History Film / TheSixthSense

[[caption-width-right:300:He sees dead people.]]

* ForcedToWatch: Literally at Kyra's funeral. Her father, Mr. Collins, [[spoiler:starts crying angrily when he sees video evidence that her mother poisoned her, and he's mad at her and himself for not having realized it]].

* JumpScare: As is to be expected in a ghost story. Most notable are Kyra's first appearance, suddenly popping up in Cole's tent, and what immediately follows the line "Let me show you where my dad keeps his gun!"

* ReturningTheWeddingRing: Malcolm's wife drops a wedding ring and lets it roll across the floor to signify the end of their marriage. [[spoiler:The ring is his, and of course the fact he's dead was the real reason the marriage ended.]]

!!This film provides examples of:

* EveryoneHasStandards: The people who see Kyra's last videotape at her funeral give a unanimous DeathGlare at [[spoiler:her mother when they see the evidence that Mrs. Collins was poisoning her]].

** Pay attention to people's behavior whenever Malcolm is around.[[spoiler:They shiver and put on jackets, and none of them ever talk to Malcolm or acknowledge his presence -- the few times they seem to, it's deliberate misdirection and a second look will show they weren't actually acknowledging him.]]

* AscendedFridgeHorror: Malcolm nearly falls over when he realizes [[spoiler:he's been dead for a year and didn't survive his gunshot wound. Then he's remembering his frosty encounters with Anna and realizes she could never see him, and she was in mourning]].

* BavarianFireDrill: Cole doesn't know Kyra personally, so he wasn't invited to her funeral. He dresses up in a suit, walks in, and no one takes notice of him going to Kyra's room. Malcolm also follows, but [[spoiler:no one can see him]].
* BedtimeBrainwashing: The protagonist does this to his wife in the end to ask her for forgiveness and reassure her that he still loves her and she can let go. [[spoiler:Considering that he's dead, it's the only way he can talk to her by himself.]]

* BilingualBonus: The voice on the tape of Vincent's session is speaking Spanish; the person is saying, "Please, I don't want to die Lord, save me, save me."

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Kyra's mother. She poisoned her daughter with floor cleaner apparently out of MunchausenSyndrome by Proxy, and for all the audience knows had zero regrets for eventually giving her a fatal dose. The more horrible part is that Kyra's father had to see a video showing her mother mixing in the poison with her drinks right in the girl's bedroom. Worse yet, the other attendees at Kyra's funeral mention her sister is coming down with the same symptoms - her mother's poisoning ''her'', too.]]

* CutHimselfShaving: Subverted. Cole [[spoiler:is repeatedly assaulted by ghosts]]. People assume [[AbusiveParents his mother is injuring him]], and she can't figure out what's happening to him.

* ExpandedUniverse: A [[https://www.goodreads.com/series/78690-the-sixth-sense-secrets-from-beyond series of three books]], made for young readers, was released in 2000 chronicling the adventures of Cole Sear following the film.

*** At Kyra's funeral, [[spoiler:Kyra's mother wears a bright red dress and matching lipstick, which is an ''entirely'' inappropriate color for a funeral. Because she's a narcissist who poisoned her kids.]]

** Cole states that it gets colder when a ghost is angry. [[spoiler:Malcolm spends most of the movie calm around Cole - and when he ''does'' lose his temper, Cole's breath suddenly becomes visible.]]
* ForcedToWatch: Literally at Kyra's funeral. Her father Mr. Collins [[spoiler:starts crying angrily when he sees video evidence that her mother poisoned her, and he's mad at her and himself for not having realized it]].

* KidsAreCruel: Thanks to Cole being a CreepyChild, he's bullied and hated by his peers. This turns around at the end, as seen in the play the class puts on -- Cole plays the stable boy who becomes king and the leader of the bullies plays the village idiot. Mr. Cunningham was the one who gave Cole the part in the play, the last part was just probably unintentional. So, for all we know, Cole's still ostracized, [[spoiler:but he's more confident about himself that slowly, but surely, he'll be more accepted with his peers]].
* TheLostLenore: A rare male example of the trope in that [[spoiler:Anna isn't surly and depressed because Malcolm has been neglectful, it's because she's grieving his death.]]

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Justified; when Malcolm [[spoiler:is dying, he tells Anna he's fine and doesn't feel any pain. It was his body giving out to blood loss and shock]].

* TheStinger: After the credits, the panicked Spanish ghost from Malcolm's tape is heard saying "No me quiero morir"[[note]]I don't want to die.[[/note]] one more time. Doubles as a LastNoteNightmare.

* TheVoiceless: Kyra's ghost never speaks on screen[[note]]There's apparently an alternate version (perhaps a director's cut) where upon appearing in Cole's indoor tent, vomiting profusely, she then says "I'm feeling much better now."[[/note]], although Cole's actions after each of her appearances indicate that she spoke to him between scenes. (The living Kyra doesn't speak on the video her father watches, either, except from offscreen while doing a silly voice for her puppets: she's also heard saying "I'm feeling much better now" to her mom.) There's probably a metaphor there about Cole being the only one who could hear her asking for help.

* ExpandedUniverse: A {{https://www.goodreads.com/series/78690-the-sixth-sense-secrets-from-beyond series of three books}}, made for young readers, was released in 2000 chronicling the adventures of Cole Sear following the film.