The Sixth Sense (1999)

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Ghost Trusting

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Sixth Sense on DVD.

The Sixth Sense begins badly with an overwritten scene of Bruce Willis and his wife celebrating an award he's won. But soon after that it glides up to the stratosphere and never comes down. Willis plays a child psychologist who takes on the case of a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who sees dead people. Osment is spectacular; you can feel the raw fear in his voice and eyes, but Willis should not be underestimated either. He's become an increasingly subtle actor, molding his particular star power into a lovely niche. Young Philadelphian filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan gives his film a lovely pace and lets it breathe. He's already brilliant at using subtle color tones to create a specific mood. Not to mention that the screenplay, with its terrific scares and its amazing double-whammy at the end, is a grand achievement. The Sixth Sense is worth seeing twice.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Mischa Barton, Donnie Wahlberg
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense thematic material and violent images
Running Time: 107 minutes
Date: August 6, 1999