The Sixth Sense (1999)
Adventures in Child Psy-Cole-ology
Welcome back foolish movie watchers to I’d Like To Blank The Academy. We are your hosts … your ghost hosts. With that Haunted Mansion reference out of the way, the subject of this ILTBTA post (this ghost post) is M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, the 1999 supernatural thriller we were pleasantly surprised to see was nominated for Best Picture. So grab a pillow to put in front of your eyes and read on!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: I don’t remember a time where I knew about The Sixth Sense but didn’t know the twist. It’s one of those tidbits of pop culture that I have no idea where I learned it. I really wish that I could erase that little detail and watch this with fresh eyes, but alas. At least I remember next to nothing else about this movie!
Tyler: I’m in the exact same boat except I’ve never seen it before. This came out when I was only six years old, so by the time I was brave enough to even consider watching it, I already knew the gist of it. I think the way the twist (and the iconic line referring to the titular sixth sense) permeated pop culture and still remains pretty iconic just goes to show how impactful the movie was. I’m cautiously eager to learn more about the context of it all, so let’s get to it!
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): A frightened, withdrawn Philadelphia boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
Philadelphia-based child psychologist Malcolm Crowe is living the dream. He has a beautiful wife, beautiful home, and beautifully-framed citation of excellence from the mayor. Aforementioned wife Anna is extremely proud of him, even though she says it’s recognition of the fact that he put everything else second, including her. The couple heads upstairs for further “celebration” but, ruh-roh: the window in their room is broken! A young man in his underwear is standing in their bathroom, accusing Malcolm of failing him. The doctor eventually recognizes him as Vincent Grey, a former patient with hallucinations. He attempts to talk the younger man down, but no such luck. Vincent shoots Malcolm and then himself.
Ellen: I joked in my notes that even the opening credits were building suspense, with spooky music and an otherworldly glow on the text. Also, it was at this point I learned that the actor’s name is Haley Joel Osment, not Osmond, as in Donny.
Tyler: As we’ll see later, though, HJO will also be saying “go away little girl.”
Cut to the next fall, where a tiny kid with huge glasses is scurrying down the street and into a cathedral with red doors. Malcolm follows him inside and introduces himself to Cole Sear, with whom he was supposed to have an appointment. Cole is fairly busy setting up action figures and totems to watch over him as he mutters in Latin under his breath. After a resigned “I’m going to see you again, aren’t I?”, the nine-year-old exits the church, swiping a Jesus figurine on the way out. Malcolm returns home to find that his wife ate alone and went to sleep crying. He goes to his study in the basement, making notes on Cole and his case, and finds that the Latin translates to “out of the depths, I cry to you, oh Lord.”
Tyler: It’s a subtle thing, but the camera work as it slowly reveals the translation of the Latin phrase was just perfect. Even on a small piece of the plot, it effectively builds tension and reminds you that the movie will tell you things on its own schedule.
Lest we get too bummed, there’s a cute lil husky puppy in a laundry basket over at the Sear house!1 Cole’s mom Lynn bustles around, trying to get ready for the day. She briefly exits the kitchen where Cole is eating Cocoa Puffs to get him a new tie, and when she comes back it’s EEEEK o’clock because every cabinet and drawer is open! Lynn sends him to walk to school with Tommy Tammisimo, who immediately says something insufferable about improv and his acting skills, indicating he is a bad egg2. Cole returns home to find his mother and Malcolm sitting silently across from one another. Lynn and Cole share a cute moment of trading fake stories about the wonderful days they had, and Lynn goes to make pancakes3. Malcolm does his best to get Cole to warm up to him, but almost torpedoes it with some off-base guesses. He notices scratches on the child’s wrists and learns how Cole got in trouble for drawing violent pictures and writing “upset words.” Malcolm then arrives late to dinner with Anna, and she largely ignores him, signing the bill and whispering, “happy anniversary.”
Sebastian is 🎵under the c🎵(lothes) (Source) Ellen: The jump-scare of the kitchen cabinets is so simple but effective! It’s not even totally “scary”, but more unnerving. As the audience, we still don’t technically know what’s up with Cole.
