcolm Crowe (played by Bruce Willis). He is returning home with his wife Anna (Olivia Williams) when a young man attacks them. Crowe recognizes the attacker as Vincent Grey, one of his former patients whom he treated as a child for hallucination. Crowe is shot in the lower abdomen, and later, Grey commits suicide.

The next fall, Crowe begins working with a new patient, nine-year-old Cole Sear who is also suffering from the conditions similar to Grey. Meanwhile, Crowe notices that her relationship with his wife is slowly falling apart.

Cole soon trusts Crowe and confides in him that he “sees dead people that walk around like regular people.” Crowe does not believe him at first but urges Cole to communicate with the ghosts to help them with their unfinished business on Earth. Cole eventually uses his gift and helps out some ghosts.

 

In the end, Crowe has a sudden realization when he comes home. As her wife sleeps, she releases his wedding ring. Only then Crowe observes that he is not wearing the ring and the stark truth dawns on him. Crowe was actually killed by Vincent Grey and unknowingly dead all the time he was working with Cole. With the kid’s help, Crowe finally fulfills the answers to his unfinished business. 

 

Review. For me, The Sixth Sense, is one of the best horror films of all time. The movie had not only succeeded in giving audience a great chill but also a very heart-warming drama.

The movie is not a typical horror flick which scares audience with vicious monsters and gross scenes. It is somewhat subtle and the horror is more on silence. It relates to anybody’s feeling of being watched or not being alone. This is common to everyone and this aspect of believability is what sets the film from the rest. The slow appearances of ghosts and the sudden shocking apparitions can really raise the hairs of audience. The movie gives a good and not-over-the-top scare.

There is also drama in the film as the kid sets out to help the ghosts. In every story, there is a strong and sad force that made them stay on Earth. As Cole struggles to help them, he also learns lessons of love, loss and acceptance.

Unforgettable Scenes. The tent scene where Cole encounters a female ghost is really the scariest part. On the other hand, the end part where Crowe was hit with the realization that he was dead was the most heart-breaking.

Reception. The Sixth Sense is a very huge success. It gathered an 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 64 rating on Metacritic. It grossed more than $672 million with its budget of only $40 million. In 2007, it was named the 89^th Best Film of all time by the American Film Institute.

Rating. Undoubtedly, The Sixth Sense is an unforgettable classic. For this, I would have to give it five stars out of five.