One of the years best films--with a jaw dropping final twist. ***1/2

Rating: 9/10 (22 August 1999)

THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) ***1/2
Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams, Toni Collette and Glenn Fitzgerald Written and directed by: M. Night Shyamalan 106 minutes Rated PG-13 (for much intense material and some related gore)
By Blake French:
"The Sixth Sense" is one of the years best films. It brings together effectively and efficiently every concept of why horror films exist. So many movies these days do not live up to the promise of their genre, but "The Sixth Sense" does it so perfectly and convincingly that it is almost hard to tell weather this film is based on actual events or not.

"The Sixth Sense" tells the story of a psychiatrist named Malcolm Crowe, who, in the film's opening, is confronted by a past client who has broke into his house waving a gun over his head screaming things like "You lied," "You did not help me" and especially mysteriously "Do you know why you are afraid when you're along--I do." He shoots Malcolm and kills himself.

The film then cuts to months later, where Malcolm is curious to investigate a nine year old boy, Cole Sear, who has the same rare symptoms as his patient that killed himself recently. He feels it is his duty to cure the child's illness to make up for his slacking off on the other unfortunate patient.
After investigation, and some bonding between the curious Malcolm and the always terrified Cole, he discovers that the boy has a secret. One that is so personal and unbelievable Cole has never explained it to anyone, including his struggling single mother. Soon, however, Cole tells Malcolm his concealed message, "I see dead people," the young boy whispers, "they walk around like everyone else...they don't even know that they're dead," he explains. Naturally at first Malcolm disbelieves him, but as new evidence arrives, and issues involving his wife arise, he must choose between the one he loves or the boy he'll never forget.
The story setup to "The Sixth Sense" is thought-out and detailed enough so that we ponder upon it and become involved. It is handled with such delicacy that even the slightest flaw would have destroyed the entire film in which its basis is held together with. Through character issues and the personal territory this film covers, we are weary about entering the character's lives; this is private area hear and it is none of our bussing what is going on inside the head of young Cole Sear. Surly some audiences will feel intimidated about learning his secret since it is so built up with a peek of high tension. The adult terror material is all in line with the film's subject matter; there is no excess violence or gore, nor is there any sub-plots that distract the story from its final message. There is some distraction in the relationship with Malcolm and his wife. But by the end, everything fits together like a perfectly pieced mind puzzle.

The film is not without flaws, however. Though the subplots do not sidetrack the film, a few of them do not provide enough information to serve a purpose in the plot. For instance, there is a subplot where a dead girl asks Cole to deliver a secret tape involving her death to her father. It has some revealing and emotionally on target material, but we know so little about the characters involving this story that I felt a little lost. And some particular wounds found on the bodies of the individuals inflicted with the "sixth sense" seem significant, but are never fully explained. At times in the movie I felt like the characters were dragging on and on, and felt myself shouting inside phrases like "come on, get to the point."

For the most part, however, the characters pull the plot through tedious moments, like the ones I have listed. The movie has a final twist that excels beyond any other twist revealed in any other thriller I have ever seen. More perplexing than "Entrapment." More jaw-dropping than "Wild Things." More compelling than "Goodbye Lover." And more awe inspiring than "Arlington Road." It is disturbing but somehow completely believable. I am very tempted to describe the content of the final five minutes to you--but I am afraid that it is up to you to figure out. This twist is so neat that it will make you want to see the movie over again, in order to see if throughout the production the film lived up to the material. This is a very tricky ending to succeed with, but "The Sixth Sense" does it wonderfully.
Brought to you by Hollywood Pictures.