Malcolm and Cole continue to see each other. Also, Anna (who works at an antique store) appears to maybe be seeing some guy that Malcolm refers to as “cheese dick.” Cole says he just doesn’t want to be scared anymore, though if he wants that, perhaps he shouldn’t talk about the fact that they used to hang people at the school and scream “stuttering Stanley” at his teacher. None of this is allowance for a grown man to then call a child a freak, but here we are! Malcolm comes to school and shows Cole a magic trick with a penny which does not impress him one bit. The doctor comes home to find Anna has fallen asleep on the couch while watching their wedding video. Later, at a birthday party, Cole follows a red balloon upstairs and hears someone seemingly trapped behind a small door. Bullies, being who they are, shove Cole inside the cupboard and just listen to him scream (????). His mom eventually gets him out, battered and traumatized.
Tyler: Based on their facial reactions when Lynn goes upstairs, I think the bullies realized they done messed up after all the screaming but the door was somehow jammed/locked (by a ghost???), so they were kind of just paralyzed. Or maybe I’m being too generous to asshole kids, who knows.
At the hospital,
M. Night Shyamalana doctor tells Lynn it wasn’t a seizure, but they’re pretty dang concerned about all these cuts and bruises. Meanwhile, Malcolm goes in to visit Cole, and the child finally reveals his secret: he sees dead people … all the time. They walk around like everyone else, not knowing that they’re dead, and seeing what they want to see. Lynn eventually gets to take Cole home, and she sees that rips in his sweater correspond with scratches on his back. That night, while he’s in the bathroom, the thermostat starts sliding lower and a flash of pink passes in the door! It’s a dead woman yelling about dinner not being ready, and Cole sprints back into the safety of his red blanket fort. At school, Tommy Tammisimo is the lead in the school play because he was in one lousy cough syrup commercial, but Malcolm comforts Cole about it, while wondering if he can really handle this case.Tyler: I knew it was coming since they lingered on Cole in the bathroom for too long, but that woman passing by the open bathroom door scared the absolute BEJESUS out of me.
After some lighthearted seasonal shopping at Acme and making fun of Tommy Tammisimo’s cough syrup commercial, Lynn gets down to brass tacks with Cole. She wants to know why she found her mother’s bumble bee pendant in Cole’s drawer again and emphasizes that if he tells the truth, then she won’t be mad. He visibly struggles with this, eventually saying that sometimes we think things are lost when they’ve only been moved, and no, he did not take the pendant. Lynn is not pleased. Malcolm isn’t pleased with his own work either, telling Cole that he should transfer him to someone who can really help. Cole implores Malcolm to believe him and slides a penny across the table, saying some magic is real. He’s inspired to have a listen back to Victor’s old tapes, and he discovers that the ghost of a man speaking Spanish was captured on the recording!4 Malcolm then encourages Cole to try and see what the ghosts want, because it’s probably just help. Probably.
What I’ll tell my kids living through the pandemic felt like (Source) Ellen: A lesser movie would not have shown us this silly cough syrup commercial, and I giggled so hard. Thank you, Mr. Shyamalan.
Tyler: “Some magic’s real” is a great line, we love a good callback.
That night in the blanket fort, it starts to get see-your-breath cold. Cole waits, and OOP it’s a young girl vomiting behind him! He absolutely bolts, leaving the girl’s blanketed silhouette in the fallen fort behind him. He eventually regains his courage and comes back inside, asking if she wanted to tell him something. Cut to Malcolm and Cole headed to this gal Kyra’s wake. Kid heads straight to her room, turning the doorknob to the left like a psycho, and receives a box from her in a not-at-all-startling way. Turns out it’s a videotape revealing that her mom was doing a Munchausen by proxy on her!
Tyler: Everything involving Mischa Barton’s character was terrifyingly well done. From the falling clothespins in Cole’s blanket fort to the shot of Kyra grabbing his leg in her room (leading to the gif below), I can’t help but appreciate the filmmaking while also cursing M. Night for spooking me.
