an interesting film that doesn't deliver

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2000)

After seeing the trailer from the 6th sense I didn't have the intention of going to see this film immediatly.Everything looked and sounded (the whispering in the trailer still gets on my nerves) very pottered. Thankfully the film itself is better made. In essence this is a simple story about to lost souls and their search for a comprehensive life. The film itself revolves around the surprise ending, which I didn't find surprising at all. In fact watching (and not looking) at this story gives away the ending about 45 minutes into the film. To achieve this ending a lot of scenes feel also pottered and unbelievable. Once again this is a film where characters and plotlines seem to revolve around the story,normally a story is build upon characters and the succession of events and plots. Still we are left with an interesting film thanks to M.Night Shyamalan great acting-direction and his visual flair. Some of the scenes are real terrifying examples of horror. Both Willis an H.J. Osment, cool, performances give the film an extra edge. But the real surprise was the performance of T. Collette. Her performance doesn't have one false moment as the even more scared mother. Even more rewards must be given to the director of photography for his stunning, but underrated, work. All in all this is a film that has a lot to offer, but unfortunately not what it promises. *** out of four