The Sixth Sense
Tags: psychological, mystery, boring, paranormal, dramatic, cult, horror, plot twist, flashback, atmospheric, psychedelic, tragedy, suspenseful, sentimental

Plot synopsis:
Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist in Philadelphia, returns home one night with his wife, Anna, after having been honored for his work. Anna tells Crowe that everything is second to his work, and that she believes he is truly gifted. A young man then appears in their bathroom, and accuses Crowe of failing him. Crowe recognizes him as Vincent Grey, a former patient whom he treated as a child for hallucinations. Vincent shoots his former doctor before killing himself.
The next fall, Crowe begins working with another patient, nine-year-old Cole Sear, whose case is similar to Vincent's. Crowe becomes dedicated to the boy, though he is haunted by doubts over his ability to help him after his failure with Vincent. Meanwhile, he and his wife seldom, if ever, speak or do anything together. Crowe feels he must help Cole in order to rectify his failure to help Vincent and reconcile with his wife. Cole's mother, Lynn worries about his social stamina, especially after seeing signs of physical abuse. Cole eventually confides his secret to Crowe: he sees ghosts, who walk around like the living unaware they are dead.
At first, Crowe thinks Cole is delusional and considers dropping his case. Remembering Vincent, the psychologist listens to an audiotape from a session with Vincent when he was a child. On the tape, when Crowe leaves the room, Vincent begins crying. Turning up the volume, Crowe hears a weeping man begging for help in Spanish, and now believes that Cole is telling the truth and that Vincent may have had the same ability. He suggests to Cole that he should try to find a purpose for his gift by communicating with the ghosts and perhaps aid them with their unfinished business. At first, Cole is unwilling since the ghosts terrify and sometimes even threaten him, but he finally decides to attempt helping.
Cole talks to one of the ghosts, a young girl named Kyra who recently died after a chronic illness. He goes with Crowe to her funeral reception at her home, where Kyra directs him to a box holding a videotape, which he then gives to her father. The tape shows Kyra's mother poisoning her daughter's food. By proving she was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, Cole has saved Kyra's younger sister, the mother's next victim.
Learning to live with the ghosts he sees, Cole begins to fit in at school and is cast as the lead in the school play, which Crowe attends. The doctor and patient depart on positive terms and Cole suggests to Crowe that he should try speaking to Anna while she is asleep. Later, while stuck in traffic, Cole confesses his secret to his mother, saying that someone died in an accident ahead of their traffic and he knows because the person is next to him. Although his mother at first does not believe him, Cole proves his ability to her by talking about how his grandmother visits him. He describes how his grandmother saw his mother in a dance performance, even though Lynn thought her mother was not there. He further relays the answer to a question his mother privately asked at her mother's grave. When Cole says that his grandmother feels proud of Lynn, his mother tearfully accepts the truth and they hug each other.
Crowe returns home, where he finds his wife asleep with their wedding video playing. While still asleep, Anna asks her husband why he left her, and drops Crowe's wedding ring, which he suddenly discovers he has not been wearing. He remembers what Cole said about ghosts and realizes that he was actually killed by Vincent and was unknowingly dead the entire time he was working with Cole. Because of Cole's efforts, Crowe's unfinished business – rectifying his failure to understand and help Vincent – is finally complete. Crowe fulfills the second reason he returned: to tell his wife she was never second, and that he loves her. His goal complete, he is free to leave the world of the living.

Review: The surprise ending to "The Sixth Sense" has gotten so much attention that it threatens to overshadow the film.
When I first saw this film back in early 2000, I knew nothing about it other than that it was about the relationship between a psychiatrist played by Bruce Willis and a child with some sort of psychic power.
A movie must work on its own terms before springing a surprise.Nevertheless, there can be no denying that the twist in "The Sixth Sense" is particularly clever.
Willis believes he has failed, and he wants to make amends by helping a new child (Haley Joel Osment) who appears to be having the same problems (and perhaps the same abilities) that his former patient once displayed.
Like all good horror films, "The Sixth Sense" allows the suspense to build and does not rely on either excessive violence or cheap scares.
Still, if you have not seen the film by now and remain woefully ignorant of the surprise lurking in its plot, I urge you, before someone ruins it for you, go and watch the movie!.