Bolstered by this spooky success, Cole begins flourishing at school, even going so far as to get acting tips from a deceased, horribly burned theater teacher. He’s starring as Arthur in The Sword in the Stone, and Tommy is stuck as the village idiot. Malcolm comes to see the show and is so proud. Cole closes their circle with the line “I’m not going to see you anymore, am I?” He suggests Malcolm try to speak to his wife while she’s asleep. Later, while their car is stuck in traffic, Cole finally tells his mom the truth. She’s skeptical at first, but he reveals things he never could have known about his grandmother and their relationship, and Lynn emotionally accepts it.
Malcolm comes home to find Anna asleep on the couch with their wedding video playing again. She mumbles “I miss you” and “why did you leave me?” out loud, and Malcolm starts to respond when an object clatters to the floor: his wedding ring. He realizes that he’s not wearing it, weird, right? Cue an absolute flood of realizations from the last few months: all the times Anna never responded to him, times Malcolm found things out of place, the fact that he never spoke directly to anyone but Cole. We flash to the night Malcolm was shot, and we realize along with him that he did not survive. He whispers to Anna that he just needed to help someone, but she never, ever came second. She sleepily says good night to him, and it fades to white.
Tyler: I guess he really did die hard.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … Pedia-Ease Cough Syrup!
Hi, it’s me: Tommy Tammisimo, from bullying! You may also know me from my improv antics and as the Village Idiot from Sword in the Stone. But I’m here to talk to you about my greatest accomplishment and strongest brand partnership: Pedia-Ease Cough Syrup. When I’m feeling run-down from all those perfect performances I’ve been perpetrating, I have my agent tell my parents to get me Pedia-Ease. It’s fast-acting and just the right amount of sweet, like me, and it helps get me out of bed and back to what’s important: cashing fat checks.
Use promo code “ILTBTA” when purchasing your next bottle of Pedia-Ease and receive a free signed photo of me: Tommy Tammismio!
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
The Sixth Sense’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
After being born in Mahé, India, director M. Night Shyamalan was raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia. Shyamalan not only still lives in the area (and is a big Sixers fan), he has also filmed nearly all of his movies in and around Philadelphia.
Tyler: I’ll never forget my mom taking me and Kim into Newtown to watch them film Signs. It being filmed in my hometown is something I never fail to mention whenever that movie comes up, as evidenced by this very sub-bullet.
A Disney Studios executive bought Shyamalan’s spec script of The Sixth Sense for $3 million and rights to direct the film without getting corporate approval. Disney sold the production rights to Spyglass Entertainment (while keeping distribution rights and 15% of the box office earnings), the film made $670 million, and everyone turned out a winner. Oh, except for that Disney executive: he got fired.
This isn’t from Wikipedia, but apparently Bruce Willis made 114 MILLION DOLLARS from this movie. He did so by reducing his regular pay but stipulating that he receive 15% of the film’s profits.
Ellen: This reminds me of George Lucas taking decreased pay for Star Wars but stipulating that he maintain sequel (and eventually merchandising) rights. Nice work if you can get it!
Willis was only cast in The Sixth Sense to help pay back Disney for his role in the “implosion” of the unfinished romcom Broadway Brawler the previous year. After two years of pre-production and nearly three weeks of principal photography, Willis was apparently so unhappy with the performance of several major crew members that they were all fired. He then faced a $17.5 million lawsuit from Disney, so he agreed to a three-picture deal to pay it off. The three movies were Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, and The Kid.
Tyler: My favorite line from the Broadway Brawler Wikipedia page (specifically the “Failure” sub-section, which you never want to see): “It is extremely unusual for such a large-budget production to simply end without a finished product.” Basically: “Hey all you normies who don’t know show business, this is NOT normal.”
Shyamalan used the color red throughout the movie to emphasize “anything in the real world that has been tainted by the other world” and “to connote really explosively emotional moments and situations.” Examples include the door of the church where Cole seeks sanctuary; the balloon, carpet, and Cole's sweater at the birthday party; the tent in which he first encounters Kyra; the volume numbers on Crowe's tape recorder; the doorknob on the locked basement door where Malcolm's office is located; and Kyra's mother's dress at the wake. If you’re interested in reading more about how M. Night Shyamalan uses color in The Sixth Sense or his other films, check out these three websites.
