Surprise Thriller of the Summer

Rating: 9/10 (8 August 1999)

The Sixth Sense is the surprise thriller of the summer. Not as hyped as the other `scary' movies released this summer, it ends up being scarier and better. The Sixth Sense is not juts a scary movie, it is a psychological thriller. It is a work of art. It is compassionate and appealing and takes over your senses in a slow hypnotic way. Not what you would expect from a movie that has Bruce Willis listed as the main star. Fortunately, this movie is in no way like other Bruce Willis films.
I will tell you a little about the story, which is ideally all you need to know prior to seeing the film, just a little. Bruce Willis is Malcolm Crowe, an award winning psychiatrist whom almost a year after a traumatizing event takes on a boy with similar problems of another boy he tried to help but could not. Haley Joel Osment plays Cole, the little boy who is deeply troubled and withdrawn no one knows why. Except, of course, for us, who already know from the ads and commercials for this film that he `sees dead people'. Cole lives with his divorced mother, played by Lynn Collette.
Director M. Night Shyamalan has directed this movie in a quiet slow Hitchcockian way that works to its benefit, especially amidst complaints that the film drags. It is a very carefully weaved story that creates an interest that compels you to watch every part. The acting is excellent, particularly that of Haley Joel Osment. His painful and anguished expressions from the terror he feels just tear into your heart. The strained relationship between the scared boy and his single, loving and caring mother is also touching as well. Willis is great as the sad, concerned, and frustrated psychologist, bent on saving the boy, so that he may save his career and his marriage. The dark twists and the commentaries on death and loss make this movie extremely touching and there are scenes in which there are very few dry eyes in the theater, something not expected from a horror/ thriller. And this movie does not over do it in its horror; it remains classy and subtle, yet shocking. You will jump in your seat at least twice, which is once more than I did at The Haunting.
This movie is slow at first, but it builds up a great story, superb acting, good scares, and pulls at the heartstrings when you least expect it. The ending is an all out shocker, and makes the movie. I will not predict Oscars for this film, but I will say it is definitely the best movie of the Summer Film Season, and one of the best movies of the year. Definitely one of my Top Ten movies of all time. Give it a shot.