Great, moving movie, but not the horror flick as advertised

Rating: Null/10 (22 August 1999)

Summary:
Bruce Willis plays Malcolm, one of the most successful psychologists in Philadelphia whose life has fallen apart because of the actions of one of his former patients whom he failed to cure. He is determined to make amends by dedicating his life to save a young boy who showed the same psychological systems his "failed patient" had. That boy is Cole, who has a terrible secret that he won't tell anyone, especially his mom because he does not want her to see him as everyone else does. But what is his terrible secret, why is he always getting strange scratches and bruises, and why is he afraid all of the time? Can Malcolm get Cole to trust him enough to tell his secret, so that Malcolm can cure him and they both can have peace of mind?

Cons:
-Not scary -Wanted some more closure from ending

Pros:
-Great acting from the entire cast, especially from the kid who plays the haunted boy Cole. He is phenomenal! -Very good job of cinematography with some very interesting looking shots. -Good job by director and soundtrack composer at building the right atmosphere to develop genuine feelings of eerieness, creepiness, and suspense during the movie's key scenes -Tremendous payoff twist revealed at the movie's end...it's so obvious thru-out the progression of the movie that most people won't even see it--I completely missed it till the end!
My Overall Rating: 8 out of 10. Excellent.
The Bottom Line:
Great movie with even greater acting. Give the kid that plays Cole an Oscar, please! I just wish the director/writer exploited more opportunities to make the movie more scary and horrifying--the potential for this to be an awesome terrifying, disturbing film is glaringly there. Still, again this is a great movie that fits better as a moving, suspenseful-drama rather than a horror flick as advertised.