Good premise, poor execution

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2004)

This was a disappointing film from Shyamalan. The premise was indeed interesting, but could have been made much stronger with some relatively minor plot changes. His hallmark twist was there, but the viewer was eased into it; it did not shock as did the classic ending of The Sixth Sense. The acting appeared stilted with the exception for Bryce Howard, who turned in an excellent performance in her feature film debut, and the always steady Joaquin Phoenix. William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver appeared to sleepwalk through their roles. The scares were there, but didn't have the same edge as in his other movies. Not one of Shyamalan's better movies. I thought the premise was better than the one in Unbreakable, but the result wasn't much better.