Maybe I read too much into this very wonderful film, but I believe it will be difficult to find a movie that has touched on these subjects so poignantly and so well for years to come..
He succeeds at this task beautifully, convincing us while never going over the top; indeed, by the time Cole utters his now-famous line, you not only believe him, you are chilled by the fact that Osment the actor may actually believe it himself.Bruce Willis turns in a stellar performance, complimenting his young co-star while never overshadowing him.
Cole's innocent little face hidden behind his absent father's large-framed spectacles betrays a child coming to terms with a terrifying secret in the only way he can.You don't need to go and see this film again to realise why the end is such a surprise but you will rush out to watch it again purely because it's an almost perfect example of it's genre.Laugh, cry, jump a mile out of your seat, sigh with relief - but not too early...
The prime emotion; fear, is a difficult emotion to generate in a modern audience that has seen it all before, but this film succeeds where others fail, praying on your imagination and generating suspense from subtle devices rather than blatant horror.It is such a relief that the performances of Willis and the excellent Osment live up to an excellently directed quality storyline.
Willis has had many action-packed, profane macho roles in his career but I like him best when he's low key, as he is in here (and in "Unbreakable," to name another fairly-recent movie) The story is slow-paced but it sure is not boring.
Not only did it turn out to be a better movie than BLAIR WITCH is, but it turned out to be one of my favorites.THE SIXTH SENSE is about an award-winning child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), who is depressed because one of his former clients committed suicide because Crowe was unable to help him.
He is definitely the best child actor I've ever seen, and I am glad that Bruce Willis let him have the spotlight.The plot is very entertaining, though at times you may wonder where it is going.
I applaud the advertisers of THE SIXTH SENSE for not leaving a trace of the surprise ending in the previews of the movie (unlike DOUBLE JEOPARDY) and I certainly will not give it away in this comment.
(I think many that say that they saw it coming are probably lying.)THE SIXTH SENSE is one of my favorite movies, and I think it is surely one of the best films of 1999.
Luckily most of the people I had spoken to who had seen the film did not spoil the 'twist' at the end, which, although is rather a laboured point by now in reviews, certainly adds to the "Oh, I see now" factor.The story revolves around a child psychologist played characteristically by Bruce Willis.
But if you want to see one of the best Hollywood manufactured horror films in a long time, give Sixth Sense a chance.
A child psychologist, played by Bruce Willis, tries to help a troubled boy, played by Haley Joel Osment, who says he sees ghosts.
Because of this, Cole is named geeky in the college where appear various dead people who ask his help.The film provides creepy scenes, a well-knit drama, grisly terror when the living dead appear and suspenseful throughout.The flick contains the more famous plot twist from cinema history, because the ending leads to a breathtaking and unexpected outcome on what's happened before.
Acting by main actors is top notch, Bruce Willis is magnificent as restrained psychologist and Haley Joel Osment is awesome as traumatized little boy, carrying the movie on his frail shoulders; furthermore, appear future promising actors as Mischa Burton(OC) and Trevor Morgan .
And I think it was realistic at how long it took for the boy to learn to trust the doctor and for how long it took the doctor to discover what was really going on.Having said all that, in addition to the pace, there were some times when I felt a little queasy, like I wasn't sure what exactly the movie was trying to say.
It details these points to graphic effect.Young Haley Joel Osment is terrific as Cole, the young boy who sees 'dead people', and portrays his emotions and his mind to an easily captivating audience.
Also wonderful to see Bruce Willis turn away from his usual 'action man' sequence to allow us into the equally troubled mind of Dr. Malcolm Crowe.A divine and heartwarming film combining elements of horror and suspense has made The Sixth Sense an engaging film that is simply unforgettable.
One of these days I'm going to watch a Shyamalan movie in the right frame of mind.) "The ending." How would you like to be a filmmaker judged solely on "the ending?" In the case of THE VILLAGE, it worked for me.
this film has the best twist ever anyone who says they knew that the film would end like that is a liar!!!the acting of Haley Joel Osment is incredible he was also brilliant in AI.
this is not one of those films that drags on or that is forgettable like a lot of other thriller/horror films (the grudge, dark water)your remember this one forever!!!!Main good points: great acting, great storyline, great twist-------------- main bad points: none.
