Effectively chilling and intelligently made

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 1999)

This is good stuff, but since there are already so many comments, I'll be brief:
The direction is excellent - everyday buildings sprout monstrous gargoyles (I don't know if everyone spotted it, but there is a moment near the beginning where the skyscrapers in the background appear to have demonic, grinning faces); subdued or oblique lighting intensifies the air of menace; the shocks, few though they are, are impeccably timed.
One should praise Tak Fujimoto and James Newton Howard for their excellent contributions.
The performances are restrained, but not bland. Colette is at her finest, as usual. Haley Joel Osment is a revelation, one of the best child performances ever (note the bit in the church where, from the balcony, he talks to Willis with the weariness and sarcasm of a much-lived adult).
THAT twist...well, it's reasonably unpredictable, but it's a shame it isn't really developed. In fact, the film seems to disappear into a blandness at the end which reminds you it was made in Hollywood - which is a shame, after so much good value along the way. And, as you think about the twist, you realise it's actually illogical. Oh, well, I'll say no more about it.
Overall, the film will be compared to Blair Witch, though it doesn't resemble it much. What it's really like is a cross between The Shining (which is inferior) and The Innocents (which remains superior, because it is much more bitter and chilling). In fact, the appearance of the first ghost in Sixth Sense so closely resembles a moment in The Innocents, that I can't believe it's not been copied. Still, this is not really a criticism - this is fine, intelligent, thoughtful film-making, and how often does that come from a studio picture these days?