Putting the magic back into the telling of ghost stories

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 1999)

I hardly need to say anything ... or rather I can't say anything that hasn't already been. This is a excellent movie; we've had gore-fests, we've had horror-parody, now is the time for the return of the *intelligent* horror story.
'The Sixth Sense' works it's magic by suggestion; by simply going *just* far enough from normality that the viewer spooks themselves.
There are a couple of moments to make you jump, just to make sure you are in the right frame of mind; there are a few unpleasant ghouls, but this is no Clive Barker fright-a-thon.
From those simple elements it builds slowly (perhaps a little too slowly) and you start to share in the torment of young Cole as he searches for an escape from all the "dead people" who inhabit his world. Eventually psychologist Crowe offers a way out and you sense that the film will have a happy ending and that, as it were, the ghosts will be laid to rest. But no, just when you start thinking all is well with the world, the *real* truth is revealed.
It's not a 'Carrie' style heart-stopping moment, but the final twist is so brilliantly played out, you can't help but go back and revisit all those key moments that suddenly make a totally different sort of sense.
The beauty, the magic, of this film is provided by the two splendid performances from young Osement (Cole) and Willis (Crowe) drawing you effortlessly into their world, making the unreal palpably real.
Knowing that there is a big 'twist' to this film, you may well be able to work it out for yourself, but even if you do, you will surely enjoy this beautifully crafted film, a film that puts the magic back into the telling of ghost stories.