This is the best horror movie i have ever seen.It's terryfying and interesting from beginning to the very end.Yes, the ending is so great that you could say "the director couldn't make something better.Michael Night Shamalyan is the next Alfred Hitchcock.And for the first time in his career Bruce Willis showed us that he is very good actor..
Besides, he can be considered as a faraway cousin of Danny, the little boy in Kubrick's "shining" because they've got a common point: an odd power supernatural and all in all, the dead people who haunt Cole aren't so terrible as they look like: they're simply asking him for help...
The rest of the cast are good, but really it's the central relationship between Willis and Osment that makes this film.The plot may have some holes in (some ghosts hang around where they died, one comes to find Cole etc), but overall this is very good.
The director weaves an interesting story that stands on its own, but makes it even more memorable by challenging how we accept and assume things in movies by delivering a great, clever twist at the end..
Don't get me wrong, The Sixth Sense is a good film, but not a great one by any means, and has no right to be regarded as a horror masterpiece, that is just absurd.
The plot of this slow-building horror-noir, heavily drawing on cult classics like the certain 1980 movie directed by the late, great Stanley Kubrick, is not without merits, courtesy of a poignant treatment of a disturbed, misunderstood child prodigy.
M. Night Shyamalan made a brief appearance, which didn't really make me hold my breath.The good thing about the movie is it's overall creepiness and sense of fear.
HJO did give a good performance and Bruce Willis was OK, but when you promise fans a movie based upon a twist at the end, you have to deliver.
The Sixth Sense is one of those movies that once you've seen it the first time, you're never going to be able to watch it the same way again, due to the gasp-worthy twist near the end.
I remember vividly both times I saw it in the cinema, the crucial turning point of the piece bringing a collective audible gasp from the viewers sunken in their respective seats, that's the sort of impact that carries a films reputation far and wide, and that's the reason why I will never rate the film lower than 10/10.Repeat viewings of The Sixth Sense obviously dim its star appeal because we know the tricks of the directors trade, but the film still ranks to me as one of the best of its type for so many other reasons rarely mentioned.
The writing from Shyamalan {Academy Award Nominated Best Screenplay} is surprisingly complex, the piece masquerading as a horror picture is emotionally charged, linking children with the paranormal thru loss and a need for understanding, the need for closure of unresolved differences, but chiefly and crucial to the films heart is the message of connection before it's too late.The performances are incredible, Bruce Willis as Malcolm Crowe is perfectly understated, all the pointers for the denouement are there for us to see, but such is the actors performance, and we now know he is cutely having to play his cards close to his chest, are hidden from us until the revisit of the picture reveals it all.
Hayley Joel Osment {Academy Award Nominated Best Supporting Actor} is wonderful, for a child performance in a film of this type to not be over sentimental, is quite an achievement.
This movie unfolds with precision in story telling and character development with the good Doctor and the boy and then when it goes to the end, it twists and you are left feeling that cold chill once again.
"The Sixth Sense" does have a good surprise ending, it's a kind of ending that makes you want to see the movie again after you finished watching it for the first time.
It contains everything one could ask for in a film.For a basic plot summary, "The Sixth Sense" tells the story of young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), who is prone to visions of dead ghosts and as such is not fitting in very well at school or at home.
With the help of a very unique child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), however, Cole is finally able to face his fears and begin to move on with his life.Since it is easier to come at this review from this angle, about the only people who WON'T enjoy this movie are those who only like the mindless actions of explosions, car chases, and flexing muscles.
The Sixth Sense is an entertaining film, better than some, not as good as others, but it is most certainly not the masterpiece many seem to make it out to be.
While he still made some very good movies, notably Signs and the Village, he never again reached the height of The Sixth Sense.One of the things that surprised me most was how good Bruce Willis is.
The Sixth Sense An Effective Thriller With A Good Twist Ending.
The Sixth Sense is an effective thriller with a good twist ending from director M Night Shyamalan whose admirable in making this movie which was his first back in 1999.
The cast are good in their roles including Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, and especially Haley Joel Osment as the boy who can see dead people.
Overall The Sixth Sense is a solid thriller with some suspense, creepy moments, drama, a little humor, and exceptional performances by the cast who make this movie worth the time to watch..
"The Sixth Sense" is a good movie but perhaps a little overrated.