Tyler: I see red, people.
Actor Liam Aiken was apparently offered the role of Cole Sear, but turned it down. He was also considered for the role of Harry Potter, but J.K. Rowling had a strict “British and Irish actors policy” that took the Irish-by-heritage but American-by-birth actor out of the running.
Tyler: Little did we know that was just the beginning of J.K. Rowling’s exclusionary beliefs.
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.
It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role.5 And the nomnomnominees are:
Red wine from the basement
Cole's uneaten Cocoa Puffs
Groceries from Acme
And the Oscar goes to … groceries from Acme! Unfortunately, the red wine and cereal have revolted against Tyler after years of support and returned all of the groceries in frustration, so Ellen will accept this award on its behalf.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to give the Academy a coupon for one free snuggle with a cute husky puppy! Y’all, this movie is good! I had erroneously thought that by knowing the twist, there wouldn’t really be anything left to enjoy, and I’m so glad to be wrong. Haley Joel Osment played his role so convincingly, and Bruce Willis and Toni Collette were both excellent scene partners for him. You’re definitely tense and even scared while you’re watching, but it’s also two heartfelt and emotionally rewarding storylines. There are also really interesting directorial choices, including a lot of long shots, which I really enjoy. I’m no story-telling expert, but I think the sign of a good twist is one that provides an additional layer to a story without cheapening or negating the foundation upon which it’s built. Or whatever, what do I know, just watch this movie if you haven’t in a while, okay??
Tyler: I’d like to give the Academy a twist ending of its own: I actually really liked a scary movie! Granted, The Sixth Sense is technically more of a psychological thriller than straight horror, but that didn’t stop me from unleashing a string of expletives any time the creepy-ass (but very well done) score introduced something supernatural. Regardless, as I’ve said before, a child actor’s performance can make or break a movie when they’re a main character, and Haley Joel Osment absolutely knocked it out of the park6, very much earning his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Aside from the acting, the story itself is not only fresh and original, but also intriguing as it carefully lays out bread crumbs for the viewers to follow regarding Cole’s extra sense (and eventually the twist ending). That being said, I can’t help but wonder if viewers at the time were able to figure out the twist. I wish I could’ve come into this viewing completely fresh, because in hindsight the fact that no one other than Cole interacts with Malcolm seems like a bit of a giveaway. Even so, I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I expected to, which is kinda the entire goal of our Spreadsheet endeavor.
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
If you have plots and feelings of your own (on the movie or ILTBTA in general), feel free to comment on the post or simply reply to the email. If you liked reading this: tell your friends! If you hated reading this: tell your friends how much you hated it by forwarding it to them!
If you’re a weirdo like Tyler and use Twitter, feel free to follow us there @BlankTheAcademy for ILTBTA updates, rejected jokes, and other random movie-related musings. Once we reach a million followers, we’ll offer to purchase the @ILTBTA handle from the butthead who snagged it before us.
If you’d like to start a wild Best Picture journey of your own, feel free to download a copy of The Spreadsheet. Bonus: checking off the boxes is oddly satisfying.
Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
With our next post coming out right after Independence Day, we opted to watch a tangentially patriotic movie to celebrate: 1955’s comedy Mister Roberts. Set on a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean in the closing days of World War II, Mister Roberts features an ensemble cast of movie legends, including Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon. This “wartime comedy classic” is available to rent from all the usual places.
Until then, you better grab a jacket, it’s getting a little chilly in here …
Tyler: My sixth sense is finding dogs in movies.
Sounds like my ex-wife!
Breakfast for dinner is a universal sign of a good egg.
Fun fact: ghostly voices captured on tape are called electronic voice phenomena (EVP).
Results tabulated and certified by the accountants at Ernst & Yum™.
Who knows if a young Michael Cera would have brought the same level of emotion.