The Sixth Sense

 The Sixth Sense

In a nutshell: a young boy who lives with his single mother hides a special secret – he sees dead people. A psychologist tries to reach him and unravel the mystery of his sadness and fear, and comes to discover what Cole is really hiding. He is visited on several occasions by lost souls, some are friendly, some of them not. Once he believes in the truth of ghosts, the psychologist finds a way to help Cole, and in return the boy helps him to discover the truth of his own existence.

What was different/original about it? “The Sixth Sense” can proudly claim the honour of hiding the best twist-ending in movie history. At the time of its release, no one who’d seen it would reveal its secret, forcing everyone else to go and watch it for themselves. Its surprise ending was so good and sheer genius that it garnered the respect of every viewer who experienced it, inspiring them to protect one of the best kept secrets in the history of movies. For you see, if you knew how it ended before you saw it, the film would be ruined for you. Fortunately, The Sixth Sense warrants more than just one viewing, as opposed to the many copycats which emulated its formula over the following years. Even if you’ve seen it and know how it ends, you can watch it again, and again, experiencing its sheer brilliance in every way. It’s a classic; pure and simple.

How did it changes movies? The Sixth Sense established a formula which spawned a myriad of clones and rip-offs, but few could surpass it. It had such a good twist, that every spooky psychological thriller that followed came up with their own surprises; some paid off, others didn’t. From here on, thrillers about ghosts and unexplained events played a game with audiences, taking us in one direction, but arriving in another. And it seemed every Sixth Sense copycat had to have a small child as its central character; a child with a secret, who knew something we didn’t, could see what we couldn’t, and was genuinely weird and creepy. But Cole (played by Hayley Joel Osment) wasn’t creepy or wierd – he was just sad and afraid. Osment played this to perfection, smashing the performance of any other child actor in history out of the water. Where is he now I wonder? 

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