A little bottom heavy, but worth the wait.

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 1999)

This movie tries to do just a bit too much, but does most of it well. I loathe Bruce Willis, and he turns in yet another stone-faced performance here as what should be a very emotional role. The kid is great. He may look like Anakin or Macauly Culkin, but he knows how to poke fun at patronizing adults without being cute. As far as plot goes, the movie starts out very psychological, until the "I see dead people" line, when it turns into a supernatural thriller. The psych could have work if they had stuck with it, but once Willis believes the kid, all the analysing goes out the window.
The gore and scares are not gratuitous, but are unnecessary; the movie works so well intellectually and emotionally, it doesn't need to work physically by startling the audience.
In summation: The communication-with-the-dead plot works, but isn't deep enough. Either the psychology or the gore could complement it for a superb movie, but they clash with each other.
But by the final revelation, this sin is forgiven as a twist that would make Hitchcock proud comes out. It leaves a few plot holes, but you won't care.