Creepy, entertaining, but takes too much credit.

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 1999)

*Warning: My comments may contain spoilers for those who haven't seen "The Sixth Sense" yet.
If there has ever been a movie more derivative of another movie (re-makes aside) than "The Sixth Sense" is of "Jacob's Ladder" I don't know what it is. I figured out the "surprise" ending approximately five minutes into the movie, as will anyone who has seen Adrian Lyne's film. Once you know what is coming, the ending seems somewhat hastily tacked on. This is not to say that the film is without entertainment; quite the contrary, actually.
By far the best thing about the film is Haley Joel Osment. This kid is an excellent actor, and I hope he continues to find work for himself. He seems to be very natural, and when I got into the movie, I didn't notice that he was acting at all.
I also loved the atmosphere of "The Sixth Sense". It has some genuinely creepy moments with a few good jumps thrown in for good measure. Every shot seems dark and brooding, perfectly matching the film's content.
I have one major gripe, however. Maybe I'm strange, but I find it difficult to swallow when a brilliant but unsuccessful and virtually unknown film has its formula copied and "Hollywoodized" into a new movie that is enormously successful, but not even close to being as good. "The Matrix" did it to the incredible sci-fi noir "Dark City", and now "The Sixth Sense" is doing it to the vastly superior "Jacob's Ladder", and to an even greater extent. If you want to watch a horror film--and you simply *must* see a movie in the theatre--I would recommend "The Sixth Sense", as it is fine entertainment. Otherwise, head down to your local video store and rent the psychological horror masterpiece that is "Jacob's Ladder".