Welcome back everyone, and Happy Friday! This week, I watched “The Sixth Sense,” written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. This paranormal thriller follows Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a young boy haunted by ghosts with unresolved issues. The only person he confides in is child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), who tries to help Cole with what he at first believes is a mental disorder.

Without further ado, let’s start the review.

Fright Factor: How scary is the movie?

Rating: 8/10

While there are definitely a few jump scares throughout the movie, in my opinion, the scariest part is the suspense the movie creates. A particularly chilling scene is when Cole goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and the audience sees the temperature on the thermostat going down (a sign ghosts are present). He slowly walks to the kitchen, while eerie music plays, and sees a ghost with cuts all over herself that starts yelling at him. Absolutely terrified, he runs into his room shaking and crying. Scenes like this obviously make the audience feel scared, but also bad for Cole, who is so young and has to go through so much.

Plot: Is the storyline/script interesting?

Rating: 9/10

“The Sixth Sense” has a fairly simple, yet complex storyline. While it is easy to follow that Cole sees ghosts, there are also small details and symbolism in this movie that make it just that much better. My favorite example of this is all the red items in the movie, which means that either a supernatural event is about to occur, or that something has been affected by the ghost world.  The storyline is made even better by the plot twist right before the end of the movie, which I believe is one of the best of all time. I also loved the friendship between Malcolm and Cole, and how he became somewhat of a father-figure to the young boy. Malcolm helped him understand and not be afraid of his ability, which in turn made him happy and not suffer from anxiety.

Quality: How well is it produced? How good is the acting?

Rating: 10/10

This movie is an absolute MASTERPIECE, and I completely understand why it is the second highest grossing horror movie of all time (behind “It”). I loved all the different camera angles and music used to set the scenes, especially in the first clip of Cole. The screen starts with him leaving his house visibly anxious, and him checking to see if someone is following him. Then, it periodically cuts to Malcolm looking at a piece of paper that lists the disorders that Cole has, which at first makes the audience think that there is something wrong with him (but we realize there isn’t as the movie progresses). Haley Joel Osment was AMAZING as Cole, and really made it seem like he could see ghosts. At only eleven years old, he gave one of the best performances I have ever seen in a horror movie, especially when he delivers the iconic line “I see dead people.”

Entertaining: How fun is it to watch?

Rating: 10/10

This movie was extremely fun to watch, especially with the attention grabbing aspect that made for a very positive viewing experience. Throughout the movie, I kept trying to figure out what the ending was going to be, but my mind was blown when the twist came. When I rewatched it, all the clues were there (which I especially loved, because the ending was believable without being predictable).  

Overall Rating:  9/10

I watched this movie several days ago, and it’s still stuck in my head. There are so many fantastic aspects to this film (the camera angles, music, acting, plot, script), all coming together to make, without a doubt, one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Have a frightful Friday everyone, and be sure to come back on January 29 for my review of “The Others.”