The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American supernatural horror-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a troubled, isolated boy and Malcom Crowe (Bruce Willis), an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him. The film established Shyamalan as a writer and director, and introduced the cinema public to his traits, most notably his affinity for surprise endings.

Released by Hollywood Pictures on August 6, 1999, the film was received well; critics highlighted the performances (especially by Osment, Collette and Willis), its atmosphere, and twist conclusion. The film was the second-highest-grossing film of 1999 (behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace), grossing about $293 million domestically and $672 million worldwide. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Shyamalan, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Osment, and Best Supporting Actress for Toni Collette.

Dr. 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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Sense

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Writer and director M Night Shyamalan had his big break with this movie, causing quite an uproar with the now infamous twist. The question now is, does the wisdom of hindsight suck all the fun out of it? Actually, it stands up to repeat viewings pretty well. There are strong performances from Haley Joel Osment as the little boy who wishes that he didn’t see dead people, Bruce Willis as his psychiatrist and Toni Colette as his long suffering mother. A young Mischa Barton pukes in the most extravagant way I can recall seeing on screen, and there are plenty of great shocks. In retrospect, the twist seems so obvious, but when this was new, it fooled a lot of people. It didn’t fool me, though, because I‘d already had the film ruined for me before I saw it. Thanks, Jack Dee

Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/23242/25-awesome-spooky-movies#ixzz3vE0WHgzG

The Sixth Sense (1999)

PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | 6 August 1999 (USA)

A boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

Malcom Crowe is a child psychologist who receives an award on the same night that he is visited by a very unhappy ex-patient. After this encounter, Crowe takes on the task of curing a young boy with the same ills as the ex-patient. This boy "sees dead people". Crowe spends a lot of time with the boy (Cole) much to the dismay of his wife. Cole's mom is at her wit's end with what to do about her son's increasing problems. Crowe is the boy's only hope.

Written by Jeff Mellinger

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Writer: M. Night Shyamalan

Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167404/

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Synopsis by Mark Deming

In this tense tale of psychological terror, Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a child psychologist whose new patient has a problem far outside his usual area of expertise. Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is six-years-old and claims to see the spirits of dead people all around him. It seems that Cole has psychic powers and can channel the ghosts of those who were troubled. Cole doesn't understand his powers, and he has little control over them; he's constantly terrified by what he sees, and Dr. Crowe is the only one with whom he feels he can share this secret. However, as the doctor digs deeper into Cole's strange powers, it leads to strange and unexpected consequences for both of them. M. Night Shyamalan, who wrote and directed the film, has a small role as Dr. Hill.

http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-sixth-sense-v180403

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The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American supernatural horror-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist (Bruce Willis) who tries to help him. The film established Shyamalan as a writer and director, and introduced the cinema public to his traits, most notably his affinity for surprise endings.

Released by Hollywood Pictures on August 6, 1999, the film was received well; critics highlighted the performances (especially by Osment and Willis), its atmosphere, and twist conclusion. The film was the second highest grossing film of 1999 (behind Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), grossing about $293 million domestically and $672 million worldwide. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Shyamalan, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Osment, and Best Supporting Actress for Collette.

****************Plot******************

Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist in Philadelphia, returns home one night with his wife, Anna, after having been honored for his work. Anna tells Malcolm that everything is second to his work, and that she believes he is truly gifted.

Just then, a young man appears in their bathroom, and accuses Malcolm of failing him. Malcolm recognizes him as Vincent Grey, a former patient whom he treated as a child for hallucinations. After Malcolm realizes he did fail him, Vincent shoots his former doctor before killing himself.

The next fall, Malcolm begins working with another patient, 9-year-old Cole Sear, whose case is similar to Vincent's. Malcolm 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. Malcolm feels he must help Cole in order to rectify his failure to Vincent and reconcile with his wife. Cole's mother, Lynn, who truly loves him, worries about his social stamina, especially after seeing signs of physical abuse. Cole eventually confides his secret to Malcolm: he sees dead people, who walk around like the living unaware they are dead.

At first, Malcolm thinks Cole is delusional and considers dropping him. Remembering Vincent, the psychologist listens to an audiotape from a session with Vincent in 1987, then a child. On the tape, when Malcolm leaves the room, and then returns, Vincent was crying. Turning up the volume, Malcolm 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 do it.

Cole talks to one of the ghosts, Kyra Collins, a young chronically ill girl who recently died. He goes with Malcolm 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 putting a cleaning fluid in her soup. 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 starts to fit in at school and gets the lead in the school play, which Malcolm attends. The doctor and patient depart on positive terms and Cole suggests to Malcolm that he should try speaking to Anna while she is asleep. Later, while stuck in a traffic jam, Cole confesses his secret to Lynn, saying that someone died in an accident up ahead and he knows because the person is right next to him. Lynn does not see the recently deceased, but Cole sees a woman cyclist with blood dripping down her face. 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.

Malcolm 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 Malcolm'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 that night, and was unknowingly dead the entire time he was working with Cole. Because of Cole's efforts, Malcolm's unfinished business – rectifying his failure to understand and help Vincent – is finally complete. Malcolm 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.

***************Cast*******************

Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe

Haley Joel Osment as Cole Sear

Toni Collette as Lynn Sear

Olivia Williams as Anna Crowe

Donnie Wahlberg as Vincent Grey

Glenn Fitzgerald as Sean

Mischa Barton as Kyra Collins

Trevor Morgan as Tommy Tammisimo

Bruce Norris as Mr. Stanley Cunningham

Angelica Page as Mrs. Collins

Greg Wood as Mr. Collins

M. Night Shyamalan as Dr. Hill

Peter Tambakis as Darren

Jeffrey Zubernis as Bobby