*spoiler warning*

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 2018)

M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense is a chilling tale that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats up until the very end. The story mainly revolves around the ideas of the paranormal and supernatural. The movie opens with child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) and his wife Anna (Olivia Williams) going up to their bedroom, about to go to sleep. Upon entering the room, Malcolm finds an intruder, who is ex-patient Vincent Gray (Donnie Wahlberg), in his bathroom, holding a gun. Vincent is angry at Malcolm for not being able to help him when he was a child. Vincent shoots Malcolm, and then proceeds to shoot himself. The scene then cuts to Malcolm sitting on a bench outside a building looking through some papers from work. 9-year-old Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) walks out of a nearby building. When Cole sees Malcolm, he starts to run down the street, away from him. The development of the plot is not at all laggard. The story evolves mostly through dialogue and characters' actions, though there are some exceptions to this. In a scene in the middle of the movie, Cole is lying in a hospital bed, with Malcolm in a chair by his side. Cole is telling the psychologist his secrets, and says "I see dead people." Immediately after he says this, the camera cuts to look at Malcolm. Malcolm then asks Cole where he sees dead people. Cole responds with "Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're dead." M. Night Shyamalan uses suspense to keep viewers on edge. Throughout the movie, the characters, especially Cole, know more than the audience.
The setting of the movie is not typical of horror movies. There is no gothic mansion or castle. The main setting of the movie is in Cole's house, or Malcom's house. The houses are small and modern, not something you would find scary. One of the movie's main themes is finding a purpose in life. After Malcolm strikes a discordant note in his relationship with his wife, he tries to drop Cole as a patient. Cole is upset with Malcolm for giving up on him, and he tries to convince Malcolm to stay. Malcolm realizes that Cole reminds him of Vincent Gray, and he realizes that the only way he can really be happy with himself is to help Cole. At the end of the movie, Cole says he found out a way that Malcolm can fix his relationship with his seemingly churlish wife. Cole tells him to talk to her while she is sleeping, so she no choice but to listen to him. Malcolm goes home to find Anna asleep on the sofa, watching videos of their wedding. He tries to talk to her, but she all she does is mutter, "why did you leave me?". Malcolm's wedding ring then falls from Anna's hand. The movie cuts to the beginning scene where Malcolm is shot, and then to the scene where Cole is describing ghosts to him. As Malcolm comes to this horrifying realization, he discovers that he fulfilled his goal in helping Cole, and is ready to move on. The Sixth Sense is a film that keeps the audience in touch with their emotions through its entirety, and highlights the importance of perseverance.