History Main / TheSixthSense

[[redirect:Film/TheSixthSense]]

[[quoteright:330:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sixth_sense_ver2.jpg]]

A horror/thriller by {{M Night Shyamalan}} starring Haley Joel Osment and BruceWillis.

Successful child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe (Willis) is shot and injured in his home by a disturbed former patient of his; the disturbed man commits suicide immediately following the shooting. Months later, having apparently mended in all ways but the most important ones (psychologically and spiritually), Malcolm comes across the case of ten-year-old Cole Sear (Osment), who is exhibiting exactly the same symptoms of his former patient: frequent panic attacks, social withdrawal, and unexplained injuries. Seeing a chance to redeem himself by helping Cole, Malcolm takes a special interest in -- and begins counseling -- Cole.

Cole soon opens up to Malcolm and reveals his secret: he can [[ISeeDeadPeople see dead people]] all the time -- and they want something from him.

Osment was nominated for an AcademyAward for his role in the film.

The film is famous for its twist, for people ''[[AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame ruining]]'' the twist, and for [[ItWasHisSled no longer being a twist]] at this point. If you've ''somehow'' managed to avoid any of the spoilers for this movie, and you ever plan to watch it, you should probably stop reading this page now (when this film was new, the TwistEnding was genuinely a startling surprise for most viewers who hadn't encountered spoilers beforehand).

'''Warning: Spoilers Below'''
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!!This film contains examples of the following:

* CreatorCameo - M. Night Shyamalan as a doctor the kid sees at one point.
* CreepyChild: Cole, early in the movie.
* CuteGhostGirl: The poisoning victim.
* CutHimselfShaving - Subverted. The kid [[spoiler:is repeatedly assaulted by ghosts]]. People assume he's abused by his mother, and she can't figure out what's happening to him.
* [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]] - The famous twist ending.
* DeadSparks - Malcolm and his wife's relationship, or at least that is what it seems like at first.
* EvilDetectingDog - The family dog runs away right before [[spoiler:the kid who shot himself appears to Cole.]]
* FadeToWhite: [[spoiler:How Malcolm exits the film.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After watching this film the first time through ''without spoilers'', it is almost impossible to watch it again without seeing obvious foreshadowing.
* ForgottenAnniversary - Malcolm shows up late to an anniversary dinner with his wife at a fancy restaurant; she barely acknowledges him before leaving.
** [[spoiler:Kind of hard to acknowledge someone you can't see or hear. You know. 'Cause he's dead and all.]]
* FullFrontalAssault - The opening scene.
* GhostlyChill
* HeyItsThatGuy - too easy... ToniCollette for a start
** HeyItsThatVoice - ... but without counting Bruce Willis? [[KingdomHearts Still too easy.]]
* ISeeDeadPeople - [[TropeNamers Trope named]] for the line by Cole.
* JacobMarleyApparel - all the ghosts. [[spoiler:Malcolm isn't the exception; throughout the movie he is wearing items that he had with him that night. We never see the gunshot wound because he is wearing his jacket over his shirt or the camera angles just don't reveal it when he has it off.]]
* 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 stableboy who becomes king and the leader of the bullies plays the village idiot.
* MandatoryTwistEnding - Practically spawned the twist ending for the new millennium. Also a strange variant of TheEndingChangesEverything: everything we saw previously is ''true'', but much of it means something completely different from what it seemed to mean.
** Also {{Lampshaded}} when Malcolm is telling a bed time story to the kid.
* MadeOfIron: Seems to play it straight with Crowe - he's shot in the stomach, which in RealLife is a death sentence - but is seen walking around just fine the next fall. [[spoiler:Then it is subverted in the end - it turns out that [[RealityEnsues reality ensued]] after all.]]
* MeaningfulName: Cole Sear, get it? He ''sees'' things.
** Combined with his first name: he sees ''dark'' things.
* IAmNotLeonardNimoy - There are a lot of people who refer to Cole as Haley Joel (Osment).
* TheLostLenore: A rare male example of the trope in that, um, [[ItWasHisSled Surprise!]] [[spoiler: Malcolm's wife isn't surly and depressed over a neglectful husband. She's grieving for a dead one.]]
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat - Crowe is gut shot in the opening scene. The rest of the movie is not a flashback. [[spoiler: Inverted or Subverted at the end, depending on how you look at it.]]
* OffingTheOffspring: Kyra's mom kills her by regularly poisoning her lunch for two years. And after Kyra dies, the mom starts to poison Kyra's younger sister too. Kyra gets justice by giving filmed proof of the clandestine act to Cole, who gives it to Kyra's dad, who watches the video along with the guests at Kyra's wake.
** It's implied that the death was accidental...the poisonings were done as part of an insurance scam or possibly as an example of Munchausen by proxy syndrome. Doesn't make it any less callous or horrible, though.
* OnceMoreWithClarity - After it becomes apparent that the viewer has OneSideOfTheStory.
* PlayingAgainstType - Bruce Willis.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Malcolm is dead. His wife isn't [[MistakenForCheating cheating on him]], she's trying to move on, and she doesn't respond to what he says to her because she doesn't know he's even there]].
* RuleOfSymbolism - The colour red. Pay close attention to any scene with red in it. [[{{Foreshadowing}} It means something important]].
* SanctuaryOfSolitude - Cole is sitting in a church by himself when Malcolm goes to talk to him.
* SassyBlackWoman - Malcolm's wife's friend on their wedding video. It's a bit jarring.
* ScareChord - More subtle than in some movies but definitely there.
* SchoolPlay - Brief scene at Cole's school. Also [[spoiler:a trick some bullies play on him]].
* SexlessMarriage - Malcolm and Anna. If you've seen the movie, you know why.
* SpiritAdvisor - [[spoiler: Malcolm just doesn't know it yet]], and then Cole learns to become an adviser ''for'' spirits to help them move on.
* SpookyPhotographs
* StanWinston - Responsible for the special effects.
* StoodUp - Malcolm's anniversary with his wife.
* TalkingInYourSleep - The only way Malcolm can get his wife to talk to him. [[{{Foreshadowing}} Somehow]], Cole knew this would work for Malcolm when nothing else would.
* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: one of the dead people Cole sees was a small girl poisoned by her mother putting cleaning fluid in her soup.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: A very interesting aversion. [[spoiler: From the standpoint of everyone else in the movie, Cole does ''not'' have a therapist. But he does. Stands out the most notably when the doctor is having Cole checked to see if he is being abused, and Malcolm is just sitting there - when a real therapist would surely be adding his two cents.]]
* TomatoInTheMirror
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil - The fact that Cole can see ghosts isn't revealed until the halfway point of the movie, but everyone knew thanks to the trailer.
* UndeadChild - The ghost of Kyra, the poisoned girl.
* UnfinishedBusiness
* VomitIndiscretionShot - Kyra's first appearance to Cole.
* WeirdnessCensor - A variant: it applies to the ghosts. "They see what they want to see," doing the same things they did in life.
* WhamEpisode: TheReveal at the end.

