The Sixth Sense

I remember watching The Sixth Sense when I was 12. And a hundred times more on HBO the following years. Naturally, I knew what and who to expect and of course, the well-known twist at the end. What I liked most about the film was the script and how it was directed. For some reason, horror producers these days seem to think that fear and disgust are interchangeable among viewers; throwing in a few spirits with ungodly amounts of blood oozing out of recently missing limbs is supposed to have the same effect as engaging the audiences deepest fears and playing with their imaginations. News flash: Gore is not synonym to actual thrill and fear. Which is why horror themed films like The sixth Sense is much appreciated. I would consider Syamalan a true architect for exactly those reasons. The Happening, Unbreakable, The Lady in the Water, The Signs and The Village do not scream out fast-paced progressions (some would protest that his productions are "head-numbingly" boring), nor do they exhibit those mainstream cinematic themes most people find comfort in watching. What I like about The Sixth Sense and the rest is that there is a certain eeriness about them, how he craftily manages to "trap" his viewers into believing a certain idea or concept while steadily diverting to what was "supposed to be", tapping into the unknown and unconventional, and never straying away from engaging viewers' imaginations. True horror/thrill is, in my opinion, how a film tells it, not what is shown.

So. Cole. The boy who "sees dead people" has the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. And that's believable too. When Cole is afraid, the whole cinema is afraid with him. When he had the breakthrough and was finally free from torment, his smile seemed like it lit the entire hall. The emotions displayed were not superficial and futile, they were raw and capturing. Largely a two-person show, Toni Collett lends a hand by playing a supportive and frumpy mother who knows her child is extraordinary but is confused by his demeanor and cannot begin to understand him. Cole's mother was obviously stressed out and mostly infuriated by the strange behavior of her son, and most of the conflict resulted from Cole's inability to meet her halfway. How could he anyway? His mother was the only one he had, and the last thing he wanted was her looking at him differently; a "freak", just like everyone else.  Nevertheless, their relationship is loving one, and the trust and protectiveness that exists between them got the better of the situation. The story cultivates many life lessons, although subtly.  It illustrates that everyone needs a second chance, and how life can be severely unfair but obstacles can be overcome, and how trust and believe can alter even the most dramatic of events.

Malcolm, at first, appeared to be a level-headed and calm doctor who was only concerned about the well-being of his patient. As far as it goes, it really seemed like a traditional professional-client relationship. It was not till mid of the show did I realise that it was actually a two-way street; as much as Cole needed him, he needed Cole to "set things right" and make amends for himself. I believe Malcolm, to a certain extent, transferred his guilt about Vincent into reaching out to Cole at full force. It made me filter out the entire gravity of their client-professional relationship and wonder who did Malcolm really do it for at the end of the day; was it out of sheer concern for a boy in desperate need, or was it for him who felt indebted and wanted to redeem himself.

On a lighter note, it was rather strange how all the other ghosts Cole encountered were either reliving their deaths (vomiting, slitting wrists),  as well as walking around exactly how they died (gapping hole at the back of the 70s kid's head, the hanging ghosts in the school ), and behaved how stereotypical ghosts would (disappearing and suddenly reappearing, not being able to communicate efficiently ect) when Malcolm did not possess any of those characteristics as a wandering spirit himself. Through Cole's lenses, all of them were frightening and approached him in a manner in which made him dreadfully fearful, but not Malcolm. It was also a little strange how Cole's mother never found out about this mysterious "doctor" given how he played such a huge part in "treating" her son. Hadn't Cole even mentioned him to his mother? Ghost Malcolm was even able to change his clothes, and not notice his wounded abdomen. I did not quite understand the relevance of his wife's ring when it fell, to the sudden  realization that he was indeed a spirit and that his time was up. There was somewhat a blurred reality to Malcolm's "existence'' as a ghost. But I suppose those gaps are not really something that has to be read so much into.