Plus, unlike his other films, Bruce plays a likable character here.Aside some absolutely unnecessary scenes, this movie is generally good.
One of the best parts is when Cole (Haley Joel Osment) finally reveals his secret to Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis).
Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment play the most believable characters in this film.
i'm not going to give much of the plot of this one away,just in case you're one of the three people on the planet who hasn't seen this movie.suffice to say that it is one of the greatest psychological suspense thrillers in modern time.this is one eerie movie,strongly anchored by the performance of Haley Joel Osment.,who plays the character to which the title refers.Bruce Willis and Toni Collette also put in strong performances.and watch for a brilliant performance from an unrecognizable Donnie Wahlberg(yes that Donnie Wahlberg from "New Kids on the Block" fame).who knew he could act?you will almost certainly have to watch this movie more than once,and you will discover something new each time.if you have'nt seen it,and somehow have managed to avoid knowing anything about it,i highly recommend it.to end,i will just say that this movie is a modern Masterpiece.10+++/10.
I love this movie because it's a really good ghost story and has a thought-provoking plot.Yeah, this film was famous so I already knew the ending before it even happened but that didn't distract me from watching the movie.
Throughout the movie is a masterpiece.The acting by Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette were all fantastic and some like Olivia Williams and Donnie Wahlberg were all great, too.If you want an intelligent ghost movie with some scares and twists and turns, this is the movie for you.
The ending of Unbreakable is about as shocking, but I don't think Shyamalan will ever make another film as good as this..
In such an atmosphere, it's easy to overlook that the one thing that makes "Sixth Sense" so popular is that it's so incredibly good.The art of storytelling is at the heart of the film, the way it quietly unfolds at its own pace, pulling you in with eerie moments and occasional shocks to a place that gets deeper as you get closer.
Cole explains at one point to Dr. Crowe that the trick to a good story is that it have "some twists and stuff." People who downgrade "The Sixth Sense" do so on the basis of the twists, which was what got the film so talked about in the first place.
All your worst childhood nightmares: the noises in the attic, the intruder in your house, that cold breath that makes your hair stand on end are here and then some.Bruce Willis gives one of the best performances of his career as the child psychologist trying to get himself back on track after a violent encounter with a former patient and it would be a crime if Haley Joel Osment were overlooked at coming awards ceremonies for his powerful performance here.
All your worst childhood nightmares: the noises in the attic, the intruder in your house, that cold breath that makes your hair stand on end are here and then some.Bruce Willis gives one of the best performances of his career as the child psychologist trying to get himself back on track after a violent encounter with a former patient and it would be a crime if Haley Joel Osment were overlooked at coming awards ceremonies for his powerful performance here.
'The Sixth Sense' is a horror film about a young boy who has the power to see the ghosts of people who have passed away.
Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a Philadelphia psychiatrist meeting with Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a boy who can - OK, I'll say it this one last time - see dead people.
If you do know how it ends but haven't seen it, rent it just see see Bruce Willis (among many others) give really great performances..
THE SIXTH SENSE Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDSWhilst recovering from a recent trauma, a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) helps a little boy (Haley Joel Osment) who claims to see ghosts.Released the same year as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), another 'spook' movie which divided audiences and reaped dividends at the international box-office, M.
You care about what happens to Cole Sear, so hauntingly played by Haley Joel Osment, and you want to see Dr. Malcolm Crowe(Bruce Willis, in arguably his best performance) help him.
The sixth sense wasn't really a bad movie, per se, but the problem with it lies in the fact that any entertainment value it may hold is in one aspect of it which you find out when watching the film for the first time - if it hasn't been spoiled for you.
This movie is a big-time rip off of Jacob's Ladder (1990).And the fact that everybody was all hyped up about the 'surprise' at the end just goes to show that Hollywood hasn't made a good suspense or horror flick in years.I had it figured out about half way in what was going on, and once I figured it out, I sat there sulking, "I've seen this before.
I can only assume either (I'm not a horror movie fan), that the supposebly overwhelming atmosphere of Bruce Willis talking to some messed up little boy entertained people, much like horror films or either the modern cliche of adding a big twist on to the end of film to try to make sense of the piffle before it.
Haley Joel Osment is excellent, and the only good reason to see this movie.