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* FridgeBrilliance: Once you know the twist ending ''a lot'' of things make sense - like why if you watch closely, [[spoiler:Cole is the only person who ever pays attention to Malcolm even when other people are around.]]
* Also, [[spoiler:Malcolm wears the same blue shirt throughout the whole movie.]]
* FridgeHorror: Cole is naturally terrified of the ghosts because of the way they look (often grotesque) [[spoiler:and their violent actions]]. Scary enough for a kid his age, but there's a scene where his mother looks at a baby picture - seeing an unusually scared baby and a wisp of light in the background.
* FridgeLogic: Once you know the twist, the anniversary dinner scene briefly becomes {{Fridge Brilliance}} before you realise that it reduces to Malcolm's wife inexplicably booking a table at a fancy restaurant in order to sit and eat [[spoiler:alone, getting upset in public about her dead husband]] and paying for the privilege.
** Some people continue the traditions started with [[spoiler:dead loved ones]] even though it emotionally hurts.

* RewatchBonus: Very worth a second look once you've seen the end.

* TheWoobie: Cole. Just think about it - how young he is and how much it scares him to see such awful things. Wouldn't that make anyone want to give him a hug?

One night, successful child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe (Willis) is shot and injured in his home by a very disturbed long ago former patient of his, only for the man to commit suicide immediately following. Months later, having apparently mended in all ways but the most important ones (psychologically and spiritually), he comes across the case of 10 year old Cole Sear (Osment). Cole is exhibiting exactly the same symptoms of his former patient: social withdrawal, unexplained injuries and frequent panic attacks. Seeing a chance to redeem himself by helping Cole, he takes a special interest in him.

Soon Cole opens up to Malcolm, that his secret is that he is [[ISeeDeadPeople seeing dead people]] and they want something from him...

Osment was nominated for an Academy award for his role in the film.

Famous for its twist, famous for people ''[[AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame ruining]]'' the twist, and famous for [[ItWasHisSled no longer being a twist]] anyway. If you've somehow managed to avoid the spoilers, and you ever plan to watch the movie, it's probably best to stop reading now.

When this film was new, the TwistEnding was genuinely a startling surprise for most viewers who hadn't encountered spoilers beforehand.

'''Warning: Spoilers In The Examples:'''

* DeadSparks - Malcolm and his wife's relationship, or at least that is what it seems like.

* DeadSparks - Malcolm and his wife's relationship.

* HeyItsThatGuy - too easy...

** [[spoiler:Osment's performance is brilliant. Right after the play, watch Cole and Malcolm and their expressions. Notice how Cole's smiles keep slipping and the tears in his eyes. He ''already knows'', must have realised shortly before that, that Malcolm is dead too. The reason he thinks they won't be seeing more of each other is because he knows that he has helped Malcolm, as well. Malcolm's ghost did what it wanted to do - redeem himself - and now he will go away.]]