Welcome to the Galactic Theater, where we'll explore the works of master manipulators of light waves, examine the themes brought to play, and critique the final products of months of hard work.

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.

That said, on to the review!

For the living, death is a bereavement, a separation from loved ones. It is a time of grief and pain, not soon forgotten. But for the dead...is it truly the end? And what if the dead don't know that they've died? What if they're clinging--for good or ill--to the life they left behind?

Child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe has done a lot of counseling in his time. He's had his share of successful patients, and his share of unsuccessful ones, too. It's when one of his unsuccessful ones breaks into his home that his life takes a sudden, startling twist. Because being shot can change things for a person. It can make a person's life flash before his eyes, and realize that he's not ready to die yet, and urge him to fight for his life that much harder. And after his recovery, Malcolm gets another chance at helping a troubled child, one who--like the one who shot him--seems able to see and hear something beyond ordinary mortals' perceptions.

Cole is a troubled young boy, with only his mother and their dog as family. Because of all the problems he's had, Cole has few friends. And when things in his life spiral out of control, Cole winds up as the patient of Malcolm Crowe. It is to him and him alone that Cole is willing to confide his secret torment: he sees dead people. All the time. They talk to him, and he's hard-pressed to ignore them. What's worse, all the dead people he's seen seem to have died in some horrible or tragic way. Now it's up to Malcolm to counsel the boy, before Cole's already confused life crumbles away into insanity.

In the meantime, however, Malcolm has problems of his own. His wife seems to be upset with him, never talking to him, never even looking at him. Why? Was it because he forwarded his own career ahead of their marriage? Is that why she seems to be growing closer to another man? How can he win his wife back if she won't even look at him? He may find the answer through helping Cole come to terms with his strange gift. But will Malcolm like the answer, or will it force him to face a problem he didn't even suspect existed in his marriage?

This was a strange and convoluted movie that is most definitely not for viewers with weak nerves. It isn't overly terrifying or scary, and it isn't particularly violent. Still, there are some scenes that will force you to contemplate everything you know about life and death, and other scenes that will force you to reconsider everything the movie has established for you in the terms of its parameters. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but the abrupt shifts in the boundaries of what you know and what you're forced to accept may cause some troubled minds and hearts. On the other hand, it does keep you on your toes, throwing unexpected (yet actually well-hinted at) wrenches into the history of this movie.

Bruce Willis does a stupendous turn as Malcolm Crowe. Given his history with some rather physical movies (the three Die Hard movies, Moonlighting, etc.), seeing him in a more dramatic role and doing well in it was interesting. Instead of the sardonic grins he bestows on his adversaries, Willis expresses the emotions of his character in an understated manner that somehow seems entirely in keeping with the movie's plot and theme. And while this wasn't the first time Willis has worked with a much younger actor as a father figure/protector (remember Mercury Rising?), it was somehow different this time around. Maybe it was that the plots called for two entirely separate portrayals, but there was still something else that made this performance exceptional...the philosophical dilemma, maybe.

The boy who plays Cole, Haley Joel Osment, was equal to the task of his role. It was easy to imagine that Cole was really, truly seeing dead people all over the place. I don't know if it was his fair (okay, very pale) complexion and the sort of drooping eyes and face that made it so believable, or if it was the quiet, whispery voice most of his dialogue was in, but there was just something spooky about him. And that made the character that much stronger. Certainly you could have a child talking to dead people, or pretending to see them all over the place, but Osment's portrayal was so intense, and his reactions so very real that the movie takes on a whole new depth to it which I don't think Willis' performance alone could accomplish. As duos go, Willis and Osment make an effective team.

Any gripes about this movie? Not really. The only thing that might possibly bother me would be the almost typical convention of spirits hanging around until something occured that enabled them to pass on. If I could look into Cole's future, I'd probably say that he's going to have a long life of doing deeds for dead people. I'm glad that one such deed could fix things between himself and his mother, and another helped a stranger realize the truth about his daughter's death, but is that the kind of life you'd wish on anyone? I almost wish Malcolm had succeeded in helping Cole block the dead people out, but I guess the producers didn't want that kind of meddling in a child's life, especially since I don't think many psychiatrists would do things that way and Malcolm was definitely not your ordinary psychiatrist.

The Sixth Sense isn't your typical horror movie, if that is indeed what it is. If anything, I'd say it falls more in the genres of suspense or drama, but I guess the presence of ghosts and things would suggest horror. But regardless of which genre you want to classify it as, this movie is definitely worth seeing. Check the rating on this movie, though: it isn't suitable for all audiences, so use your discretion when buying or renting it.

Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the link to order the VHS version or the DVD version. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.

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